美国国家公共电台 NPR To Forward Progressive Agenda, Harry Reid Says The Filibuster Must Go

 

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The filibuster¹ - it might sound like just a piece of Washington jargon², but that procedural rule has become a flashpoint on Capitol Hill and now in the Democratic primary, too.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We have to do what I'm saying we need to do, which is to get rid of the filibuster.

ELIZABETH WARREN: It's been used by the far right as a tool to block progress on everything.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: And given the challenges that we face, I think we have to be open to ending the filibuster.

FADEL: It may be controversial today, but the filibuster was meant as a tool for bipartisan buy-in in the Senate. It requires a supermajority, 60 rather than 51 senators to advance a bill. This past week, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defended the filibuster for legislation in the pages of The New York Times, calling it a crucial bulwark⁴ against majority overreach. But the fight over the filibuster began years ago with his predecessor⁵, a Democrat³.

Nice to see you.

HARRY⁶ REID: Thank you very much.

FADEL: Thank you for having us.

That's former Senator and Majority Leader Harry Reid speaking to me in his home in a gated community in Henderson, Nev. Reid may be retired⁷, but his political shadow looms⁸ large after 34 years in Congress in which he was as formidable a political force as Mitch McConnell. And he's a leading voice in the effort to end the filibuster entirely⁹, an argument he also laid out in an op-ed in The New York Times.

REID: The filibuster has been used as a weapon to just have the Senate do nothing.

FADEL: Reid changed the rules in 2013 when Congress was plagued with political gridlock and Republicans were blocking President Obama's executive appointees. It was called the nuclear option.

REID: As a result of that, Obama got his hundred-plus judges, got his Cabinet spots filled. It was the right thing to do. Now that wasn't the first time the rules had been changed. They'd been changed lots of times in the past, but I think that now with the Senate being basically inoperable - because the Republicans, Congress after Congress, have just refused to get anything done. So it's just not good for the country. I think that we need to take a very close look at getting rid of the filibuster period.

FADEL: But doesn't that create a situation where one party gets to railroad the other party depending on who is in charge of that upper chamber¹⁰?

REID: Well - but at least it would be done with a majority. The way it is now, it doesn't matter if you're in majority or minority. It don't get anything done.

FADEL: And why is it so important right now? You also talked about it being important for whoever runs for president to also call for it.

REID: Yeah. I think it's important because - let's take some major issues the country faces. No issue in my mind is more important than climate change. The United States must be a leader in this. But with Trump¹¹ and basically Republicans saying that climate change doesn't exist, we're getting nothing done. I mean nothing. We don't have a lot of time to spare.

FADEL: You actually got some criticism when you removed the filibuster for judicial¹² confirmation¹³. And then Mitch McConnell took that further and did that for Supreme¹⁴ Court judges. And now this move, I just wonder if it creates a dangerous - at least the critics will say it's a dangerous precedent¹⁵.

REID: Well, I, in hindsight, don't understand why I waited so long to change the rule. What the Republicans have been doing for a long time was wrong and bad for the country.

FADEL: Does the Senate then just become another House? Does the upper chamber become the lower chamber?

REID: I've said it's not a question if it's only a question of when the House and the Senate become majority bodies, 50% votes. But that's not the end of the world. Remember, we have six-year terms in the Senate, two-year terms in the House. We have a bicameral¹⁶ legislature. It would still work just fine. We are a democracy. Let's act like one.

FADEL: Of course, Democrats¹⁷ can only abolish the filibuster for legislation if they take control of the Senate from Republicans in 2020. Reid has had many conversations about the state of the democracy in this very room. He's 79 and grappling with cancer, but he still wields¹⁸ political might. On the same couch where I sit, some of the leading Democratic presidential candidates have sought his advice - Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden. I asked him if he keeps in touch with Republican colleagues, too.

Do you reach out to any of the people you once worked with in Washington? Is there anybody?

REID: I still keep in touch with some of them. I really strongly believe the admonition I got when I first came to the Senate from Senator Robert Byrd, who said always remember we do not work for the president. We work with the president. And I think some of my colleagues have forgotten that they work with the president. They're working for him.

FADEL: Do you ever miss being in Washington, especially at this vital time?

REID: No. I believe in the Old Testament¹⁹ admonition that there's a time for everything, time for planting, a time for reaping. I just think that that was my time, and now is not my time.

FADEL: Do you ever call, though, and say, maybe a different approach?

REID: Well, I give my friends ideas. I saw a good one today. Senator Schumer had come out calling for restrictions²⁰ on people being able to buy body armor. That was an idea I gave him. I've got a lot of ideas, so...

FADEL: How difficult do you think this race against President Trump is going to be?

REID: No one should discount Donald Trump. He has spent a lifetime developing who he is. And I wish he were somebody else, but he's somebody that has been able to focus on race. He focuses on the environment but the wrong way. He focused on the economy I think in the wrong way. These tariffs²¹ are not only hurting America. They're hurting in the world. I think that his simplistic views on the world translate to people not wanting to focus real hard on what needs to be done to help this country. So don't discount him. He's going to be hard to beat.

FADEL: But Reid says he's not concerned about America's future.

REID: If we've been able to withstand going on three years of Trump and still be here, we're - country's pretty strong. Our Constitution really does mean something. I'm convinced it's important we have three separate and equal branches of government. And I think all of us need to work to make sure each of those remains²² strong.

FADEL: And you see them as strong right now.

REID: Yeah. I think we're doing just fine.

FADEL: That was former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at his home in Henderson, Nev.

1 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

2 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 bulwark   

n.堡垒，保障，防御

参考例句：

• That country is a bulwark of freedom.那个国家是自由的堡垒。
• Law and morality are the bulwark of society.法律和道德是社会的防御工具。

5 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

13 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

16 bicameral   

adj.两院制的

参考例句：

• The United States Congress is a bicameral body.美国国会由两个议院组成。
• The Upper House is usually the smaller branch of a bicameral legislature.上议院通常是两院制议会中较小的一个。

17 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 wields   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的第三人称单数 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• She wields enormous power within the party. 她操纵着党内大权。
• He remains chairman, but wields little power at the company. 他还是主席，但在公司没有什么实权了。

19 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

20 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

21 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。