That is, it seems, what our esteemed leaders in Washington want. Republicans are dead-set on making sure Habeas Corpus is dead. And in their Infinite Wisdom ™ the democratic party has decided to cave. Instead of letting Republicans filibuster and have them talk about why they think the Bill of Rights is a stupid idea, they decided to take a cloture vote. And, predictably, lost that vote 53-46. (Cloture requires 60 votes to pass)
The Senate Majority Leader could have forced a ‘traditional’ filibuster, where Republicans would have been required to speak nonstop. Not necessarily on the issue, but it would have required the effort. And it would have made it immensely clear to the public that Republicans are blocking Habeas Corpus. With the current solution, not so much - just a minor blip on the news radar.
But since even invoking cloture is kind of painful - what with actually having to sit there and vote - our invertebrates in Washington came up with a much better idea. Let’s just unanimously agree, before voting, that the vote requires a 60-40 majority, or it doesn’t pass. That’s what happened yesterday with Senator Webbs bill to give combat troups more rest time. Can’t have rested troops, after all. And in the process, we throw out the whole idea that a simple majority is enough to rule. Let’s instead hand power to the “unitary executive“, which really is just a fancy name for “dictatorship”.
What will it takes for Democrats to finally stand up for their beliefs?
Tags: bill of rights, habeas corpus, civil rights