Last week the Democrats in the U.S. Senate reached their breaking point. They decided something must be done to stop the GOP obstruction of the president's nominees for judicial and executive positions, so they invoked the so-called "nuclear option". While that nickname implies this is some terrible and earth-shattering move, all it really does is allow a filibuster of those nominees to be ended with only 51 votes (so the Senate can give those nominees an up or down vote, as intended by the Constitution).Of course the Republicans are howling and whining as though the world is coming to an end. They will no longer be able to block these presidential nominees just because they don't like the president. To defeat a nominee, they will now have to come up with a valid reason why the person is not qualified for the position he/she has been nominated to fill.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) has sent a message to her supporters defending the new Senate rule. Here is what she has to say:
Last Thursday was a historic day in the Senate.
Not because we reached yet another historic low in our dysfunction and inability to get anything done. But because we drew a line in the sand and said enough is enough. The Democrats voted to change the Senate's filibuster rules to make sure that the Senate can function and complete its constitutionally required duty to advise on – and consent to – Presidential nominations. Tens of thousands of people in our online community signed our petition to give the DC Circuit Court of Appeals nominees an up-or-down vote. By speaking out and helping us spotlight this problem, we helped make change possible. And I also want to give a big thanks to two senators: Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tom Udall of New Mexico. They've been the ones leading the fight for filibuster reform from the very beginning, and they made this big victory possible. I know some people are concerned about what filibuster reform means if Democrats lose control of the White House or the Senate. I'm concerned too. But I believe that the result of yesterday's vote will be a government and a democracy that functions better for all of us – no matter who is President. Our courts and government agencies simply can't stop working just because we don't like the political party in charge. It may be ok with the Anarchy Gang in the House if the government doesn't work, but it's not ok with me. Government matters, and we need it fully staffed. Last year, Republicans tried to win the Presidency. They lost by 5 million votes. We have a Democratic President who, under the US Constitution, is responsible for nominating people to head executive agencies and to fill judicial vacancies. Under the Constitution, the Senate is responsible for voting on those nominations. What the Republicans cannot do – what they have no right to do – is to systematically prevent the President's nominees from ever seeing up-or-down votes in an attempt to run out the clock until 2016, or 2020, or 2024, or whenever they think they can win the Presidency and the Senate again.
Last week's filibuster reform vote was an important turning point for the United States Senate. But in order to keep making progress on the nominees and issues we care about, it's more important than ever that we keep control of the Senate in 2014.
We elect leaders and expect them to be able to run our government. Today, we're better able to do our jobs – and get back to work to level the playing field for working families.
