US Senate Defends Doing Nothing

In the United States Senate, doing nothing is protected as a point of historical pride. It is the privilege of a U.S. Senator to do nothing and the do-nothing gang does not want this august legislative body to lose its harrowed privilege.

As Gail Collins puts it this morning: "There is a stupendous lack of real enthusiasm in the Senate for doing anything as dramatic as eliminating the senators’ right to stop things."

“It’s beyond the breaking point,” said Senator Tom Harkin, referring to the U.S. Senate's obstruction-as-usual, holds on nominations, filibusters, the whole paralysis of a sick legislative body. Harkin will introduce a bill to eliminate the Senate filibuster next week.

Even reformers like Sen. Russ Feingold defend the filibuster. Maybe Feingold and the Senate will have a change a heart, feeling that the problems facing Americans are so serious that a decaying institution's relics and undemocratic rules must change for the good of the citizens of our republic.

Will Feingold's GOP opponents this year, Terrence Wall and Dave Westlake [who otherwise do not stand a chance], challenge Feingold's on his defense of doing nothing? That would be ironic as the GOP employs the filibuster so often in its attempt to see the Senate do nothing. Even more ironic as the Senate Democrats are the GOP's allies is preserving this tool of obstruction.

Nothing like arming your opponents in defense of an undemocratic body. Welcome to the Democratic Party. Maybe the Democrats will finally kill the filibuster.

And then maybe the Republican Party will come out in favor of teaching evolution, and empowering the rights of American citizens [even black people] to vote, slash the American empire and slap the military-industrial complex. Right.

-via mal contends

GOP Targets Unions, Specter Wavers

Update: NYT: After Party Switch, a Senator’s Confused Alliances

As Tom Harkin works to move "Sen. Arlen Specter back to the pro-union side on the stalled Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) (The Politico)," Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and the GOP are hitting unions like punching bags.

From Sen. DeMint in Human Events:

... That's why it's vital you sign our petition urging the Congressional leadership to OPPOSE the union bosses' Card Check Forced Unionism Bill -- and the rest of Big Labor's agenda -- IMMEDIATELY.

You see, there's not much time. At the very top of the Congress's agenda is the union bosses' Card Check Forced Unionism Bill. And the Organized Labor czars wouldn't have it any other way. You see, passage of the so-called 'Card Check' Bill is all that stands between the union bosses and total control over hundreds of thousands of America's small businesses . . .

So we have a new Democratic senator who has vowed to use the filibuster to stop labor reform. Let's hope Harkin's outreach precedes dumping Specter, and the filibuster too while we're at it.

Specter's latest position on EFCA: "I’m opposed to giving up the secret ballot or mandatory arbitration as they are set forth in the bill, but I do believe that labor law reform is past overdue." So, Specter's not going to support the fulibuster then? Who knows?