Secret Squirrel Attacks The Fillibuster

Secret Squirrel has turned his attention towards America,and to the American government,to the American Senate, and the ridiculously delaying tactic of filibuster,the beheading of a bill by a minority, and the waste of time in debate
brought about by the ancient and out of place Romanesque Senatorial tactic of the filibuster.One of the first known practitioners of the filibuster was the Roman senator Cato the Younger. In debates over legislation he especially opposed, Cato would often obstruct the measure by speaking continuously until nightfall.As the Roman Senate had a rule requiring all business to concluded by dusk, Cato's purposefully long-winded speeches were an effective device to forestall a vote.This was, of course, not the term the Romans used,rather our term "filibuster" was first used in 1851. It was derived from the Spanish filibustero, which translates as
"pirate" or "freebooter." This term had evolved from the French word flibustier, which itself evolved from the Dutch vrijbuiter (freebooter). This term was applied at the time to American adventurers, mostly from Southern states, who sought to overthrow the governments of Central American states. Later the term was applied to the users of the filibuster, which was viewed as a tactic for pirating or hijacking debate.

The political filibuster is a historical method used to delay vote or block debate in the US Senate,and has it's roots in The Roman Senate, and passed on down to the present British Parliament, and Parliaments set up by the British, in their image of sorts,or out of sorts, in places such as Australia,or the colony of Canada.Using the filibuster to delay or block legislative action has a long history. The term filibuster -- when it was applied to efforts to hold the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill.

For good or for ill, filibuster has worked at blocking legislation,on a very few occasions, you can count them on one hand and still have fingers left, where a majority(party,dictated votes acknowledged), failed in passing legislation,but
the filibuster as it is presently being used and abused by the Republicans on almost each and every attempt to pass a legislative bill,encourages a rethink ,encouraging severe thought on this now sensitive severely abused political
tactic .

Although Sen. Frist voted against ending a filibuster of a Clinton judicial nominee (who went on to be confirmed) in the year,2000. In a speech to the Federalist Society in 2003, he said:

" This filibuster is nothing less than a formula for tyranny by the minority... The Senate cannot allow the filibuster of circuit court nominees to continue. Nor can we allow the filibuster to extend to potential Supreme Court
nominees."

Alexander Hamilton, describing the underlying principle animating the Constitution, wrote that "the fundamental maxim of republican government . . . requires that the sense of the majority should prevail."

James Madison noted "It would no longer be the majority that would rule, the power would be transferred to the minority."

Behind each filibuster is an attempt to block the majority from debating legislation, voting on a bill, or giving a nominee an up-or-down vote. In each of 139 filibusters, if 41 senators did not like a bill, no matter how simple or
noncontroversial, no matter that it may have been supported by a majority of the House, a majority of the Senate, a majority of the American people, and the president, that bill was blocked from even coming before the Senate for a final vote so when a party has been resoundingly repudiated at the polls, that party retains the power to prevent the majority from legislating and effectively governing.

Australia gets around filibuster,both houses of the Australian parliament have strictly enforced rules on how long members may speak.A filibuster (also known as speaking, talking out a bill or killdrivel) is a type of British parliamentary procedure.Filibusters even tied up the ancient Roman Senate,no doubt from where Britain got the idea and initiated it,but in Britain filibustering is a method used to delay or postpone the passage of legislation through Parliament,sending it to the bottom of the stack as it were,delayed, but not ended,in short, a tolerated
nuisance.However,the US Senate operates under procedures that effectively require 60 votes, out of 100,known as "cloture", for most legislation to pass, but allows a minority of as few as 41 senators to actually block a majority,in a system of voting,besides filibuster delay tactic.It is,however, a legislatively changeable figure,it can be made such that a simple majority is effective in passing a bill,hence rendering a politician's filibuster attempt a useless meaningless, but delaying, appendage,the act of an annoying political eunuch. Clearly also,therefor, further governmental,Senatorial reform, could also be,and should also be,initiated such that political debate is limited in time as per in the British Parliament.

A new CBS/New York Times poll finds that more Americans support ending the filibuster and requiring legislation to pass by a simple majority,what with recent Republican abuse of the filibuster what with upwards of “40 cloture votes since the start of the 111th Congress in January, this present Senate is on pace to record the second-largest number of filibuster roll calls,” transforming what was intended to be a seldom-used procedural tactic into an all-out tool for obstructionism.filibuster is the present Republican total tactic being used on virtually every bill,in short,allowing a minority to hijack American government.

To the only really good side of filibuster, in blocking,say appointments made by the President to the Supreme Court,consider,judges in the Supreme Court are appointed for life, hence very careful thought has to be given to such a matter, and objections to such an appointment must be taken in to careful consideration, as it is the President who submits,personally, as it were, such designated selections and others.In short,he may just prefer to select for whatever reasons, somebody he happened to piss against a wall with in College,the usual process for Presidential natural selection in the cases of national governmental advisors as well.

So far,attempts to lower the number to end debate, thus further eroding filibuster rules,have met with failure,particularly this year.But attempts go on to end the ridiculous filibuster delay tactic,and also bring about a straight majority rule for passage of bills.This coupled with a limit to the amount of time allowed for debate,would unquestionably streamline, and fast track American government, and bring about direct rule by a majority, rendering the hijacking of government by a minority, a thing of the past.