Stop just showing up and do your job.
Make the Republicans stand and filibuster.
There's really no other way to say it. Reid and Senate Democrats are getting beat at every turn. They're calling Republicans "obstructionist," but there's also another sad reality in this. Democrats are allowing it to happen. Chris Bowers wrote a tremendously useful post that lays it out. Campaign for America's Future did a report called "Filibustered," outlining how the Republicans are doing their jobs, while Reid and Senate Democrats stand feckless in the Senate well.
There's a reason Congress approval ratings have plummeted. You know Speaker Pelosi got the message. She got an Iraq withdrawal bill passed. What has Senator Reid and the Democratic Senate caucus done? Let the Republicans get away with making them look like they're doing nothing.
I reached the tipping point on this poor excuse for leadership from Harry Reid last week. Senate Democrats being beaten on a bill to actually make troop deployments sane was it for me. Webb's amendment missed by just a few votes, getting 56. Are we going to take charge and lead or what? And I don't want to hear anyone say that Reid doesn't have the votes. This was an amendment to help our troops and end the continual redeployments without rest and recuperation. Do not tell me Reid couldn't have put pressure on Republicans to pass this bill or make them stand up and show what liars Republicans are when they talk about "supporting the troops."
It's way past time to put the pressure on Senate Democrats to convince them that if Republicans want to stand in our way they're going to have to go on record, via camera on C-SPAN, as well as cable tv, not to mention their favorite whine box wingnut radio, and stand and filibuster.
The Young Turks did an interview with Kent Conrad that says it all.
Cenk: Exactly, that's a perfect situation. We're actually going to make you physically filibuster it. Go ahead and give speeches for 24 hours a day. We're removing the rule that out of politeness and courtesy that we don't make you do that anymore. We're going to have you go and read the phone book, and tell us how much you're against stem cells or the minimum wage, or for rest for the troops.
Senator Kent Conrad: Yeah, I think there's a growing consensus that we ought to do that ... I think that we could do a better job making our points, and one part of that is to let the American people see just how obstructionist this Republican minority is being. The leader has had to file cloture now over 40 times already this year. And cloture, as you know, is a special procedure to stop debate, to stop filibusters, in order to reach conclusion on legislation. I had a Republican colleague tell me it is the Republican strategy to try to prevent any accomplishment of the Democratic Congress. That is set in their caucus openly and directly that they don't intend to allow Democrats to have any legislative successes, and they intend to do it by repeated filibuster.
Senate Democrats seem to have a spine problem right now. They won't stiffen it and actually make the Republicans stand and filibuster legislation that the American people support. Ian and Christy over at FDL have also posted on this as well.
Senator Harry Reid needs to hear from you today: in DC, 202-224-3542; in Nevada 702-388-5020.
Also Campaign for America's Future has a petition you can sign and send the message to Reid. Now let's get busy. Enough is enough.
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