Could someone help me out on the recent vote for funds for the
automakers. I read that the democrats in the senate gave up the
effort because they didn't have the 60 votes necessary to end a filibuster.
But how did this really workI guess my question concerns the
workings of the American political systemwas there an actual vote
where a majority voted for the bill but not 60? Or was there just a
determination by the democrats that there would not be 60 votes for
the bill so there was no vote. Or did the republicans threaten a
filibuster if the democrats tried to move to a vote and the
democrats decide not to call a vote to override it or . . .
Apologies for such simple questionsbut I am confused. According to
the paper "The measure was defeated 52-35 on Thursday night in the
Senate when it fell short of the 60 votes it needed." So, it seems
like the measure passed. Where does the filibuster enter in here,
when would it have happened, and why did the democrats just give up
without a formal test--or was that what the vote was?.
Thanks,
Marty Hart-Landsberg
I posted the following in response to this question when it arose on Marxmail:
Eli wrote:
Harry Reid accepting a "loss" when "only" 51 Senators supported an
agreement, allowing a whopping 35 (!) Republicans to "win" the
debate by pretending, as he has over and over, that the Republicans
were capable of, and would have, filibustered indefinitely and that
therefore without 60 votes "nothing can be done."
I have been too busy with other stuff to analyze this in depth but
there is something very weird about this vote. Here you have Bush and
the Dems supporting aid for the big 3 auto companies, but it does not
pass because why? Because the Republicans would have filibustered? So
the Dems need 60 votes to push through "progressive" legislation? By
this calculation, they can always use the excuse of a Republican
filibuster to "go back to the drawing board" and come up with a
proposal that is acceptable to everyone. A sure-fire formula for
screwing working people, if you ask me.
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