I Am Going To Hold My Filibuster Breath Until I Get My Way

Try to guess which members of the political class made the following quotes:

1. "There was a consensus decision on behalf of the leadership, unfortunately, of the Democratic Party in the last Congress to systematically filibuster some of the best {judicial} nominees ever submitted to the Senate." Source: www.mediamattersacton.org
2. "The Republican Party cannot acquiesce to philosophy that says Democratic Presidents can get their judges confirmed with 50 votes." Source: The Week magazine, February 26, 2010
3. "I have never seen the Constitution stood on its head as they've done. This is the first time every single solitary decision has required 60 Senators." Source: The Week magazine, February 26, 2010
4. "At its core, the filibuster is not about stopping a bill, its about compromise and moderation." Source: The Week Magazine, February 26, 2010

Give up? The first two, conflicting quotes were from the same person, Alabama Senator Sessions who on the one hand resented the filibuster process when the Republicans controlled the Senate (first quote above) and then loved the filibuster process when the Democrats controlled the Senate (second quote above). Not to be outdone, Vice President Biden did the same flip flop. In the third quote above he hated the filibuster process earlier in 2009 when the Democrats controlled the Senate but thought it was a good idea a few years ago (fourth quote) when the Republicans controlled the Senate.

Maybe why this is why nothing ever gets done in Washington, values and positions change depending on which way the political winds are blowing. And maybe this is why America is so fed up with its politicians. All they worry about is how they can make the best of a situation, regardless if they have to compromise their values and previous positions, and not worry about what is best for the country. You cannot think a filibuster is bad for judicial nominees in 2005 and but a good thing in 2010 when the only thing that has changed is who controls the senate as Sessions did. You cannot think that filibusters damage the Constitution when you are in power but it was a good way to get moderation and compromise a few years ago as Biden states.

How stupid do they think we are, we can all see hypocrisy when it is right in front of us, along with the fact that this hypocrisy has gotten the country in the deep rut and divisions we face today. They are no better than a four year hold child that promises to hold his breath until he gets what he wants, even if it upsets everyone else in the room. And four year olds do not make good leaders.

And it is not just me who feels this way. Consider some of the quotes from the March 1, 2010 issue of Business Week which contained an interview of retiring Indiana Senator Evan Bayh:

• "The level of polarization and gridlock right now is much higher than I have ever seen it before."
• "That kind of culture makes it much harder to sit down and forge consensus when you know the folks on the other side of the aisle are trying to get you."
• "And if all things political are constantly at the forefront of your mind, ...it just makes consensus more difficult to achieve."

To the Senator's credit, he at least recognized the insanity that is our political situation. It appears to me that the majority of the sitting politicians such as Biden and Sessions are caught up in Big Brother speak, where "War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength" to which we can now add "Filibustering is good or bad depending on who is in the majority." Pathetic.

Several steps from "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" would address this type of behavior in Washington where values change depending on whether that change is advantageous at the moment:

• Step 39 - Establish term limits for politicians. Many experts, along with retiring Senator Bayh, have observed that once elected to office, the first and most overriding concern of every politician is to get re-elected. Thus, no politician wants to look weak and compromising, even if that is in the best interests of the country, in order to maximize their chance for re-election. By eliminating the option of re-election, maybe politicians would focus on what is best for the country and not what is best for their next term in office.
• Step 14 - stop reconfiguring Congressional districts to almost guarantee re-election of incumbents. One theory that explains the non-compromising nature of Congress is that the political class has constructed convoluted Congressional districts that focus polar opinions into each district. Those that want to get elected in those polarized districts have to look strong and uncompromising relative to these extreme viewpoints, leaving little room for compromise towards the center of an issue.
• Step 38 - require all political members in office to sign off on a shared values statement each year, one that requires each signer to adhere to the suggested principals of integrity, honest, commitment, teamwork, and trust and possibly a few other noble traits. Maybe if they put their name to a set of values they would actually live up to these values rather than the hypocrisies we have today.

Prior to implementing these three steps, there is something we can all do in November. Namely, we need to vote out these hypocrites that have not gotten anything done to the benefit of the country for the past forty years and replace them with new people with new ideas and no baggage from the past so that we do not have to live through the lies like those laid out in the four quotes above.


Visit our website at www.loathemygovernment.com to order an autographed copy of the book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government -Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom and Destroying The American Political Class" and to sign up for the cause. The book is also available online at Amazon and Barnes And Noble.