A Message from Chairman John Burton

The big news coming out of Washington this week is that Joe Lieberman, the senator from Connecticut, has once again held the democratic process hostage to his whims. What were his demands for moving forward? This time it was destroying meaningful health care reform: no public option, no Medicare expansion -- which he said he was in favor of as recently as three months ago.

I’ll get right to the point: I’m through trying to figure Lieberman out. I’m through with holding my nose as I watch Democrats cobble together compromise after compromise on his behalf only to have him turn his back on us and on the millions of Americans in desperate need of reform. As a member of the Democratic caucus, Lieberman enjoys a key committee chairmanship and other plum assignments, and we get next to nothing in return.

Enough is enough. It’s time to end Joe Lieberman’s reign of terror and restore democracy to the Senate by changing Rule 22 and ending the filibuster.

Email Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today and tell him it’s high time to end the practice of filibuster abuse.

Make no mistake: the threat of filibuster has resulted in too many victories for the status quo and is the single greatest impediment to real and lasting change in health care and beyond. With critical issues like climate change coming up on the legislative agenda, it’s clear that we can no longer afford to continue with business as usual in the Senate.

Even Joe Lieberman co-sponsored a bill to end the filibuster in 1995. What’s more, none other than the Republicans themselves have been on the record in favor of ending filibusters by majority vote to prevent Democrats from blocking President Bush’s judicial nominees in 2005.

Does anyone believe that they’ll hesitate for a minute to end the filibuster if -- God forbid -- they manage to regain the majority?  We have the votes to do it -- it only takes a simple majority to end this anti-democratic practice. All we need is the will of the Democratic leadership in the Senate, and that’s where you come in.  There is simply too much at stake to continue to allow the legislative process to be held hostage by one senator.

We need reform now, and so long as Joe Lieberman and the Republicans continue to abuse the filibuster privilege, they will continue to thwart meaningful change at every turn in the process.

Please email Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today and let him know where we stand.