Fix the Senate

Don't kill the filibuster: fix it. Right now a Senator only needs to threaten to filibuster a bill and the Senate will move on to another matter. Right now 41 Senators can vote no to invoke cloture on a bill -- thereby allowing further debate on that bill -- and then NOT debate the bill they just voted to have more debate on. The problem is not the filibuster, the problem is concurrent consideration and debate of multiple bills. That is, the rules the Senate adopted allow the Senate to move on to other business if one or forty-one Senators decide to throw up procedural roadblocks to having a vote on a bill. And they can do so without paying a penalty.

The fix is simple. Get rid of concurrent consideration and debate. Make the Senate consider and debate only ONE bill at a time. If one or forty-one Senators feels so strongly about an issue that they want to talk it death, then make them talk it to death. But let's not anymore allow some overpaid, vote selling hairdo to merely threaten to have a temper tantrum and get away with it. Make the petulant bastards have a temper tantrum live on C-SPAN.

And while we're at it... In early February of 2010, news reports surfaced revealing Senator Dick Shelby (an appropriate given name for the fine Senator. He is a credit to his State) of Alabama placed a hold on consideration of at least 70 nominations President Obama sent to the Senate for confirmation.

Again there's a simple fix. First, reduce the number of concurrent holds a Senator can place on consideration of nominations to one. That's right ONE. You get one hold at a time bitches. And let's do away with anonymous holds. If a Senator feels so strongly that someone is unqualified to hold a position a President has nominated them to, make that Senator do so in the light of day and defend their actions. "Because I'm a mysterious extorting bigot cockroach who can hide behind the light of day using Senate rules" simply doesn't cut it any more.

Finally -- mandatory retirement for all Senators at the age of 65. People who don't use email or the web -- let alone understand either of those things -- ought not to be making decisions or laws about them or any other 'modern' -- dare I say 'newfangled' -- technology. Some of these Senators aren't serving in the Senate any more, they're fossilizing. And their taking the whole goddamned Senate with them. And the country too.