Why is it 60 Votes or a Shutdown?

Dec 21, 2018

Once again, the United States Congress is locked to the people who elected that body. We the people, the ones in whom the authority of the U.S. Constitution resides, have legally elected members to the House and Senate expecting them to do their duties according to Article III of that Constitution. And once again the US Senate is holding the wishes of the electorate hostage. The Senate’s “extra-legal” method is the 60-vote supermajority required to end debate and bring a measure to a vote on the floor of the Senate. This “cloture” supermajority is not in Article III. It dates back to the early 1900’s and the era of Woodrow Wilson. This “rule” of the Senate has become the secret weapon by which leaders of the Senate control American public policy and turn their “Club of 100” into a supermajority dictatorship.
It does not matter what the issue is, the Senate makes secret deals with winks and nods and promises paid for with other people’s money.

Supermajorities are rarely effective tools. The Constitution spells out specifically when they are to be utilized. The “cloture rule” requiring supermajorities was a terrible idea, is a terrible idea and will be the real reason the government “shuts down” if no resolution is reached on the budget. It is not the President or the House. It is the corrupt rule maintained by a corrupt body that delights in wielding secret authority over the process of legislation.

The answer – We the people need to elect 60 U.S. Senators that will stand for the Constitution and abolish the supermajority rule. It makes no difference what party, what region, race or creed. We need a Senate majority that will put America first by putting the Constitution first.