quote:
That's right, there is NO difference. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE
I generally agree with the gist of your post, but I think there is a difference in what's happening now and what's happened in the past, irrespective of the republican vs. democrat distinction. Every time either party has been in power they have abused that power, especially at times when that party controls not only both houses of Congress but also the White House. The difference now is that the stakes are much higher than I think they've ever been.
It is not just one party that currently controls the presidency, the House and the Senate but one specific, radical group within that party. The republican party is under the complete control of the religious right-wing. The most powerful republicans in the country have said openly that they do not respect a separation of church and state, they do not respect equal rights for women and gays and that they believe the judiciary must enforce god's law over man's law.
This group of Republicans which now controls two branches of government has made it known that it wants nothing less that complete control of all branches of the federal government and that it intends to use that control to roll back civil rights protections and to openly mix religion with basic government functions. We can see that this group has long been at work to do just this; Rrhain pointed out a number of unprecedented actions these radicals have taken in pursuit of power. The filibuster may well be the last major obstacle to complete control of the federal government by a radical faction of republicans.
So while I would agree with you that neither party can claim any moral superiority on the surface questions of Senate control and filibusters, I think the deeper issues this time round are so serious and so fundamental that our very system of government is at stake.
This time, things
are very much different.
Keep America Safe
AND Free!