Faux Filibuster

by digby

Like many others over the past two years, I’ve ranted from time to time that Harry Reid should force the Republicans to do an actual filibuster. But we were wrong. It’s an archaic practice which has been amended in such ways that there is no longer any practical way to make them do it.

And on a similar note, I’ve been meaning to pass this on as well. It would seem that when it comes to any bill that would raise the deficit except the regular budget, which cannot be filibustered, they don’t even need to filibuster (although it amounts to the same thing in practical terms.) I suppose what this means is that even if they abolish the filibuster (something that both parties have threatened to do over the years) they would also have to void these laws which makes it difficult for the government to spend necessary money — political dynamite as long as the Republican propaganda about government spending remains operative. Basically, the conservatives of both the fiscal scold variety and the judicial hysteric variety have made it nearly impossible to do anything they don’t like. It’s kind of like California without the cyborgs.

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