Phillip Buster

Phillip Buster is the new poster child for the Republican Party. His sole purpose is to make sure our government cannot function by preventing any legislation from being passed and refusing to let any Obama appointee be confirmed by the Senate. In the nihilistic world of the tea partiers the best government is the one that does nothing, and the Republicans are doing their best to make sure that this government does nothing. The surest way of getting any law or rule repealed is to abuse that rule by overusing it to the extent that it becomes detrimental. The Republicans are now abusing the filibuster to an extent that is detrimental to the good of our country and its vital interests.

There is no such thing as a reasonable give and take or debate at this time. The Republicans have turned politics into a street fight. There is no rule they will not abuse and no lie they will not tell. They are hoping that the voters are stupid enough to blame the Democrats for our dysfunctional government, even though it is the Republicans who are causing it to be dysfunctional. It is time to repeal the filibuster rule and take it out of their hands. Set this up by getting a bill on the floor of the Senate to regulate Wall Street or to stimulate the job market. Do this before the upcoming elections. Let the Republicans filibuster it, and let the Democratic candidates run against the filibuster. When the voters see the Republicans filibustering a popular bill they will understand why the filibuster rule must be changed. They will also be far more inclined to vote for Democrats.

Forget about even trying to compromise with the Republicans. They have become so irresponsibly obstructionist that it is time to govern without them. Once the threat of the filibuster has been removed, pass a single payer public health insurance option! In fact, pass all of the legislation needed. Ram it down their throats. No party in our history has behaved so irresponsibly and survived. Making the Republican Party irrelevant will drive the point home.

There is also a Republican Senator holding up the vote on the confirmation of Obama’s appointees. The reason many cite for this is that that Senator is trying to extort the expansion of a military base in his state. If this is true, the solution is simple. Have the pentagon conduct a study on the feasibility of moving all military basses out of his state. Let the son of bitch know that two can play that game. This is not the way our system is supposed to work, but the Republicans have set the rules. They have turned it into a street fight. The only way to end that fight is to kick them in the crotch until they finally figure out that street fights are painful and counter productive. At that point they might be willing to listen to reason, and conflicting viewpoints might be fairly represented again.