Interesting article at Consortium News, by Robert Parry, The GOP’s Filibuster Hypocrisy, revisits the confirmation of Samuel Allito to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006. When Democrats threatened to filibuster Allito’s confirmation, Republicans threatened to use “the nuclear option,” and by a majority vote change the Senate rules and eliminate the right to filibuster on any matter.
In response to this threat, “moderate” Democratic senators joined a bipartisan group called the “Gang of 14,” and agreed to not filibuster the Allito nomination. Eventually Allito was confirmed 58 – 42, which means if all those who considered Allito a poor choice had backed the filibuster, Allito would not have been confirmed.
Parry writes, “Though seemingly forgotten by most TV talking heads, it was only three years ago, when the Republicans had control of both the White House and Congress – and ‘filibuster’ was a dirty word. It was usually coupled with ‘obstructionist’ amid demands that any of George W. Bush’s proposals deserved ‘an up-or-down vote.’
“Yet now, with the Democrats holding the White House and Congress, the Republicans and the Washington press corps have come to view the filibuster fondly, as a valued American tradition, a time-honored part of a healthy legislative process. Today, it’s seen as a good thing that Democrats must muster 60 votes in the Senate to pass almost anything.”
Parry writes that after the election in 2006, “Republicans did a flip-flop on the filibuster, discovering the high principles behind the tactic. The GOP used the filibuster routinely in 2007 and 2008 to block Democratic initiatives, especially any challenges to Bush’s expansive claims of executive authority.
“Typical of the modern Washington press corps, its leading voices changed, too, joining the Republican chorus hailing the filibuster as an honored tradition of democracy and finding value in the need for the Democrats to muster 60 Senate votes to pass any significant bill. Today, the press corps continues in that pattern, forgetting the GOP’s earlier contempt for the filibuster and treating its use by the Republican minority against the stimulus bill as normal.”
consortiumnews.com
