I can’t find the press release mentioned in this article online, so I’ll pass doing the full metacommentary on it. But Senators Mike Baumgartner and Doug Ericksen are pushing to change the rules in the GOP controlled Senate so that it would take a 2/3 vote to pass tax increases.
It’s a terrible idea, of course. On top of being an anti-democratic copycat of an unconstitutional idea, it assumes that tax increases are somehow a different category than spending cuts. But things being terrible ideas never stopped the GOP from having them.
Without getting too deep into the parliamentary weeds, the changes involve steps before a final vote. Technically a bill should receive three “readings” before coming to a final vote. But full bills are never read completely. A clerk starts on the text and before he or she needs to take a breath the presiding officer usually calls “last line”, meaning the reader skips to the final line of the legislation, whether it’s at the bottom of that page or 1,000 pages later.
The second reading is usually skipped in a procedure called a “suspension of the rules” that allows the bill to jump forward for a final vote. Baumgartner and Ericksen want to change that rule to require a two-thirds vote to move a bill forward for the final vote. They also want to change another bill requiring that super majority when the Senate agrees to a bill that comes over from the House for final passage after being batted back and forth for changes.
Could the Democrats as stridently do that sort of nonsense? Could we require a 2/3 vote for — I don’t know — tax breaks for major corporations in the state House? Or for renewing unproductive tax cuts? Or for spending cuts? Or for spending money on counties over what they send back to the state?
And not to sound like a broken but why 2/3? What’s magic about that particular fraction? I realize several unconstitutional 2/3 initiatives passed, but is it really appropriate to say that some number Tim Eyman pulled out of his ass is the right thing? It’s just so arbitrary.
Republicans have a special fondness for 2/3. For example, they have a 54-46 plurality in the U.S. Senate even though their Senators got only 2/3 as many votes (47.1 million) as the other party’s Senators (67.8 million). Republicans love 2/3 because they’d be out of business without it, because they’ll never have the support of a majority of people in this country. They stand for government of the elite, by the elite, and for the elite, and true democracy doesn’t work that way.
I think I’ll just buy a book of favorite quotes from Will Rogers. Nothing ever really seems to change in this country.
At some point there will be some serious sausage making this term. Who knows just what could happen. Wild stallions could get loose in the room and agreement with democrats could happen. Magical banana slugs could attach themselves to the soles of a few Republican shoes while walking through the grass (do Republicans ever go barefoot through the grass at the Capital?), and they could be tempted to raise taxes to pay for needed programs like bridges or schools. The reality fairy could show up and talk them. Maybe their favorite third grade teacher could take them to task. Who knows so lets make the rules harder even though we already have a majority so any tax increases have to be passed by Republicans or Republican Senators with a conscious and no desire to remain Republican Senators.
@3 “The reality fairy could show up and talk them.”
You’re dreaming. Republicans refuse to have anything to do reality. They’re all about fantasy.
Let ‘Em Ride Mules Dep’t
“U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he has never voted for an increase in the gas tax and doubted there were enough votes in Congress to pass a hike. ‘I’ve never voted to raise the gas tax,’ the Ohio Republican said.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102321926
Roger Rabbit Commentary: The implication, of course, being that he never will. With more cars using less gas, he’ll rely on the tooth fairy to maintain our highways and bridges. Until they fall into rivers with cars on them, that is, which he will then blame on Obama.
Because Republicans don’t want to see headlines touting their new three-fifths compromise.
2/3 is not arbitrary it is the second most common threshold used, after a simple majority, it’s used in our us constitution, it’s universally used for major action at corporations or on boards, too. for unusual, major actions like “should we sell all assets and close up business?”
the better argument is it’s not democratic and 2/3 gives the 1/3 twice the voting power as the 2/3 so it’s no longer one person one vote. something we often don’t revere enough in the usa — like when we:
-don’t let DC residents vote at all for senate or house.(voting member)
-ditto PR et al.
-us senate disproportion.
I mean if you’re going to get annoyed at a 2/3 rules threshold, why not also point out a wyoming voter has about 45x the voting strength power and influence in making national laws as a voter from california? why is wyoming dirt 45 more worthy than bakersfield dirt?
we have many many inequalities in voting, this move by the GOP hopefully the dems find a way to sue them or something because it’s undemocratic. that’s the point. not that it’s arbitrary. the technical argument is poorer than the one about power and class — they want to give business and special interests reps (gop) double the voting power as reps of the people (dems)
I don’t believe all Republicans are as delusional as they make out. I think they’re just dishonest because it serves their purpose.
It’s a bit silly though. When you keep it at a majority then it’s easy to reduce a tax or get rid of a tax. If you make raising taxes more difficult then it should correspondingly become more difficult to reduce a tax. Generally in American politics taxes don’t amount to something important enough to require a super majority. If the folks with he majority in the Senate don’t want to raise taxes so be it. Still reality like in the fat lady actually gets up to sing may require an increase in taxes and if need is enough amazingly a 3/5 or 2/3 can happen. If folks get into the Senate next time around that would actually raise taxes then they should be able to do so, and if it’s too much then the Republicans a couple years later can deal with the terrible situation and can fix it only gee now the need the same super majority….or they are just tine with just a simple majority to override a tax increase that took a 3/5 or 2/3 vote…that should not fly, and the courts could weigh in at that point and point out if it took a super majority to pass something it requires a supermajority to get rid of it. Which is why this exercise by these two Senators is inept and frankly politically stupid. So this could come back to bite these bright folks in the ass. Which would be just, but it’s us citizens who would suffer in the meanwhile while Senators would be skipping out on their duty to do their bloody jobs.
All Tim Eyman’s initiatives contained Trojan Horse terms the lawyers at Preston Gates and Foster Pepper inserted. Those lawyers then got paid to litigate against those initiatives and they’d prevail. The Eyman lawsuits — especially those relating to I-776 and I-1125 — are great examples of this. Eyman was and is a shill the tax pimps used; who better as the face of the opposition than an inconsistent, incoherent clown in a gorilla suit? The whole 2/3rds thing is a smokescreen. Taxes get hiked here several times a year and that’s been the case for two decades INCLUDING when I-960 was in effect. The democrats authorize the locals to hike regressive taxes, and that’s what happens. It is how Constantine and Murray made their careers — and they’ve shown no sign of letting up.
@10 Keep in mind that Washington has 3 political parties, Democrats, Republicans, and Crazies. The GOP was taken over by the Crazies, so all the Republicans joined the Democratic Party, and what everyone calls the “Democratic Party” now includes both Democrats and Republicans. It’s the Republican faction of the “Democratic Party” that raises regressive taxes and blocks tax reform. The fact they call themselves “Democrats” doesn’t change who is responsible for our regressive tax system.
I was a CA resident while the 2/3 majority for taxes was in effect. This was what cratered the CA budget, destroyed funding for our schools, social services and roads.
Don’t let it happen in WA.
Surprised they haven’t decided to use 3/5…