Send a message to Senators
(This petition will be delivered
to Senators Cantwell and Murray for sharing with
their Senate colleagues)
We the undersigned support maintaining the
filibuster and oppose the "nuclear option."
From:
First name: Last name:
Email:
Phone:
Address:
City: ,
Zip:
Add me to KC Dems e-mail list
Your personal message:
|
Senator Frist is plotting to dismantle one of the
last checks and balances in our federal system – the
filibuster –to force far-right Supreme Court
nominees on the American people.
What is a filibuster?
A filibuster is when at least 41 senators
strongly oppose a bill or nominee, they can vote to
continue debate and block a final vote on the issue.
A final vote can only be taken if and when the
majority wins 60 senators' votes. In the context of
a Supreme Court battle, the filibuster means that 60
Senate votes may be needed to confirm out of the
mainstream judicial nominees rather than a simple
majority of 51. During President Bush’s first term,
senators used the filibuster carefully and
selectively. The Senate confirmed more than 200 of
President Bush’s judicial nominees to lifetime
appointments, and used the filibuster to block only
10 of his most controversial nominees.
What is the nuclear option?
The "nuclear option" would violate Senate rules
and require only 50 senators plus the Vice
President's tie-breaker. Proponents of the “nuclear
option” to break Senate rules and eliminate the
filibuster on judicial nominations continue to
repeat the false argument that the Constitution
requires an up-or-down vote in the full Senate on
every judicial nomination.
Why should we keep the filibuster?
Historically, senators have retained the
filibuster rules because they recognize the dangers
of one party control and the importance of
protecting the rights of the minority. The outgoing
Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen.
Orrin Hatch, has himself explained that the
filibuster is "one of the few tools that the
minority has to protect itself and those the
minority represents." Some fear that this nuclear
option would create an atmosphere in the Senate
where all bipartisan cooperation would vanish and
the Senate's legislative business could grind to a
halt.
|