Not all Senators and Congressmen are crooks, but many might as well be… If you consider taking taxpayer dollars for salary and expenses under false pretenses to be crooked, then many are very, very guilty.
The Ruling Class Politicians don’t want to make the changes we elected them to make and the Ruling Class Media gives them cover because they don’t want the status quo altered either. But they have to give themselves some kind of excuse… so, how do they do it?
One great example is called the Byrd Rule.
Named after former West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, this is a Senate Rule that basically states the minority party can prevent most types of legislation from passing unless the majority can muster 60 votes (60% majority). This almost never happens.
So, GOP Senators can wring their hands and lament that even though they currently hold a 51-49 majority, they just can’t get those important things they promised passed. Darn it!
In addition, it gives our House of Representatives GOP leaders great cover not to do what they promised – even though they hold an even bigger majority in Congress. They simply lament, “Gee, we can’t pass that bill because it would never get through the Senate!” (So, they don’t even try).
A great bonus for these same GOP leaders is that it lets them act heroic in trying to frame a bill that will qualify to avoid the 60-vote Byrd Rule threshold – via something called Reconciliation. “Boy, we worked so hard to try and figure out how to do this… it’s too bad that in the end we just couldn’t pull it off.”
The Ruling Class Media then legitimizes these excuses by interviewing pundits, consultants, and others from the Ruling Class Intelligentsia as they explain ad nauseam how difficult it would be to get 60 votes for that particular bill.
Here’s the nasty little secret…
The GOP could get rid of the Byrd Rule faster than you can snap your fingers… if they wanted to.
You see, it’s just a rule. It’s not a law. It’s not mentioned in the US Constitution. It’s not even a centuries-old tradition. The Senate Rules have changed often over its 200+ year history. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell could call for a simple majority vote and it would be gone!
So, why doesn’t he do it? My guess is because he doesn’t want to. It gives all of the Ruling Class Politicians (on both sides of the isle) cover for all of the above-mentioned reasons.
Are we sure he could do this? Yes. Because they already did…
The Democrats did it in 2013, and remember the Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch? The Democrats promised they would never allow the GOP to get 60 votes – so McConnell changed the rules (for Supreme Court nominations only). I think even our Ruling Class Politicians realized the American People wouldn’t buy their excuses if they blew that one…
But, the point is, all he has to do is change the rule.
Here’s the nasty little secret… The GOP could get rid of the Byrd Rule faster than you can snap your fingers… if they wanted to.
So, how does he justify not changing the rule?
Senator McConnell and other Ruling Class Politicians will tell you that this rule is a safeguard against the majority having too much power and that he doesn’t want to set the precedent of changing it because, when the Democrats gain the majority, he doesn’t want the GOP to be powerless.
The first part – the majority having too much power – is absurd. Elections have consequences and this is just a weak excuse for not enacting the will of the people.
The second part – wanting to maintain the standard for when the majority changes – sounds really good… until you realize that it is a false premise. The precedent has already been set and the first thing the Democrats will do when they gain the majority is to remove the Byrd Rule! We know this because former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told us so.
Even without Reid tipping everyone off as to their plans, does anyone really believe the Democrats would show any restraint in their exercise of power? Even Vegas wouldn’t take a bet on that – at any odds.
I defy any politician or media personality to give me a rational explanation for the GOP to preserve this rule. I will give them space on this website and post their response for all to see. But, I’m not going to hold my breath…
So, the next time you hear Speaker of the House Paul Ryan talk about why repealing Obamacare is so complicated, or how building the wall is going to take a lot of time and compromise, remember… it’s all a smokescreen to cover America’s self-appointed Ruling Class from enacting the Will of the People.
Remember that the giant $1.3 trillion dollar spending bill President Trump was forced to sign to get needed military funding was literally political gamesmanship and a slap in the face delivered by non-other than Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. This was the swamp striking back using the Byrd Rule as cover for making such terrible compromises.
They know they are superior to you and, therefore, only owe you lip service (to get your vote). If that makes you mad…
Well, yeah… it should.