Changing the Rules

Karma.

Do unto others .......... The Golden Rule

As you sew, so shall ye reap.  The Bible

The people you meet on your way up are the same ones you'll meet on your way back down. ?

The way you mistreat someone, someone's gonna mistreat you..  Bobby Blue Bland


The full Senate is now set to vote on Neil Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court bench.  The ball is on the twenty yard line, so there are still 20 yards to go to get to the goal line.  The defense is stiffening up now that the Republicans are in the red zone.  But wait, there's a time out on the field and the head couch of the red team is changing the rules.  Now the reds only need to move the ball across the nineteen yard line and they get the score.  Yeaaaaaaaa!! Hooray  for the reds!!  AND ...... that's the new rule from now on.

There are rules set in both houses of Congress, that are long standing and were set up because they were agreed to by all parties at the time.  It was recognized that these rules would be advantageous to all parties at various points in time.  One of those rules is the filibuster (another one of those uniquely American words).  I found a good explanation of how a filibuster will work with reference to the Gorsuch vote in the Chicago Tribune:

[A] filibuster [of the] Gorsuch [nomination is] a tactical roadblock that can only be overcome with the votes of 60 senators. Republicans hold 52 seats, and only three moderate Democrats so far say they plan to vote for Gorsuch.

Furthermore, the Tribune reported that:

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said that it is "highly, highly unlikely" that Republicans will get the 60 votes needed to end a Democratic filibuster. Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," Schumer added that it "is up to Mitch McConnell and the Republican majority" to set the rules and tenor for the confirmation vote.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-gorsuch-supreme-court-confirmation-20170402-story.html

Meanwhile, back on the farm, McConnell doesn't like the fact that Democrats plan to use this long standing rule.

On the Senate floor, McConnell called the Democratic strategy "a new low," saying there was no principled reason to oppose a judge as well qualified and widely respected as Gorsuch.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-gorsuch-idUSKBN1750CM

Was there a principled reason to deny Merrick Garland the decency of the most basic consideration?  Wasn't Garland a "well qualified and widely respected [judge]"?   Hadn't Garland received wide bipartisan support when first appointed to the Federal Bench?  President Obama noted:

"To suggest that someone as qualified and respected as Merrick Garland doesn’t even deserve a hearing, let alone an up-or-down vote, to join an institution as important as our Supreme Court, when two-thirds of Americans believe otherwise—that would be unprecedented."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland_Supreme_Court_nomination

Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans have the ability to remove the filibuster rule with the so called "nuclear option".  Being the curious guy that I am, I needed to know exactly how this procedure works.  I found the following Wiki entry:

The nuclear or constitutional option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the U.S. Senate to override a rule or precedent by a simple majority of 51 votes, instead of by a supermajority of 60 votes. The option is invoked by the presiding officer of the United States Senate ruling that the validity of a Senate rule or precedent is a constitutional question. The issue is immediately put to the full Senate, which decides by majority vote. The procedure thus allows the Senate to decide any issue by majority vote, regardless of existing procedural rules, such as current Senate rules specifying that ending a filibuster requires the consent of 60 senators (out of 100)

If the ruling is challenged, a majority would be required to overturn it. If the ruling is upheld, it becomes a precedent. This would end what had effectively become a 60-vote requirement for confirmation of an executive or judicial nominee, or the passage of legislation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option

A little confusing, but the gist, as far as I can tell, is that a simple majority can declare that the filibuster procedure will no longer be a procedural rule.  This will be a precedent, going forward.

Mitch McConnell plans to be pragmatic.  I believe that pragmatism has its place along with the long view into the future.  In my opinion, McConnell is not taking the long view.  He's an old guy and will not be around the Senate much longer.  The Republicans will not maintain the majority in the Senate.  I believe their majority will dissolve in 2018.  What then?  What happens when his party wants to use a filibuster regarding a Supreme Court nomination?

I have already called Senator Schumer's office.  I spoke with a person in his office and expressed my support for a filibuster and asked that Schumer counsel his counterpart to truly think about the far reaching consequences of the precedent he will set.  I tried to call McConnell, but as has been the case except for once, no one answers his phone and he does not give an option to leave a message either.

I encourage you, the reader to support Senator Schumer and your Senator with a phone call.  Neil Gorsuch may be a fine human being, but his views are too far to the right.  Our country needs a jurist on the Supreme Court whose views and mindset are more towards the center.  I have found that extreme views, extremism, is dangerous whether left or right, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish, whether black or white.  It will certainly be a better choice for our country to go back to the 'drawing board' and choose a Supreme Court nominee that is acceptable to more than a party line vote.

I also encourage you to try to speak with McConnell's office.  Here are some phone numbers and a link to a site to find your Senator's contact information.

Charles Schumer - (202)224-6542

Mitch McConnell - (202)224-2541

https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/