54% of the Senate voted for background checks, and they together represented roughly 63% of America’s population. But because the Senate is not a democratic body, majority support wasn’t enough to win that vote. The world’s greatest deliberative body, ladies and gentlemen.
If past is any indicator, a Democratic “threat” to reform the filibuster is much like a Charlie Brown threat to go home if Lucy doesn’t play nice with the football this time. This isn’t the first time the Democratic leadership in the Senate has made noises about reforming the filibuster; it’s not even the first time they’ve admitted that they screwed up filibuster reform last time but are serious about it this time. Democrats always balk at the last minute, so don’t expect this to go anywhere. source
[A] majority of the Court seems committed to invalidating Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and requiring Congress to revisit the formula for requiring preclearance of voting changes…It is unlikely that the Court will write an opinion forbidding a preclearance regime. But it may be difficult politically for Congress to enact a new measure.SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein earlier this morning. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today on Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires certain states with a history of voter disenfranchisement to obtain approval from the federal government before making any changes to their voting laws. One possible outcome: The court strikes down the criteria used in Section 5, but doesn’t strike down the requirement for preclearance itself. If that happens, a new criteria for preclearance would have to be constructed and enacted. And who would be responsible for that? John Boehner and Harry Reid, of course. Sigh. More on today’s arguments here. source
This actually does raise the legitimate question as to how direct of a democracy the founding fathers really intended to create. Joe Miller, a Tea Party candidate for the Senate in Alaska a few years back, was a proponent of this plan as well. He didn’t win; it seems that asking people to elect you to the Senate so you can take away their right to elect other people to the Senate in the future isn’t a winning campaign strategy (although Miller seems to be mulling a comeback, so what do we know). Anyway, this Georgia proposal will almost certainly go absolutely nowhere. source
This may be a moment in Senate history, when a senator made a proposal that, when given an opportunity for a vote on that proposal, filibustered his own proposal…I don’t think this has ever happened before.Sen. Dick Durbin, after Mitch McConnell’s latest scheme blew up in his face. McConnell introduced legislation today that would allow the president to unilaterally raise the debt limit, suspecting that Democrats wouldn’t have the guts to vote for it. When it became clear that Democrats did indeed have the votes to pass the bill with a simple majority, McConnell filibustered it, preventing its passage. The United States Senate, ladies and gentlemen. source
In Libya it’s only been a year and the idea of democracy and political parties is difficult for people to absorb. The people have not responded to this imported, packaged democracy. We don’t accept it. We have a religion that needs to be taken into accountAbdul Qader Azouz, former political prisoner in Libya • Expressing his, and many other eastern Libyans’, unhappiness with the state of the country one year after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Azouz was one of the few survivors of a massacre, targeting prisoners that Gaddafi believed to be dangerous Islamic fundamentalists, that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people. Many like Azouz, who fought or lost loved ones (in many cases, both) to Gaddafi before/during the Libyan revolution, feel as if yet another Western-backed government is being installed which will ignore and/or oppress the community in eastern Libyan cities like Derna. source
Teargas, water cannons fired at Malaysian pro-democracy protesters: The protesters showed up on the streets of Kuala Lumpur Saturday, despite lockdown orders, fighting for electoral reform — or, as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim put it: “The message we are sending to Najib is that we must have clean elections!” The crackdown, a year after a similar crackdown, raised questions about Malaysian PM Najib Razak’s commitment to expanding civil liberties. (AP photo)
» This on top of a long arrest earlier this year: Ai Weiwei spent 81 days in jail on tax evasion charges, but claims all authorities wanted to talk about was his pro-democracy record. The fine Ai has been forced to pay is more than three times the size of his tax bill — and he needs help paying. The surprising part is that he actually got said help. “It’s surprising; it has really changed my perspective on people,” he said, noting that people traveled long distances to give him financial help — in person. Ai prefers to think of the payments as loans, and turned down a $157,000 payment from a businessman, saying he preferred smaller loans.
Greek officials OK referendum plans: Like we said earlier (sarcastically, kinda), the stock market doesn’t like democracy. Democracy often goes against the best interests of investors. It’s messy. It works in ways that don’t always work in the best interests of the people who vote for it. But you gotta give people the opportunity to take advantage of the democratic system. No matter how much it hurts. That’s what Greece will go through very soon. Democracy. Don’t like it? Take an Alka-Seltzer and give yourself five minutes to get in a happy spot.
The end of Ukraine’s experiment with democracy? Just a few years ago, Yulia Tymoshenko was one of the most popular politicians in Ukraine. Then she lost power in a narrow 2010 election, and Viktor Yanukovich gained it. Yanukovich pursued Tymoshenko’s role in a set of negotiations with Russia over the price of natural gas — something which, at best, would constitute a political controversy in the U.S., but certainly not something worthy of jail time. But this is Ukraine, and Tymoshenko got sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday. Does this signify a move away from traditional democracy for the country? How does a political icon like Tymoshenko (who’s probably far-more-known in the West than Yanukovich) get jailed for what was, at worst, a political scandal? Seems questionable. (photo via the European People’s Party Flickr page) source
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» It’s worth noting that these rebel leaders are being tried in absentia, as they’re currently busy doing rebel stuff. Additionally, if and when Gaddafi’s government falls, the outcome of these trials will likely be inconsequential. Nevertheless, it’s an indication of the regime’s confidence in its ability to triumph that they’re proceeding with the trials anyway. Whether this portrayal of confidence is genuine or tactical remains to be seen.
This is Y.K. Museveni. I greet you. Vote for the old man with a hat.Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni • In a phone call to potential voters. With elections looming on Friday, the longtime President’s voice was racing across phone lines everywhere as robocalls, unheard of in African politics, went out to the Ugandan citizenry, referencing his iconic hat. A win Friday would mean his fourth term in office (with no limits), amidst concerns about repression of democratic opposition. Of additional note, as it’s probably what Uganda is most known for internationally right now, the American evangelical group “The Family,” heinously tied to Uganda’s anti-gay (seriously) legislation, is led by a man named Doug Coe. As reported by Jeff Sharlet, Coe has referred to President Museveni as the group’s “key man in Africa.” Take that for what you will. source (via • follow)
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