Democrats Nuked the Ratchet
22nd November 2013
The seemingly inexorable march towards economic socialism and political statism has been accomplished through legislative and judicial ratchets which, once established, were all but impossible to reverse in part because the filibuster helped lock in the agenda and those supporting the agenda.
Because of the ratchet, the nation moved only in one direction: Towards redistribution of wealth, and bigger government.
Because of the ratchet, there was little or no hope of fundamental reversals.
Not anymore.
When Democrats — the embodiment of redistribution and statism — exercised the Nuclear Option yesterday, they blew up the ratchet. The filibuster is dead for all purposes, even if superficially only as to non-Supreme Court nomninees. No one will respect the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees or important legislation — the Senate can’t be half pregnant.