Tom Udall: “today we are here debating the issue of rules. I have listened to this debate about the Senate rules, and the word…”

“today we are here debating the issue of rules. I have listened to this debate about the Senate rules, and the word ``broken'' gets tossed around a lot--broken agreements, breaking the rules to change the rules. Those are the sideline comments and they miss the real point, because what is broken is the Senate itself. I have said for a long time the Senate is a graveyard for good ideas, and the shovel is unprecedented abuse of filibusters, of delay and obstruction. It all adds up to one thing: broken. We called for changes in the Senate rules at the beginning of this Congress. We should have put in place a talking filibuster and other changes, but we didn't. So we have this tyranny of the minority, where the minority governs--just the situation our Founding Fathers feared. Too often the Senate is still a graveyard for good ideas, and the bodies keep piling up, especially with executive branch nominees. In January, the two leaders agreed to-- . . . work together to schedule votes on nominees in a timely manner by unanimous consent, except in extraordinary circumstances. The minority leader said, On the subject of nominations, Senate Republicans will continue to work with the majority to process nominations, consistent with the norms and traditions of the Senate. That was the agreement, and it has not been kept. The only extraordinary circumstance has been continual obstruction, and it all began very early on.…”