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Voting...Here’s What’s Happening, Who Will Win, And Why, And How...
Jan 21, 2018 11:35:33 #
Twardlow
Loc: Arkansas
Voting. Let’s talk about that, for a moment.
We always vote on things in this country, and we sometimes take voting for granted. Voting is democratic. Automatically, it means at least 50% of the voters agree on this particular bill. Sometimes due to a special rule, we need a supermajority of 60%, as in the current case. That is even more democratic—60% of voters must accept the bill for it to pass.
The Majority party always has the advantage. It has the most committee members, all the committee chairmanships, and controls which bills get to be voted upon. Nowadays, republican insist that a majority of republicans must favor the bill before it gets to the floor.
But the Minority has an advantage, too.
When a bill is proposed, the proposing party ‘whips’ it, that is calculates precisely how many majority votes it can count on. Of course they know they need 60 votes in order to pass the bill and they know they don’t have 60 votes, because they don’t have 60 republican members.
In this case, they know they need to lure an additional 10 or so votes to pass the bill. Sometimes this is no problem at all—the day after Pearl Harbor, or the day after 9/11–near total unison.
In more partisan issues, the whip count becomes critical. If the minority caucus remains unified, the bill is in serious trouble and some important luring is needed. This is why additional issues are added to bills—to ‘sweeten them’ and insure their passage.
But the minority party’s vote becomes increasingly important depending upon the importance of the bill. For a bill that simply must be passed, minority votes become must votes, and their importance blossoms into commanding importance.
The budget bill must be passed, and must be passed by a specific date. The minority party’s votes become paramount.
This is democracy in action, and is healthy and constructive.
Sometimes a party buys votes, like the Corker Kickback, an item in the bill so profitable to an individual member, he can’t afford to vote against his own interest and capitulates.
Sometimes an unrelated issue is added to the bill that is so desirable to the minority party they can’t keep from passing the bill.
The republicans erred. The put an item in the bill they thought would lure Democrats and their votes, giving them no choice but to approve the bill, and the Republicans were wrong. It didn’t work. The Democrats were suddenly in supreme power, temporary power, but truly supreme power. The only risk is if voters are angered by their hold-out.
The Democrats chose an issue that is important to them and is supported by 80-90% of the voting population.
Now they wait.
The governmental shutdown may cost a billion dollars a week; the last one did.
The Republicans bring to the table a miasma of lies by the President, hoards of broken campaign promises by the President, numerous wild statements rascist and jingoistic and disruptive by the President, disunion within the Republican ranks, and a fabric of virulent partisanship on both sides, and an inflamed enthusiastic distrust and disrespect of the voting population.
Time passes and the pressure builds. Who has the most to lose politically, and who is losing it?
Time will tell.
The next issue will be for the party who cracks to convince the world it didn’t crack, but instead won the battle.
Probably no one will believe them.
We always vote on things in this country, and we sometimes take voting for granted. Voting is democratic. Automatically, it means at least 50% of the voters agree on this particular bill. Sometimes due to a special rule, we need a supermajority of 60%, as in the current case. That is even more democratic—60% of voters must accept the bill for it to pass.
The Majority party always has the advantage. It has the most committee members, all the committee chairmanships, and controls which bills get to be voted upon. Nowadays, republican insist that a majority of republicans must favor the bill before it gets to the floor.
But the Minority has an advantage, too.
When a bill is proposed, the proposing party ‘whips’ it, that is calculates precisely how many majority votes it can count on. Of course they know they need 60 votes in order to pass the bill and they know they don’t have 60 votes, because they don’t have 60 republican members.
In this case, they know they need to lure an additional 10 or so votes to pass the bill. Sometimes this is no problem at all—the day after Pearl Harbor, or the day after 9/11–near total unison.
In more partisan issues, the whip count becomes critical. If the minority caucus remains unified, the bill is in serious trouble and some important luring is needed. This is why additional issues are added to bills—to ‘sweeten them’ and insure their passage.
But the minority party’s vote becomes increasingly important depending upon the importance of the bill. For a bill that simply must be passed, minority votes become must votes, and their importance blossoms into commanding importance.
The budget bill must be passed, and must be passed by a specific date. The minority party’s votes become paramount.
This is democracy in action, and is healthy and constructive.
Sometimes a party buys votes, like the Corker Kickback, an item in the bill so profitable to an individual member, he can’t afford to vote against his own interest and capitulates.
Sometimes an unrelated issue is added to the bill that is so desirable to the minority party they can’t keep from passing the bill.
The republicans erred. The put an item in the bill they thought would lure Democrats and their votes, giving them no choice but to approve the bill, and the Republicans were wrong. It didn’t work. The Democrats were suddenly in supreme power, temporary power, but truly supreme power. The only risk is if voters are angered by their hold-out.
The Democrats chose an issue that is important to them and is supported by 80-90% of the voting population.
Now they wait.
The governmental shutdown may cost a billion dollars a week; the last one did.
The Republicans bring to the table a miasma of lies by the President, hoards of broken campaign promises by the President, numerous wild statements rascist and jingoistic and disruptive by the President, disunion within the Republican ranks, and a fabric of virulent partisanship on both sides, and an inflamed enthusiastic distrust and disrespect of the voting population.
Time passes and the pressure builds. Who has the most to lose politically, and who is losing it?
Time will tell.
The next issue will be for the party who cracks to convince the world it didn’t crack, but instead won the battle.
Probably no one will believe them.
Jan 21, 2018 12:11:32 #
Jan 21, 2018 12:32:10 #
Twardlow
Loc: Arkansas
KWK wrote:
Who wins Elected officials, who loses the people
I’m afraid I don’t get your point.
Trump isn’t winning here, for example.
That’s exactly the point I’m trying to make—a broader segment of the people might win.
Jan 21, 2018 16:08:25 #
Twardlow wrote:
Voting. Let’s talk about that, for a moment. br ... (show quote)
DemonCraps prove that they hate the military, children and love criminal wetback invaders.
Jan 22, 2018 09:13:34 #
Jan 22, 2018 09:36:35 #
Twardlow
Loc: Arkansas
ole sarg wrote:
Horseshit!
Sarge is brief, correct, and pungent!
Many here are prisoner to their own minds and proclivities, and ole sage points out one.
Go, Sarge!
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