NY Times columnist Paul Krugman today put this Tom Toles cartoon to words. We can free a paralyzed government.
What we find is that the filibuster – which is the cause of holding America in its barbaric state of inaction – IS NOT part of the constitution. That our super majority governing should and can be easily flushed down the toilet.
The filibuster was used by Southern Conservatives in the 1960s to try and stop change and progress concerning integration, to hold on to the apartheid system in the South. During those years it was used 8% of the time.
With the hated Clinton’s holding the White House in the 1990’s it was used to stop change and progress 27% of the time.
Since Congress was taken by Democrats in 2006 it was used 70% of the time.
Now with the hated Obama in the White House it is rising even further.
Do you see a pattern there? The WHO of it? Conservatives and Republicans.
The civilized world is mostly organized by parliamentary systems that move policy back and forth in real time – sure their are ups and downs and some wasted effort, but in the end it always moves forward. Progress. Our constitutional system was meant to inhibit change to some degree, but our various forms of requiring super majority to accomplish anything at all, it has been taken far beyond our founding father’s intent.
It could be argued that when Republicans get in power super majority may look good! But you know, Republican ideas most always prove to be so horribly wrong they are later voted away.
This is of course the central dichotomy of Left and Right, doing versus not doing. Well unless it concerns homos anyway… Damn homos who… Hmmm… Damn homos and their… Hmmm… Damn homos that… Hmmm… DAMN HOMOS!