Dealing with the Senate

This is a great time for American Politics students to be studying anything from the governing part of the course involving the separation of powers, checks and balances, the Presidency or Congress.

The United States is facing its biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression and the American electorate expect one man to put it right: President Obama.

But whilst he is the de fact chief legislator he must rely on the support of Congress in getting his policy agenda enacted. To this end one constitutional scholar said that the President and Congress are like two halves of a dollar bill, each useless without the other half. Another said, simply, the President needs Congress. This week Obama’s stimulus plan passed the House, but it must also now get through the Senate.

As this little one page feature from the Economist points out, the Senate is governed by more arcane rules than the House and Obama may not have as much success here. In short, the point is that the Democrats don’t have a 60 seat filibuster proof majority and if the Republicans choose to obstruct Obama’s bill, they can talk it out. Famous examples of filibusters come from the civil rights era when one southern Senator, Strom Thurmond, talked for a day (24 hours and 18 minutes) in obstructing the passage of a bill. No one expects the an individual Republican to go to such extreme lengths, but hopefully you get the picture.