I find it amusing that the hottest political debate of the moment surrounds the filibuster, a concept which most Americans only vaguely remember from their ninth-grade civics class. I also find it amusing that the Republicans, and specially religious conservatives, have enthusiastically portrayed themselves as long-suffering victims of a liberal judiciary. Look at this poster for an upcoming rally that will feature Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other conservative Christian leaders:
This is a blatantly cynical attempt to turn a debate about an obscure Senate rule into a righteous battle between the faithful and the unbelievers. And if Frist wants to have any hope of being a presidential nominee in 2008, he has to play along with this circus. Never mind that most of the judges in the Schiavo case, and the majority of the Supreme Court justices, are Republican appointees. Facts can be inconvenient at times like this. This would all be so funny if it weren’t so terribly sad. But if the filibuster is abolished, the world won’t end. Someday, Republicans will be the minority party again and they will face the long-term consequences of their thirst for complete power.
What do you think needs to happen in order for “the world to end” as far as political moderation goes in this country? The Republicans have recently been ramming things like this through specifically so that they’ll never be the minority party again. Look at the redistricting in Texas that ensures that the vast majority of Texas’ Congressional representation will be Republican. (And how they treated the Democrats who tried to sink it by denying a quorum) Look at Diebold and electronic voting, and how indifferent the Republicans are to the notion that it has got huge security breaches, and consider that the CEO of Diebold said he would “deliver Ohio” to President Bush in the 2004 election. Look at how the Republicans are treating the Democrats on House and Senate committees, not allowing them to set at least part of the Congressional agenda.
And now about the filibusters, that would help ensure a friendly compliant judiciary that would no longer overturn any of the more egregious acts passed by this Congress.
At what point are these actions suddenly going to make a difference? What needs to happen in order for the Republicans to achieve the unassailable supermajority that they so crave? You seem to be pretty blase about it. What *would* bother you?