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What is chalkblocking, you ask? Well, Rachel Maddow on Friday called for ideas for new terminology to replace the stiflingly boring “filibuster”. She has billed it as an effort to reinvigorate the somnambulant national conversation over the Senate’s inability to pass legislation: February 13th, 2010 | Tags: chalkblock, chalkblockers, filibuster, Lieberman, McConnell, Rachel Maddow, Senate, Snow, supermajority | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment  That hat doesn't make you look like an idiot. It just accentuates it. Brings out the stupid in your eyes. Joe Lieberman has announced that, while he will vote for the Senate’s health reform bill to be brought up for debate, he will not vote in favor of cloture to end debate and bring the bill to a vote. As always happens with Mr. Lieberman, I am surprised but I shouldn’t be. To Mr. Lieberman I say: Go with God. Please. Now. I dare you. Joe Lieberman is about to enter the pantheon of ‘firsts’: First senator to break with his caucus and vote against cloture to end a filibuster. Arlin Specter has been a Democrat for a little more than six months (this time around) and he wasn’t even on anyone’s list of possible challenges. No, that decision requires a certain kind of tone-deafness and egotism that few, even in the esteemed halls of the United States Senate, could ever hope to achieve. Especially when the issue in question is the very health and quality of life of your own constituents. Connecticut may be ranked sixth in the nation in health care quality, (as of 2007) but 64% of those Connecticut voters polled are in favor of a public option, so Lieberman’s opposition to his own caucus is not based on the wishes of his constituents. Is he considering the interests of his constituents? He certainly claims to be (according to Politico):
An open letter to the President of the United States Mr. President: You are being advised badly. There is no longer any getting around that. The evidence for this is legion, but the most glaring one today is your speech on health care, to be given before a joint session of Congress. From [...] Nine months ago, the political world in the U.S. was in an uproar. Illinois’ former governor, Rod Blagojevich, having been caught by the FBI on wiretaps attempting to sell Barack Obama’s newly-vacant Senate seat, decided to go ahead and use his appointment power, flying in the face of the United States Senate, Illinois’ political leadership and virtually every non-follicle-centric media outlet (Yeah, I’m looking at you, Geraldo) to give former Illinois Comptroller Roland Burris a seat in the United States Senate. The country was outraged. Markos Moulitsas, of TheHill.com, wrote:
 The fate of the GOP now rests securely in President Obama's hands. With Al Franken finally being certified as the winner in Minnesota’s 2008 senatorial race, we have suddenly arrived at the first test of my theory concerning Nate Silver’s Republican Death Spiral. Franken’s arrival gives the Democrats a 60-seat majority in the Senate. No one should get terribly excited about this, both for the reasons outlined in virtually every major news outlet as well as the fact that 60 shouldn’t be the big number we make it. Virtually all of Obama’s agenda now depends on how well he can hold together his party’s much-expanded coalition. A Tipping PointIn my initial post on this topic, one of the major determinants was how quickly internal bickering began to actually cause a rift in the Democratic Party. With steady, competent leadership, the Democrats may hold their coalition together long enough for the Republicans to bleed out. However, if the bickering becomes damaging very quickly, and voters believe the party to be ineffectual, those who recently left the Republican Party may run back. If the Democratic coalition holds out longer, the Republicans may have hemorrhaged too many voters to recover. If, for instance, the Libertarian Party manages to gain parity with their Republican cousins, then that party, and not the GOP could be the beneficiary of a Democratic split. Continue reading… |
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