GOP Filibuster Record: Republicans Using Obstruction Tool With Astonishing Frequency


WASHINGTON — The filibuster – tool of obstruction in the U.S. Senate – is alternately blamed and praised for wilting President Barack Obama's ambitious agenda. Some even say it's made the nation ungovernable.

Maybe, maybe not. Obama's term still has three years to run.

More certain, however: Opposition Republicans are using the delaying tactic at a record-setting pace.

"The numbers are astonishing in this Congress," says Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

The filibuster, using seemingly endless debate to block legislative action, has become entrenched like a dandelion tap root in the midst of the shrill partisanship gripping Washington.

But the filibuster is nothing new. Its use dates to the mists of Senate history, but until the civil rights era, it was rarely used.

A tactic unique to the Senate, the filibuster means a simple majority guarantees nothing when it comes to passing laws.

"The rules of the Senate are designed to give muscle to the minority," said Senate historian Donald Ritchie.

With the Senate now made up of 100 members, two for each of the 50 states, an opposition filibuster can only be broken with 60 votes – a three-fifths majority.

As a matter of political philosophy, the concept of the filibuster arises from a deep-seated, historic concern among Americans that the minority not be steamrolled by the majority.

It is a brake and protective device rooted in the same U.S. political sensibility that gave each state two senators regardless of population.

The same impulse gave Americans the Electoral College in presidential contests – a structure from earliest U.S. history designed to give smaller population states greater influence in choosing the nation's leader.

Given recent use of the filibuster by minority Republicans and the party's success in snarling the legislative process in this Congress, Democrats say the minority has gone way beyond just protecting its interests.

The frequency of filibusters – plus threats to use them – are measured by the number of times the upper chamber votes on cloture. Such votes test the majority's ability to hold together 60 members to break a filibuster.

In the 110th Congress of 2007-2008, with Republicans in the minority, there were a record 112 cloture votes. In the current session of Congress – the 111th – for all of 2009 and the first two months of 2010 the number already exceeds 40. The most the filibuster has been used when Democrats were in the minority was 58 times in the 106th Congress of 1999-2000.

During most of Obama's first year in office and for a few weeks this year, 58 Democratic senators and two Independents who normally vote with them held a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate.

That vanished last month when Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown captured the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who died last summer.

Most notably, Brown's victory has stymied Obama's push to overhaul health care just as the bill was approaching the finish line. Before Brown's election, both the Senate and the House of Representatives had passed separate versions of the reform legislation.

Brown broke the Democratic 60-seat majority before the two chambers could meld differences in their bills for a final vote in both houses.

However, one of Brown's first votes after taking office saw him joining four other Republicans to help Democrats break a threatened filibuster by his party's leaders against a job bill.

The measure, $13 billion in tax incentives for businesses to hire unemployed workers, was quickly passed the next day with 12 Republicans joining Brown and 55 Democrats in favor of it.

Filibusters to make the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress look inept are one thing. Quite another is a vote against creating jobs in an economy with nearly 10 percent unemployment and midterm elections nine months away.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/01/gop-filibuster-record-rep_n_480722.html

Gee, the DNC dopes not like it when they get what they do done to them. Real mature of them!

And on top of that how exactly does this damage Obama exactly? He already done his damage to himself and US!!!

PS, Obama and Congress AND THE UNIONS have done nothing I repeat NOTHING to foster manufacturing in this country! No manufacturing = no work, No work = No JOBS!

The problem really is more complicated than this article paints it. the solution is less social programs, less taxation, regulation that make sense, caps on the free market system to prevent meltdowns, and LOTS AND LOTS OF PERSONAL AND OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES!

That and a huge dose of SHUT THE F UP to all the whining poor demanding free this and free that. They need to give to get as well! No more excuses! No more illegal immigration, No more selective enforcement! No more ridiculous Eco laws and regulations that tie our hands behind our backs, and some real transparency for a change!


This article is just more of the blame game!

I'm not entirely happy with the Obama Presidency, but it's WAY better than the alternative. He and the Democrats will have my vote in 2012.

So when the reps vote for something you think will fail to pass in the senate it's a waste of time but when the deems can't pass something in the house you get mad at the reps too. Biased I think.

That is not how I fell but it may be a good comment to avoid the facts of the issue.

The Repubs feel that way though. They had 15 months of debate over HC with the Party of NO throwing every obstacle they could in the way of comprehensive HC reform.

15 months in which they offered nothing to the debate. Only a filibuster which required 60 votes to pass the bill. They offered no serious alternative at all. They only wished to stall congressional debate on solutions to anything that would help America recover from a collapse that happened while they were in charge.

They used the filibuster to stall gov action for two years and now they want repeal. A repeal without American support, acting only on behalf of their lobbyist pay checks from the Insurance Companies.
That and their hopes to regain power over the people by making Obama look ineffective.

Now they want, and I've heard at least one poster state, a vote in the Senate where a simple majority will suffice to overturn the HC bill. A bill that 62% of the American people want strengthened.

All this after setting an all time record for using the Filibuster to stall gov solutions to our economic downturn and creation of jobs for "the American people."

Now,
would you like to add anything to this debate or just more unfounded accusations and distractions to other posters?

So Fanta, you feel that allowing the Democrats free reign to do anything they want will help America how exactly?

You come off so educated but your arguments show a clear bias that people will provide proof against and you come up with every argument to refute even at the risk of fallacy.

Likewise you seem to fail to place the blame where blame should rest, the whole system is Fuqued up and in need of repair.

On top of that you refuse to acknowledge the failures of the democratic Committee and in stead transpose everything on the Republicans.

Let us do some math here...

Republicans in Office = jobs in America. Manufacturing in America, even for the corruption Americans still have a shot at getting ahead.

Democrats in office = jobs evaporate. Taxes rise. Social Spending increases.

There is a very fine line between Government Responsibility and Personal Responsibility. Socialistic Democrats want Government responsible for our lives. That is when the invasions of our rights begin. Unfortunately you are acting like the poster child of the New Socialist order.

When are you going to admit that it isn't just one party or the other but the whole system's failure? When Satan hands you a snow cone and tells you hell just froze over???

there are plenty of jobs in the US..just ask any low-paid, undocumented alien who is busting his butt 10 to 12 hours a day....

if only there were enough for each unemployed,,,

jobs are had by those who are motivated and seek them, and work hard to obtain skills and knowledge to obtain them through hard work, dedication and sacrifice...

for those that feel they "deserve" a job purely for the fact that they exist or because they are a citizen - get what they deserve - nada!

*sigh* since when is it a "right" to have a job, or that the government should provide one for you?...

$.02

Obamacare should have never been passed, to reform HC is one thing but what we had shoved down our throats is illegal. What should have happened was reform at insurance level. The feds should have put a cap on what insurance can charge after lowering what is currently being charged (I think insurance companies should be banned from selling health insurance, this should be between you and your provider). I also believe that I should be able to buy insurance in any state and not forced to buy it only from Arizona.

What you describe is Communism, the ultimate expression in Socialism ever!


BTW, your $.02 should be worth a lot more since many who argue Pro-Democratically cannot see this very valid point.

He is saying if you got rid of the illegals their might be.

I am gonna test your theory too. I am coming back to the States in May. Lets see how long after I come back it will take me to find a job. I am thinking about 2 months unless I get really lucky but hey who knows.

Well poster i salute your "follow me" patch. I did bootcamp and airborne school in fort benning.

As to your post I can't completely disagree but the partisanship has been on both sides of the isle! I also think that history shows that good president's find a way to reach across the isle like reagan or clinton two examples on both sides. So honestly Obama really is a bad president! He is probably the worst our country has ever seen! Even Carter did not commit the rookie blunders like this administration! What you think of a presidents politics is one thing but an ineffective leader is just that "ineffective' and Obama has to learn the art of persuasion is a must in a Republic! We are not communist's and if you try and force your agenda on the populist there will be hell to pay regardless of your good intentions. he admitted this himself in his address after the mid-term eLection. I paraphrase, "we need to do a better job of communicating our agenda". So the bottom line is diplomacy is half salesmanship and half delivering! He bypassed the sale and went right to shoving it down our throat and with that he lost the middle and he will not recover until he learns from his mistake and go to the people with his agenda and keep his word. The problem is he beleives in a failed idelology and America aint buying so in effect he is doomed as the worst president in history and bad mermories of Bush will soon succeed to history and facts! In 2012 conservatives will overcome the democrats and Rino's in every facet of politics and America will begin to rebound shortly after the huge budget cuts or their will be riots in the streets this time!

Hell Obama is too bipartisan. He is so damn worried about cooperation and such that he allowed the Repubs to f u c k up his health care ideal so the American people got screwed.

Obama too partisan, not even

I am very confused by this! Do you mean bipartisan within his own party? "Bluedogs vs liberals". Cause if that was your point yes he was bipartisan and made consessions to his fellow democrats that lean right. But if you check the record he had nearly zero support among the republicans! It may go down as one of the most partisan bills in history considering he could not even send it back through the senate for radification instead he did the infamous "deem and pass" Do you recall? The original version of his healthcare takeover was not even passable among his own democrats. The changes where made to gather more democrat votes, not republican!

Being bipartisan means reaching across the aisle which is what the dems did with the Congresscare. If they hadn't we would have had a public option and a hell of lot better healthcare bill like Obama wanted. Instead we get this bipartisan half aased bill that doesn't do all that it should have.

Sorry Fanta back on topic.