November 21, 2013: The Democrat-majority United States Senate struck down a rule that had been in place for 225 YEARS … because at the moment, it benefits them. Previously, the rule mandated that when the President nominates people to positions requiring Senate approval, those people had to gain a minimum of 60 votes in favor of the nomination before they could take office.
Back in 2005, when Bush and the then-Republican-majority in the Senate tried to can this 60+ rule in favor of a simple 51 vote majority, Democrats (including Barack Obama and Harry Reid) screamed it was the political equivalent of a nuclear assault. But that was then and this is now, so they nuked away and Obama’s appointees will all sail on to their federal judicial benches or presidential cabinet positions.
This video is really worth the time. WATCH Biden, Clinton and Schumer rant about how power-grabby Republicans are and how when they get back into power, they won’t even think about doing anything so heinous is really rich, considering how they JUST DID EXACTLY THAT.
The shoe is on the other foot [4:55]
The Senate has currently 55 Democrat vs. 45 Republican, with a Democrat tie breaker. So yeah … they’ve got the power right now. And they’ve shown how little regard they have for the right-wing voters of this nation. They’ve consistently refused to allow bills the Republican-majority House has passed to come to the Senate floor for a vote. And now they’ve done this.
The problem is that rule changes that benefit one party can easily benefit the other down the road. I remember this happening with Massachusetts where state Democrats changed a rule to get their guy appointed to a vacating seat in Congress, but then later on, the changed rule put a Republican into a vacating seat.
Next November, 35 Senate seats will be on the ballot: 21 are currently held by Democrats; 14 are currently held by Republicans. It looks to me like Democrats have a lot more to lose with this rule change than Republicans do.
Source:
- http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/11/breaking-harry-reid-and-senate-democrats-pass-nuclear-option/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/113th_United_States_Congress
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2014
H/t Pistol Pete