I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Sen. Tom Udall discussed reforming the filibuster today at an event held by the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. Udall was the featured speaker at the event.
Udall introduced his reform idea in January. Udall says that changing the rules now is not possible, but can be done with a majority vote at the beginning of the next Congress, in January of 2011.
This would be to change the U.S. Senate’s Rule XXII –the rule that was changed in 1975 to allow cloture to limit time for debate — next year.
“Over the past couple of years, the impact of the filibuster has become even more pronounced,” Udall said in explaining why he believes a change is necessary. “Senators from both sides of the aisle have increasingly used it as a weapon of partisan warfare. You only have to look at the lengthy and winding path of health care reform to understand that something is seriously broken in the system.”
“Let me make clear, my proposal is not the nuclear option despite the assertion by some,” Udall said. “The nuclear option was a threat by Republicans in 2005 to declare the filibuster rule unconstitutional in the middle of a Congress. To me, that’s like a baseball team that’s losing int eh fifth inning trying to make the opposition’s home runs stop counting.”
Udall acknowledged that he may one day be in the minority. As recently as 2006, the Democrats were the minority party in the Senate; and Udall says if the Democrats are in the minority in 2011, he will still introduce the motion to change the Senate rules.
“I think the real question to ask is this — shouldn’t the minority’s primary concern be the well-being of our country, not the power of it’s party? And what will happen to our party if we fail to pass critical legislation.”
Udall said that while he has not signed onto a specific filibuster reform idea, but rather wants to head the effort to get those rules discussed at the beginning of the next Congress.
