2010

Durbin on the Filibuster

It’s time to end the filibuster

8,191

Signatures

The American people are sick of process blocking progress. They’re fed up with an
arbitrary tradition that allows a minority of Senators to prevent popular, much-
needed legislation from even coming to a vote.

Frankly, so am I.

Please sign this petition to my colleagues in the Senate, supporting the Harkin-Shaheen proposal or other similar proposals to eliminate the crippling 60-vote requirement to overcome a filibuster.

Thank you,

Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator

Full Petition Text:

Dear United States Senators,

I urge you to support the Harkin-Shaheen proposal or similar proposals to eliminate the crippling 60-vote cloture requirement. These challenging times call for more progress, not more process. And that means we need to revisit the filibuster, which has allowed a minority in Congress to prevent popular, much-needed legislation from even coming to a vote.

The Harkin-Shaheen proposal would continue to provide ample time for all Senators to voice their concerns about legislation and seek changes. But it would allow for a gradual reduction of the necessary vote threshold needed to conclude debate so that a minority of Senators cannot impede progress indefinitely.

When our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and drafted the initial rules of the Senate, they never intended requiring a supermajority to pass any and all legislation. They just wanted to be sure that Senators took time to carefully debate and consider bills before taking votes.

That’s why I urge you to support the Harkin-Shaheen proposal, or similar filibuster reform proposals.

Signed by:
[Your name]

This is unlikely to happen, but slowly building a movement to get rid of it benefits everyone. The problem with the filibuster is that while it was only used sparingly up until the 1990s, it has become a standard practice to block all bills with which you disagree. Previously, the filibuster was used on things like Civil Rights and other hot button issues, but if you recall Clinton’s Stimulus plan in 1993, it passed with 50 votes and Al Gore–it wasn’t filibustered. While there was Republican opposition, it simply wasn’t one of those bills that was such a change that people would use the filibuster. In contrast, we now hav an extension of unemployment benefits and COBRA that is being filibustered. It’s simply time for it to go. That does mean when Republicans are in power, Democrats won’t be able to easily stop legislation, but that’s the point–elections have consequences.

One final note, anyone who conflates the Nuclear option to essentially carve out an exception to the filibuster for appointments as the Republicans proposed in 2005/6 with reconciliation is too stupid to be speaking publicly. Seriously, the Republicans used reconciliation to attempt to open up ANWR at the time as well as several other issues. It’s a standard practice and is a legitimate tool.

Durbin A Highlight of the Health Care Summitt

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6-048VWDvE[/youtube]



Excellent.

 

While I’m pretty sure I know where his heart is, Durbin could use some positive pressure to support the public option in reconciliation.

 

PCCC shows the Illinois numbers:

QUESTION: What would make you more likely to vote for Democrats in the 2010 elections: If they pass health care reform that includes a public health insurance option but gets zero Republican votes OR if they pass health care reform without a public option but with some Republican votes?
OPTION GOP VOTES NOT SURE
ALL 61% 30% 9%
MEN 57% 33% 10%
WOMEN 65% 27% 8%
DEMOCRATS 88% 5% 7%
REPUBLICANS 13% 74% 13%
INDEPENDENTS 68% 25% 7%


If Durbin signed on to the Bennett letter, it would be huge.  Ask him (nicely btw) to do so

Also, Quigley hasn’t signed the letter yet and he is probably the best target for Illinois Congressional Democrats who haven’t signed.

Davis, Schakowsky, Jackson, Hare, and Gutierrez have signed on.

Daily Kos Illinois Poll Quinn & Giannoulias Up

Research 2000

 

QUESTION: If the election for U.S. Senate were held today, would you vote for Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat, or Mark Kirk, the Republican?


ALEXI GIANNOULIAS MARK KIRK OTHER UNDECIDED
ALL 43 36 2 19

 

 

QUESTION: If the election for Governor were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Pat Quinn, the Democrat, and Bill Brady, the Republican?

OTHER PAT QUINN BILL BRADY UNDECIDED
ALL 1 47 32 20

 

 

QUESTION: If the election for Governor were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Pat Quinn, the Democrat, and Kirk Dillard, the Republican?

OTHER PAT QUINN KIRK DILLARD UNDECIDED
ALL 1 46 35 18

Crazy Squared

This is the standard of discourse in one of our major national papers:

 

I have no idea whether Ahmadinejad merely acts crazy or is crazy. I do know, though, that Iran seems intent on getting nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. I also know that nothing the United States and its allies have done has dissuaded Ahmadinejad (or the mullahs or the Revolutionary Guard Corps) from his goal. It may be time for Barack Obama, ever the soul of moderation, to borrow a tactic from Richard Nixon and fight crazy with crazy. The way things are going, it would be crazy not to.

 

But the best part of this ending is this part of the column above it:

 

Nixon had a term for his own sort of craziness: “I call it the Madman Theory, Bob,” he said to his aide H.R. “Bob” Haldeman during the 1968 presidential campaign. Nixon was talking about how he would deal with the Vietnam War. “I want the North Vietnamese to believe I’ve reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We’ll just slip the word to them that, ‘For God’s sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about communism. We can’t restrain him when he’s angry — and he has his hand on the nuclear button.’ ” The strategy, while cunning, didn’t work on the North Vietnamese. Maybe they were crazier than Nixon.

 

 

So, it didn’t work for Nixon, but it’s a great plan that we can only conclude from past results will leave Jerusalem under a mushroom cloud in about 7 years.  I love it when a plan comes together…

Orly Tai’n’tz Appeals to the United Nations

Seriously, Sasha Baron Cohen Character and Drag Queen Orly Tai’n’tz appeals to the UN:

 

I try not to write about every development in the career of Orly Taitz, but I have to make an exception for her appeal to the United Nations for “urgent action under the mandate for human rights defenders.” Her attorney, Jonathan Levy, writes that Taitz is under “increasing legal attack in the United States from groups and individuals opposed to her legal actions challenging the Constitutional qualifications of Barrack Hussein Obama to hold the office of President of the United States.”

The irony of Taitz appealing to the hated organ of world government for this really goes without saying.

 

 

She’s claiming a suspected assassination attempt.  Cue the Clinton death list…

Kind of Underwhelmed by the Madigoons

I’m having a hard time getting upset largely because I’d lose a lot of friends if I did.

But more to the point, I don’t really find it objectionable that staff to the General Assembly does campaign work when they aren’t working their state jobs. Frankly, as much as I respect Patrick Collins, he’s wrong–there isn’t a more efficient way to do the job because largely they are jobs that are policy or casework oriented–and that work is cyclical and opposite of campaign work. Work in the General Assembly isn’t non-partisan and staff should reflect the general views of those in power.

Politics isn’t inherently dirty. That’s the real problem with Collins message in the article and the assumption of the Fox piece. We may forget that in Illinois, but politics is how we peacefully determine policy. We allow politics in the hiring of General Assembly staff and in the hiring of specific positions in the Executive so the Executive officers can influence policy. That is why we have elections is to determine what kind of policy will be carried out.

If some of them are ghost payrollers or something, by all means expose that. For the most part the Madigan people are working as researchers, doing casework, or otherwise providing support for the Legislative Branch. I don’t understand what the taxpayers lose if they go off the state payroll during slow times.

There are several alternatives such as a non-partisan research staff. That’s a horrible idea for many reasons, but most of all, elections matter. We could hire temporary staff as well, but then you lose continuity when you are in session and frankly we could fill those positions the same way.

Death of Irony

Number 1,305,003


The Trib decries the Greek economy:

Greece has paid generously for services and public sector wages with borrowed money, and it is about to reach the point where it can’t pay that debt. Sound familiar?

 

Yes, sounds like the Tribune Company.  How’s Sam Zell doing?  Has anyone on the editorial board noticed the outright hypocrisy of the Tribune decrying the fiscal practices of others?  Or does the editorial board think they are isolated enough from those decisions?

Of course, the Trib then goes on to bash those people who work for the State of Illinois despite the State having a relatively low public payroll.  Fortunately for them, the State of Illinois cannot default on its debt like the Tribune Company did.

All of this would be moot if the Trib Editorial Board didn’t roll out the usual banality of running government more like a business at every opporutnity.  The problem with the State of Illinois is it is run exactly like the Tribune Company with too much focus on cutting jobs that are necessary for quality services in favor of making high debt payments so the leaders can avoid making decisions that will hurt them personally. Instead, the product suffers.

Then Change the Law

Dan Rutherford (who I generally understand is  a decent guy and  a good State Senator) takes on exactly the wrong issue with the Treasurer’s office:

 

In the two years since the office switched from legal ads in newspapers to direct letters to those believed to own unclaimed assets in state hands, 4,741 Illinoisans got more than $5.5 million back, he said. A partnership could do even better, Mr. Giannoulias wrote.

But Mr. Rutherford isn’t exactly comfortable with allowing someone else to affix his signature to letters to residents of his district.

In a Jan. 28 note back to the treasurer, he wrote that no letter at all is needed, since those involved may already have received some notice. Instead, Mr. Rutherford said, he’s had great success using e-mail and his Web site, and in contacting the family and friends of those who may have moved away.

“While a taxpayer-funded direct-mail piece may be better exposure for the local legislator and the state treasurer, I suggest it is not the best use of taxpayer dollars,” Mr. Rutherford snipped.

 

I talked with the Treasurer’s office a bit today to get some background on this because I remembered an off the record conversation I had with Alexi about 1 1/2 years ago.  The conversation as a whole was off the record, but I think I can give away this.  Alexi was covering some of the issues he’s dealt with and a few reforms he instituted most of which I found interesting.  He then went on to unclaimed property.  I’m generally one who enjoys talking about the minutia of government and I love a good simple trick to save money.  He completely lost me on this though.  My eyes glazed over and my mind wandered.  He kept going which is pretty unusual for a politician.  Usually they move on quickly when they see someone’s mind wandered.  He didn’t appear to notice. I was only saved by a phone call he got.  It’s important to note, I’ve actually given local electeds lectures on technology management at their professional conferences.

The funny thing about Alexi–he’s a complete good government geek and can bore the hell out of you with policy. And that’s really hard to do with me.  So when I saw the story today, I figured I should probably make a point about it.

So if you read through the law, it makes pretty clear the Treasurer has to do one of two things with unclaimed property:  post a public notice in a newspaper or contact a person directly by letter.  So Rutherford argues that mail is a waste of money and instead the newspaper notices are the best way to do it.  I can sort of see how one might think that off hand, but if you are running for the office you are criticizing you ought to know before spouting off on it.

So according to the Treasurer’s office, it costs on average about $3.25 a name for the twice a year publication in all counties. Usually this is how it has been done because if something is unclaimed for 5 years, the person isn’t likely to live at the last address.  Fair enough.

Additionally, as a legislative courtesy, a list was provided to General Assembly members of the property unclaimed in their district and the Members were encouraged to reach out to those they might know.

When Alexi got to office, his office decided to try something new and teamed up with direct mail companies to find updated addresses for the people with unclaimed property.  The Treasurer’s Office then sent them a letter with a claim form attached satisfying the notification requirement.   If the Treasurer’s Office can verify receipt, the Office doesn’t have to include the name in the newspaper announcements.  The letters costs about $.70, thus saving nearly $2.55 per name.  Now some, still cannot be verified as received and in that case there is a more costs in those cases, but overall there is still a significant savings of about $25,000 so far and the process has only been in place about 2 years (when I talked to Alexi about it, it was just underway).  That isn’t going to fix the state budget deficit, but it’s good use of the taxpayer’s dollar.

So the letter Rutherford is complaining about is one that is mandated by law and he was provided an opportunity as a courtesy to be included on the mailing.  One can be cynical about these things, but the reality is that if a more local General Assembly Member is on the letter, it probably gets slightly more notice than a typical form letter so I think that makes sense.

Rutherford blasts this effort:


In a Jan. 28 note back to the treasurer, he wrote that no letter at all is needed, since those involved may already have received some notice. Instead, Mr. Rutherford said, he’s had great success using e-mail and his Web site, and in contacting the family and friends of those who may have moved away.

“While a taxpayer-funded direct-mail piece may be better exposure for the local legislator and the state treasurer, I suggest it is not the best use of taxpayer dollars,” Mr. Rutherford snipped.

His web site and e-mail are certainly additional ways he may want to provide constituents information, but it doesn’t satisfy the law and you aren’t going to have e-mail for all of your constituents and most aren’t going to check out your web site. Both are good practice and something I’d expect out of Rutherford who is known for pretty good constituent service, but neither satisfy the law nor should they.

So far we know that Rutherford has blasted a cost savings program, doesn’t seem to understand the legal requirement, and he’s running for the office. Certainly no where near the comedy we are going to get out of Bill Brady, but not what I expect out of Rutherford.

To make matters worse for Rutherford, the program is more effective. The claim rate for the old system where legislators were given lists was around 1 percent.  Of those sent direct mail–only people who the office thinks they can reach–there is about a 40 percent claim rate and over the last two years nearly $5.8 million has been returned to 5,000 people.  In contrast, legislators who previously contacted people off the lists had about $6.7 million returned to around 6,500 people over 10 years.  In the third year of this program, the claim rate will most likely surpass the 10 year total for the old method.

That’s good government. It doesn’t change the world by any means, but it does treat taxpayers money and property with the respect it deserves.

Yet Rutherford blasted the effort and essentially complained about a courtesy from the Treasurer’s Office. This isn’t a promising kick-off to the general election. It’s the kind of silliness that makes our national politics so dysfunctional.

Was It Over When the Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?–Retracted

Rich points out he was misquoted–so my apologies.

 

 

Brady:


Though just age 27, Mr. Plummer “is ready” to lead the nation’s fifth largest state if need be, Mr. Brady said.

“How old was Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Constitution?” Mr. Brady asked. “Age isn’t the only barometer of qualification.”

In fact, Mr. Jefferson was 33 when the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. The constitution was written more than a decade later.


He did only go to Central Catholic….


Though Greg Hinz needs to point out the bigger issue–Jefferson didn’t write the Constitution–he was Ambassador to France at the time.