Thursday, March 3 2005
WHAT SENATOR BYRD DIDN'T SAY: At this point I'm sure you're all aware of Senator Robert Byrd's intemperate tirade on the floor of the Senate the other day where he likened the proposal of a possible rule change to prevent filibustering of judicial nominees by allowing for a simply majority vote (known as the "nuclear option") to a Hitlerian tactic. "Witness how men with motives and a majority can manipulate law to cruel and unjust ends," Byrd fumed.

Well. This morning reader Rick Walsh emailed with an interesting bit of political history. It seems that back in 1975 Majority Whip Robert Byrd was the primary sponsor of a proposal to reduce the super-majority in the Senate from two-thirds to three-fifths. Walsh also found this gem of a quote in an article by Ronald Rotunda published last year by the Cato Institute :

In 1975 the Senators changed the filibuster requirement from 67 votes to 60, after concluding that it only takes a simple majority of Senators to change the rules governing their proceedings. As Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-MT) said at the time: "We cannot allow a minority" of the senators "to grab the Senate by the throat and hold it there." Senators Leahy, Kennedy, Byrd, and Biden, all agreed. (emphasis added)

Thirty years ago Senator Byrd was a leading proponent of changing the rules of the Senate to lessen the threshold of votes his majority would need to impose its will on the minority. - T. Bevan 11:32 am Link | Email | Send to a Friend