But eight years ago, in April 2005, President Obama warned against doing exactly what he supports now. Heres some of what he said then: The American people sent us here to be their voice, then-Senator Obama said in a floor speech. They understand that those voices can at times become loud and argumentative, but they also hope that we can disagree without being disagreeable... What they dont expect is for one party, be it Republican or Democrat, to change the rules in the middle of the game so that they can make all the decisions while the other party is told to sit down and keep quiet. The American people want less partisanship in this town, but everyone in this chamber knows that if the majority chooses to end the filibuster, if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate, then the fighting and the bitterness and the gridlock will only get worse. Now I understand that Republicans are getting a lot of pressure to do this from factions outside the chamber. But we need to rise above the ends-justifies-the-means mentality, because were here to answer to the people, all of the people, not just the ones that are wearing our particular party label... If the right of free and open debate is taken away from the minority party and the millions of Americans who ask us to be their voice, I fear that the already partisan atmosphere will be poisoned to the point where no one will be able to agree on anything. That doesnt serve anyones best interests and it certainly isnt what the patriots who founded this democracy had in mind... - See more at: cnsnews/news/article/melanie-hunter/obama-defends-senates-nuclear-option-now-not-2005#sthash.S6KJbF73.dpuf
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 21:10:48 +0000
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