All Night, but No Change in Iraq

Stopping a war is not easy. Democrats learned this the hard way, staging an all-night debate in hopes of passing a bill that would have withdrawn combat troops by the end of April 2008.

The legislation is the Defense Authorization Bill for fiscal year 2008 and specifically an amendment by Senators Carl Levin (Michigan) and Jack Reed (Rhode Island) that would require the troop withdrawal.

But senators in favor of ending the war weren’t able to get the votes they needed to close debate and vote on the bill, called invoking cloture. The vote of 52-47 showed that a majority of senators supported troop withdrawal, but that support still did not amount to the 60 votes needed to get over the procedural hurdle.

Democrats complained about Republicans using the filibuster to block the bill, but not so long ago, Democrats used the same tactic to block bills that they opposed.

The process obstructed or the process in action?

Both Republicans and Democrats have called the other side "obstructionists" for impeding the legislative process. But is a filibuster obstruction of the process or the process in action?

The Framers of the constitution went to great lengths to prevent the tyranny of the majority - when the majority decides all measures and silences the minority’s voice.

The Framers did not want a simple system of majority rule, but rather a government structure that afforded the minority some representation and rights. In The Federalist Papers, James Madison wrote that "measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justices and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority."

Both sides use the process to pass and block legislation that is important to their party. For the filibuster to work, minority members must agree with one another and create a unified party. Senate action is very much party-based, so when we vote for the Senator, we vote for the party. Individual senators have a wide variety of political and philosophical opinions, just as ordinary Americans do, but as legislators they have to band together, usually along party lines. Since our representatives make compromises in order to support their parties, it is vital to consider political parties when voting.

Back to Iraq

Harry Reid announced on the Senate floor that he won't allow a vote on the entire Defense Authorization bill until the Senate GOP drops its filibustering of votes on Iraq. So, the bill has been pulled from the floor for now, but Democrats say they will reintroduce it in August. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expects more Republicans to oppose the war the next time around and thinks there may be a shot at passage. Reid won't allow any votes on any other Iraq amendments -- until the GOP agrees to allow straight up or down votes. Reid says he's directing his aides to enter into negotiations with the GOP. Republicans are interested in enforcing the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group in an amendment by Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) as an interim step before withdrawal.

But for now, no big changes to the Iraq picture will come from Congress. The House is expected to debate the idea of a combat-troop pullout, and many voters support it, so it’s sure to reemerge. WomenMatter will continue to track the issue and keep you posted.

There’s time to tell your Senators what you think!

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