Bill Frist Quotes
Filibuster is nothing less than a formula for tyranny by the minority
William Frist, U. S. Senator (Republican, TN), Physician, May 2005
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Lott and other Republicans who objected to Democratic Filibusters of a few judges. Later in the Obama administration he and Republicans had no problem when the Republican Senate minority filibustered just about everything—nominations, laws, budgets, treaties. They had more filibusters in that Congress than there had been in all of Senate history. It is always an issue of whose ox is gored with rampant hypocrisy on both sides in dealing with the filibuster concept. However, no majority in recent years has tried to change the filibuster, though the majority always complains about it.
It didn't take long in early America for legislative caucuses to spring up:
In 2007 the Republicans, who were in the minority, began to use the filibuster to a degree that it had never been used. Within the single year of 2007 Republican’s filibustered 62 times, doubling the highest rate that had occurred before. A small minority of senators were able to block legislation that easily passed the House and was supported by the majority of senators and in some cases supported by the overwhelming majority of the American Public.
The National Assembly at the time was the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch all at the same time. “Intrigue” referred to a panoply of questionable behaviors including bribes, promises of jobs, appointments, threats of slander, personal destruction and other corrupt practices.
Because of the filibuster and other procedural individual prerogatives, it is easy for a few Senators or often a single Senator to prevent a bill from ever coming to a vote. Much imaginative and excellent legislation has died in the United States Senate.
The Senate had always been more deliberative than the House, but at the time Alexander made this statement, his party—the minority in the Senate—had filibustered most of all the legislation, There were more filibusters than had occurred in the entire pure history of America.
The United Stats Senate until the hyperpartisanship and the Republican abuse of the filibuster in the early part of the 21st century, was considered by most, the greatest deliberative body in the world. In just a few years it became one of the most feeble.
They were discussing the Civil Right Bill of 1964 which they all wanted to pass. See {605438} . However, they faced a filibuster from the Southern Senators who had always before used this tactic and blocked Civil Rights legislation. However, the President here committed himself to the one way to take most of the power out of the filibuster. Accept a shutdown of the Senate, give up the rest of the President’s legislative program but the filibuster blocks all legislation that the Southerners wanted like cotton and tobacco subsidies.
William Harrison Frist is an American physician, businessman and politician who served as United States Senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. Bob Corker succeeded Frist. A heart and lung transplant surgeon by occupation, he was Senate Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.
