home

The Mechanics of the Senate Compromise

By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Thu May 19, 2005 at 09:10:21 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

The Washington Post has a good explanation of the mechanics of the nuclear option compromise being engineered by 12 Senators who are hoping to thwart both Sen. Frist and Sen. Reid. I'm wondering why we should give all the power to these 12?

Behind closed doors, they have carved up the future of a number of Bush's judicial nominees, deciding among themselves who should be confirmed and who should not. The two sides have traded pieces of paper and argued over words and phrases. They have consulted the Constitution itself and yesterday even asked for a dictionary as the hair-splitting over language continued.

Simple arithmetic gives the group potentially great power. If six Republicans and six Democrats reach agreement and stick to it, they can shut down any filibuster lodged by Democrats against a judicial nominee and block any effort by Frist to change the rules. They also can determine the fate of the nominees already on the Senate docket and can provide the balance of power in any fights over Supreme Court vacancies.

Why are these 12 going to be the arbiters of the judicial nominees? It seems like the exercise of power in this country continually gets whittled down to fewer and fewer people, all of whom have special interests. It seems very undemocratic. In fact, it seems like an an oligarchy.

Oligarchy means the rule of the few, and those few are generally the people who are richer and more powerful than the others, what you might call the aristocrats or the nobles.

Usually the way it works is that there is a group of people who are in charge, somehow....Then this group of people meets every so often - every week or every month - to decide important questions, and to appoint somebody to deal with things.

....A society may become an oligarchy by default as an outgrowth of the shifting alliances of warring tribal chieftans,

Here's Webster's definition of Democracy:

1: "a government by the people; esp : rule of the majority -
2: a government in which the supreme power is held by the people."

With Frist, we risk becoming a theocracy. With the compromise senators, an oligarchy. I'll take Reid - he's our last hope at maintaining our democracy.

< New Report: Detainees Describe Religous Degradation | Documents Describe Deaths of Two Afghans >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • The Mechanics of the Senate Compromise | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: The Mechanics of the Senate Compromise (none / 0) (#1)
    by The Heretik on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:14 PM EST
    Speaking of oligarchies, what about those few select lawmakers who resolve differences between House and Senate versions of bills?

    Re: The Mechanics of the Senate Compromise (none / 0) (#2)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:14 PM EST
    "Why are these 12 going to be the arbiters of the judicial nominees?"
    You could apply the same argument to the 44 senators who have been sustaining the filibuster, couldn't you? Like it or not, this is the path we're on. These 12 can gain the power to decide the outcome. If a smaller group out of the 12 decide to band together to support--or derail--the process, then they'll become the arbiters.

    Re: The Mechanics of the Senate Compromise (none / 0) (#3)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:14 PM EST
    Its been order by the real power inside the system of total evil, is bin laden right? by the way oilgarchy only means old man, or the heard of, but to me it means evil rich pigs running this nation state into the third world...i say ^$#$%, can't say more or i would be stop and shot by the local police drug dealers. the republicans and democrats are one and the same, all picked by the system and not by you.

    Re: The Mechanics of the Senate Compromise (none / 0) (#4)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:14 PM EST
    The same reason 700 geriatrics in Florida got to pick the president (at least in theory, anyway.) Because our government is kinda... stupid.

    The Mechanics of the Senate Compromise | 4 comments (4 topical)