Apply NFL Rules to the Filibuster

Maybe Harry Reid's Hulk side is going to make an appearance and force the Cowardly Dems to eliminate the ludicrous and obstructionist filibuster once and for all.  But it's looking more and more that Reid and the reduced-in-number-but-still-disprortionately-powerful Senate Blue Dogs will water it down to nothing.

They should abandon all the complicated new rules and just adopt Occasional Plant's genius idea for fixing the filibuster:

Adopting the “Jimmy Stewart Rule” seems to be an improved way to limit the damage that the filibuster does to the will of the majority. But borrowing a procedure from the National Football League might be far superior.

The NFL has a rule stating that the coach of each team is able to throw a red flag on the field twice a game. The red flag indicates that he wants to challenge the referee’s ruling on the field. The coaches have to be judicious about throwing the red flags, because if their appeal does not result in the decision being overturned, the coach’s team loses a time out, which can be crucial to managing the clock.

The key is that there is a limited to the number of challenges each team can have per game.

How it would work

Suppose that this was applied the number of  filibusters the minority party could use in a session of Congress.

When Lyndon Johnson was Senate Majority Leader in the 1950s, Republicans engaged in only one filibuster. That’s right, one. Over the past six years, in which Harry Reid (D-NV) has been majority leader, Republicans have engaged in 386 filibusters. These filibusters are the primary reason why Congress has been in a state of gridlock ever since Barack Obama became president.

Suppose that the minority party was limited to ten filibusters (and “a hold,” – a topic for a future post) per year. The minority party would have to be extremely judicious about how they used their filibusters. Currently, they can use a filibuster for a wide expanse of legislation, ranging from the confirmation of judges or cabinet to funding an overseas military engagement. Frequently, Republicans have used the filibuster to stop important social welfare programs, such as food stamps, or extending unemployment benefits. In fact, they have often used it to block any effort to reach a budget accord aimed at reducing the national deficit through increased taxes and cuts in government expenditures.

Indeed, the filibuster is important to protect the rights of the minority party. Many of the issues that face the Congress are designed to protect minorities, whether they are in the field of civil and human rights, workers’ rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, or other social issues. The Senate is often referred to as the deliberative house of Congress. It needs to remain that way. However, being deliberate is not the same as causing gridlock. With Democrats currently in the majority in the Senate, now is the time to reform the filibuster system. Senate rules allow one day, the first day of the new session in January, for changes to the rules. Maybe members of the Senate should spend their holidays watching NFL games so that they see the wisdom of putting limitations on the number of challenges.