k wrote:

I seem to recall, back when the Republicans were in control of the Senate, that whenever Senate Democrats would threaten to filibuster any legislation, pundits all over Washington DC would suddenly look very grave and warn that Democrats were going to pay a fearsome political price. "Oh, horrors!", they wailed. "Democrats will be called obstructionists! They will become the Party of No! And since that's a charge that has "resonance", Democrats will undoubtedly pay a price for their obstructionist ways!"

Yet oddly enough, now that Republicans are in office, and using the filibuster with wild abandon, there don't seem to be the same cries of alarm. Instead, the voters wonder what exactly has happened to all those things the Democrats said they would do.

...

The Republicans also blocked the card check bill, money for renewable energy, reform of the Medicare drug bill, a no-confidence vote on Alberto Gonzales, etc., etc., etc. All of these measures got a majority in the Senate; none of them have become law, thanks to Republican filibusters.

And now, for their latest trick, they have decided to filibuster all legislation on Iraq

Elections have consequences!

Decius wrote:

k wrote:

I seem to recall, back when the Republicans were in control of the Senate, that whenever Senate Democrats would threaten to filibuster any legislation, pundits all over Washington DC would suddenly look very grave and warn that Democrats were going to pay a fearsome political price. "Oh, horrors!", they wailed. "Democrats will be called obstructionists! They will become the Party of No! And since that's a charge that has "resonance", Democrats will undoubtedly pay a price for their obstructionist ways!"

Yet oddly enough, now that Republicans are in office, and using the filibuster with wild abandon, there don't seem to be the same cries of alarm. Instead, the voters wonder what exactly has happened to all those things the Democrats said they would do.

...

The Republicans also blocked the card check bill, money for renewable energy, reform of the Medicare drug bill, a no-confidence vote on Alberto Gonzales, etc., etc., etc. All of these measures got a majority in the Senate; none of them have become law, thanks to Republican filibusters.

And now, for their latest trick, they have decided to filibuster all legislation on Iraq

Elections have consequences!

I don't get it, what are you trying to say? That this should have been a predictable response to the R's loss of power?

Perhaps, but I don't know that that's the point. The point is that the media and pundit class are inconsistent in their view of a filibuster. The whole lot of them are getting a pass for actively obstructing the operations of the Congress.

In general, I agree that it's the opposition's party to make the case for that to the public, but the media needs to be, dare I say it, fair and balanced. If it was obstructionist before, then it still is.

Beyond which, it's a dangerous precedent to set. It's another ratcheting up of the sharp division we've seen growing over the past decade. No more room for debate or reasonable disagreement or compromise.

The Dems should be able to handle this, perhaps by making every single bill an Iraq bill, but I'd still like to see it handled fairly in the press.

k wrote:
I don't get it, what are you trying to say? That this should have been a predictable response to the R's loss of power?

Its just something that partisan republicans used to say recently when they controlled congress.... "tough shit, elections have consequences, we get to do whatever we want..." Its entertaining to me to see the shoe so rapidly on the other foot given the divisiveness of their rhetoric...

Decius wrote:

k wrote:
I don't get it, what are you trying to say? That this should have been a predictable response to the R's loss of power?

Its just something that partisan republicans used to say recently when they controlled congress.... "tough shit, elections have consequences, we get to do whatever we want..." Its entertaining to me to see the shoe so rapidly on the other foot given the divisiveness of their rhetoric...

You're not getting it. If the Dems even threaten a filibuster the media casts them as evil horrible obstructionists. The Repukes do it on everything, and the media doesn't blink. Yes, the power is there for a reason, but the way it has been treated in the media is just offensive.

You wouldn't want a baseball umpire as a member of one team or the other, but the media is playing different standards for the two sides.