- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky): "You'll regret this, and you may regret this a lot sooner than you think...This is nothing more than a power grab."
- Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) called the decision "foolish" and warned that Democrats "will pay a heavy, heavy price."
- Michael Needham of the conservative Heritage Action: "This is not about a couple of circuit court judges; this is an attempt to remake America to reflect their unworkable and unpopular progressive vision."
- Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas): "We have weakened this body permanently...What a tragedy."
what eye thynk: It's interesting that the filibuster rule Mr. McConnell and his fellow Republicans called "unconstitutional" when Senate Democrats used it against W, now call its demise a "a tragedy."
If you are conflicted over the rule change, this record of past filibusters should help you see why the change was necessary and which Party is really guilty of a "foul."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) - # of filibusters: 0
- John F. Kennedy (D) - # of filibusters: 0
- Richard Nixon (R) - # of filibusters: 0
- Gerald Ford (R) - # of filibusters: 0
- Jimmy Carter (D) - # of filibusters: 2
- Ronald Reagan (R) - # of filibusters: 2
- George H.W. Bush (R) - # of filibusters: 0
- Bill Clinton (D) - # of filibusters: 9
- George W. Bush (R) - # of filibusters: 7
- Barack Obama (D) - # of filibusters: 27 (to date)
President Obama summed it up nicely: "Today's pattern of obstruction, it just isn't normal. It's not what our founders envisioned. A deliberate and determined effort to obstruct everything, no matter the merits, just to re-fight the results of an election is not normal, and for the sake of future generations we can't let it become normal."
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