Majority Compulsion News Today

And these -- >> the filibuster youre saying is the guarantor of that? >> absolutely. absolutely. its that super majority requirement to overcome a filibuster that requires the majority in the senate to deal with the minority each and every day. >> its a question of debate. what the filibuster means is that in the senate theres no general limitation of debate. its that one aspect of senate procedure which is deep in the dna of senate procedure. questions are debatable. if questions are debatable,...

These whacko things, i say give them rope, a lot of rope, and then the american people will find out and well have a real election the next time around. >> i just want to interject here for a moment to say that the stakes here, again, its procedure, but the stakes are basically as high as it gets. the stakes are about what are the norms that govern democratic governance. i think the history of democratic governance is that rules are important but norms are even more important. when those norms d...

>> a vote on an amendment to change the rules is a simple majority. the issue is ending debate on that question and there you do get into the filibuster. >> right. >> and unlimited debate. the very nature of the senate as its operated for two centuries is premised on the fact that debate is unlimited and that there is no general mode of majority compulsion. that contract has worked for 200 years. >> by the way, you keep saying the senate for two centuries. im not sure the senate has a great two ...