Mazal Tov! Senate Republicans Break Filibuster Record
It’s a wonderful day for the Senate’s Republican majority! Err, minority, I meant to say Republican minority. I guess I was confused since the Republicans seem to be unilaterally deciding what does and doesn’t get done in the Senate–and, of course, I could have picked dozens of other examples. That’s because Senate Republicans broke records today by filibustering their 62nd bill only half way through the session of Congress.
The record of Republican obstruction in the U.S. Senate is unbelievable.
The Republican Senate minority today filibustered an omnibus budget bill, setting a modern-day record for blocking the most legislation during a congressional session. A new report [PDF] released today by the Campaign for America’s Future details the 62 times conservatives have used the filibuster to block legislation (or force modification of bills) in the first session of the 110th Congress. In just the first year of this two-year Congress, their use of the filibuster in the Senate topped the previous record, reached during the entire 107th Congress.
…
In just one session, a minority in Congress has prevented a mind-blowing 62 pieces of legislation from going to the floor for an up or down vote,” said Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey. “Our report shows how over and over again, the uncompromising minority has thwarted the will of majorities in Congress and of the American people, holding the Senate floor hostage to a radical right-wing agenda.”
That includes ethics reform, wage reform, immigration reform, energy reform, and Iraq reform. All were prevented from coming to the floor for an up or down vote by GOP obstruction. There’s even an entire blog dedicated to their obstruction, and, naturally, they’ve got something to say about this report.
Last night, the Roadblock Republicans accomplished a feat no ordinary group of obstructionists could have pulled off. No, it takes a special brand of legislator to actually break the Roadblock record in less than half the time of the previous record. Only a group with a near-pathological disregard for the actual health of our democracy, only a group with a single-minded focus on the cynical political strategies of their consultants, only a group with a imperious disdain for the people of the country could’ve pulled off such a feat.
Right on.
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