Texas Republican state senator Dan Patrick is not impressed by Wendy Davis. Despite Davis’ all day filibuster of an anti-choice bill, Patrick thinks he is the one that deserves the praise. Patrick, the sponsor of the bill, told Mike Huckabee today that he urged his fellow Republicans to break Senate tradition and stop the filibuster.
He compared his action to Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees for placing too much importance on “laws and rules.” Patrick went on to encourage other senators to similarly cast off the law, asking, “Are we going to become the modern day Pharisees as Republicans of the Senate?”
Patrick also criticized the crowd that turned out to support Davis, calling it an “organized mob” carrying out an attack on the government. He blamed their behavior on the fact that they were Democrats, because “a tea party would never do this.”
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That's funny, because Dan sounds an awful lot like a Pharisee. Reminds of a bit where the Pharisees are interrogating a blind man that Jesus had healed. Eventually they got fed up and said "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!", then tossed him out.
Sound familiar, Dan?
This coming from the party who tried to falsify computer records in an attempt to get the bill passed illegally.
"Whaaaa, our lies didn't work so I'm going to throw a temper tantrum now."
I still can’t get my mind around how filibusters are supposed to be part of a democratic process. But they are part of the US system and as such you as a US senator have to respect them. If you don’t like that, try to abolish the procedure through legal means, but that would mean that you and your fellow Republicans couldn’t use the same tool the next time you are throwing a tantrum about things you can’t stop otherwise.
No, Tea Partiers just show up at rallies for Democratic candidates strapped with automatic weapons.
So, the government should stay out of the people's lives unless we're talking about a woman controlling her own body, and you're a constitutional fundamentalist unless someone you don't like or agree with actually wants their constitutional rights. Got it.
"Hey, I'm the one usually flapping my gums, I'm the one who tried to shut the woman up by flagrantly ignoring the procedural stalls my party historically abused the shit out of, I'm the one who got his party crashed by protests, I'm the one who horribly lost the debate. All Y'all should be kissing my ass."
> an “organized mob” carrying out an attack on the government. He blamed their behavior on the fact that they were Democrats, because “a tea party would never do this.”
REALLY NOW. And I suppose you were asleep through history class, and so are completely unaware of the Boston Tea Party, for which the current generation of gibbering wingnuts have named themselves in an attempt to sound patriotic? The one where a bunch of rebellious colonists stormed a harbor and vandalized the cargo on the ships in protest of a tax? Sounds a lot like an "organized mob" carrying out an "attack on the government" to me.
@ Hertzyscowitz
That's exactly what's going to happen; back alley abortions, like we had long ago, in unsanitary conditions, and many women will die. But that's pro-life, you know.
because “a tea party would never do this.”
I smell burning plastic...
DAMMIT, DANNY JUST FRIED MY IRONY METER.
Of course Danny would be screaming the loudest if the Democrats tried to break the rules.
The only reason the tea-baggers might not do the same thing is because they might not be able to figure out how. Some of them seem incapable of finding their own a$$es with both hands and a map.
You were saying?
image
For those who can;t see too well, this a picture of the fake organized bullying instigated by the Bush supporters in order to get Florida to go for Bush even though the numbers showed Gore!
“a tea party would never do this.”
Really? No tea parties just spit on elected officials, shout racial slurs, chant and scream when anyone dissents at a town hall, etc.
@Kuno
The idea behind a filibuster is to prevent the tyranny of the majority. And in the case of Wendy Davis' filibuster it was to prevent a bill from passing in a special session, called specifically by Rick Perry for the purpose of passing the bill, because it was unable to pass in the regular session.
@Kuno
The idea behind a filibuster is to prevent the tyranny of the majority. And in the case of Wendy Davis' filibuster it was to prevent a bill from passing in a special session, called specifically by Rick Perry for the purpose of passing the bill, because it was unable to pass in the regular session.
"He compared his action to Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees for placing too much importance on “laws and rules.”"
"Patrick went on to encourage other senators to similarly cast off the law"
So, anarchy. What you're calling for there Dan is anarchy.
@michael3ov:
But isn’t it already the job of the constitution and the supreme court to prevent that? For me as an outsider the filibuster system seems just a strange way for the opposition to prevent legislature, even if they don’t have the votes to do it. I don’t really see how that fits in with a representative democracy.
But as I said, it is part of the legal US system and as such the GOP has to respect it or has to try to change the system. But they won’t do that, because they need that tool themselves the next time they want to block some law they don’t like.
So much for “Law And Order”
Yeah, Jesus never likely said anything about the Pharisees as they were not the priestly class at the time he was alive (that was the Sadducces). They were the priestly class when the stories of his life were written (the Sadducces being dispersed after the destruction of the second temple) and the main opponents of the newly formed christian sect, which is probably why the bible shits on them from such a great height.
Lying for Jesus has a pretty early pedigree.
Funny, I heard on NPR the following morning that Gov Rick Perry blasted the supporters, saying their presence would "not be tolerated" then in the same breath turned around and called on the tea-partiers to come in and do the exaact same thing!
I'm pretty sure Republicans were already "casting off the law" in this case.
1) They've called two special sessions to try and pass this bill because they knew they wouldn't be able to do it during a regular legislative session.
2) They ended Wendy Davis' filibuster against the rules. A filibuster can only be ended after 3 instances of germaneness (going off-topic; which they also chose to rule some pretty on-topic subjects (Planned Parenthood funding and laws requiring pre-abortion sonograms) as off-topic to fuck her over that way as well) However, they ended this filibuster after only 2 instances of germaneness and 1 instance of getting assistance.
3) They ignored Leticia van de Putte asking for the bill to be tabled, which should have taken precedence over taking a vote. It was actually the fact that she was blatantly ignored, and her very memorable response, "At what point must a female senator raise her hand or voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?" that started the cheering that ultimately stalled the vote.
4) Republicans tried to take the vote even after the deadline was over and there have been reports of people being recorded as having voted who say they never voted that night.
5) They broke the law when they went back and changed the time stamp on the vote to make it seem like it passed before the deadline.
If the civilians who were supporters of Wendy Davis were an "organized mob" that night, so were the actual lawmakers who supported the bill. And I think we have a right to expect a hell of a lot more from them than from the gallery.
Republicans: Anyone who bitches endlessly when the system works against them and their anti-woman goals, but will game the system every half-step of the way to prevent democracy from working if it benefits them.
Syn: Hypocrite, bag of shit
The Filibuster is, hypothetically a tool that can be used to help prevent a tyranny of the majority. But at this point it isn't really used the way it would was intended. Not because of who is using it or what it is being used for but how it is being used. In general they just have to threaten a filibuster now while not even standing to do it, I'd argue if you're going to filibuster then you need to stand your ass up there and hold the floor.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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