Irony.

Editor,

The filibuster is roughly equivalent to the nightmare that Californians created when Proposition 13 was enacted in 1978.

A 2/3 vote is required to raise or institute any tax in California, so it is impossible to increase revenues with an intransigent Republican minority insisting perennially that the budget be balanced by cutting spending. According to their philosophy the California state government should have zero revenue to work with in the first place.

My point is the absurdity of minority rule. And the irony in Washington is that when the Democrats were the minority, they didn't dare to use the filibuster; so when they were the minority, they couldn't get their policies enacted, and when they are the majority -- because the Republicans use the filibuster shamelessly -- they can't get their policies enacted.

re: "No Holds Barred" (2/6/2010)