Comments on: Limbo

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:28:41 +0000

Oh man, I swore you were joking, but I just read about Steve Windom allegedly relieving himself in the Senate chamber several years ago.

By: William

William — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:08:40 +0000

Nevermind it was about wine. Sorry

By: William

William — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:01:14 +0000

An alcohol bill is on the floor right now. It seems to be getting filibustered. Came in late so I don’t know if it is ours. I am pretty sure it is.

By: Moe Lane » Free the Hops!

Moe Lane » Free the Hops! — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:45:35 +0000

[...] yet more or less accurate The Next Right post on the problem here. Latest word on the struggle here. And, of course, the post that triggered this one here. I’m reprinting the specific [...]

By: Will Sheppard

Will Sheppard — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:16:34 +0000

Agreed. That’s what kills me about the filibuster. It doesn’t allow voting to proceed. If you or your constituents want to vote something down, that’s exactly what should happen…a vote.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:25:18 +0000

Truer words never written. “So let’s get it out of the way then, shall we?”

By: dumblonde

dumblonde — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:57:13 +0000

Still you gotta admit it’s pretty ridiculous when a bill that has overwhelming support (& will make it through by the required majority vote) cannot get passed with the ease that it should…

By: Dan Roberts

Dan Roberts — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:43:16 +0000

The presiding officer of the Senate can bring the bill up out of order at the drop of a hat. This could be Folsom, Smitherman, or someone else sitting in the big seat (it would never be Erwin unless he miraculously wins his Lt. Governor bid in 2010). Any of these guys are on our side. So we can bring our bill back up for consideration no problem.

Edited: I was skooled about state government and corrected my reply.

By: Dan Roberts

Dan Roberts — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:39:43 +0000

Just a quick point. These guys are elected lawmakers, not anyone’s puppets. Senator Erwin is under no obligation to tell anyone how long he wants to filibuster. Senator Brooks is under no obligation to tell anyone he intends to introduce an amendment to our bill. We can’t make them vote for cloture.

In short, we’re not really a part of the legislative process (nor should we be). I know everyone is looking to us for information or action, but we’re just as dependent on the 32 elected senators as anyone else.

By: Dan Roberts

Dan Roberts — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:33:49 +0000

Also, the amendment was passed with overwhelming support. Only one person voted against it and I think he might have been confused about what they were voting on.

Taking an amendment off is a proactive process. It can’t be done quietly. It is unlikely that they are going to go on record removing it.