How come when the Rs have majority, they wield power,

[dutch508]

Star Member intrepidity (2,848 posts)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214981038

How come when the Rs have majority, they wield power, and
when they're the minority, they wield the power?

IOW, why didn't the Ds have the power for the past 4 years?

It seems like Mitch is calling the shots no matter what.

Why?

Star Member Thekaspervote (17,054 posts)

1. It may seem that way. Schumer is ML..turtle isn't calling the shots

 

Star Member brush (33,353 posts)

21. The Senate Rules for this session haven't been agreed on yet.

Schumer and McTurtle are negotiating them now. Until that's done republicans will still be committee chairs. It's just a matter of days. McTurtle of course wants to keep the filibuster rule in place but Durbin has said "We're not going to give him that."

That's where the hold up is as McTurtle and the repugs would abuse that and thus continue their obstructionism. Let's see how this is resolved.

 

dansolo (5,290 posts)

41. Keep the filibuster, just make it harder to use

Keep the filibuster, but make it inconvenient to do. That way it will go back to it's original intent, which was to slow down a bill and force additional debate, not kill a bill entirely.

Star Member brush (33,353 posts)

44. We actually need to get rid of the filibuster as it, like the Electoral College...

is a vestige of slavery. It is not in the Constitution and the first chance we can we should ditch it and to hell with the republicans (incidentally, the ditched it for SCOTUS picks). Let's play hard ball as it basically makes the Senate an inoperable body and is not what Madison, Hamilton, and Lincoln wanted.

The Filibuster and the Ghost of Calhoun Logos Journal
logosjournal.com/.../the-filibuster-and-the-ghost-of-calhoun

In truth, the filibuster accords more closely with John C. Calhoun’s theory of concurrent majority. Conceived in large part to protect the interests of slaveholders, his theory was a clear repudiation of constitutional principles, at least as Madison, Hamilton, and Lincoln understood them.

 

Star Member Vinca (45,464 posts)

4. What drives me nuts is the Republican interpretation of "bi-partisanship" as they

get whatever they want and we can pound sand. They're especially annoying with their new deficit meme and their outrage over executive orders.

Star Member StarfishSaver (13,176 posts)

19. What drives me nuts is people who don't know anything about how the Senate works and don't seem to bother trying to learn immediately jump to the conclusion that our Democratic leaders are stupid, weak or cowards whenever they don't understand what they're doing or why they're doing it (because, as I said, they don't know how the process works and don't seem interested in trying to learn).

 

Xipe Totec (42,904 posts)

6. There's a difference between power to construct and power to obstruct.

The objective of Republicans is to sabotage government and claim that government doesn't work.

You don't need a majority for that.

 

Star Member treestar (78,119 posts)

7. They want to have as little government as possible

They don't want things to be passed into law.

We want things to be passed into law.

We need a filibuster proof Senate for that.

They only need a small majority or a Leader like Moscow Mitch who won't even put the bills up for vote.

It's not that our side is spineless, it's that it is inherent in the differences in view between the side.

Star Member Kid Berwyn (4,860 posts)

13. Spot-on observation.

They can ram through any unqualified moronic demented Federalist Society Justice, 60-vote filibuster or not.

They can stop any well-qualified Democratic nominee, 60-vote filibuster or not.

Weird how that works.

 

Coleman (425 posts)

16. In another thread the reason is sort of explained

The Senate is full of archaic rules. Power sharing in one of them. It is a rule, that at the beginning of each congress both parties decide how to switch the membership of each committee. The rule isn't the majority party automatically gets one or 2 more committee members than the minority party. They have to agree on how to split up the committees. If they don't agree, they follow the previous year's rule. Which happens to be that the chairmanship is held by a Republican.

Current negotiations, Moscow Mitch is holding out for a "no change in filibuster" rule. And of course Democrats want to get rid of the filibuster plus a +2 advantage in case they lose a democrat or 2 during votes. Moscow Mitch wants to keep the filibuster and a +1 for the democrats.

Caliman73 (7,268 posts)

28. McConnell is not calling the shots.

It seems like Republicans wield power because they do not follow the rules, or they bend them to the point of breaking.

Republicans do not subscribe to the idea of governing. Conservatives typically believe that they have a god given right to rule (hold power), so they are not constrained by the "consent of the governed" like Democrats are.

When Republicans are in power, they push their undemocratic agenda. When they are the minority, they obstruct. Either way, they do not believe in government by consent or that the power of government should be used in any way to "disrupt the natural order" which to them means that the wealthy can do whatever they want without restraint.

We are playing two different games here but We (Democrats) cannot play the Republican's game because if we adapt their strategies, then it means throwing democracy and consent of the governed out the window. I do think that we need to cut out the "pleasantries" that are called for, the "decorum" of calling them "My esteemed colleague" and just call them what they are, liars and authoritarians. We need to fight harder and call them out on their BS.

We also do need to invoke the rules in order to stop their obstruction.

 

apnu (8,304 posts)

32. Our system is designed to give power to the minority.

The R's use that to the fullest extent. The D's are too 'nice' to use it to the fullest extent. This kindness built into the Left is something that the Right gleefully exploits. They're pigs.