With Al Franken’s victory finally official, the Democrats will soon have a filibuster proof majority of 60 in the Senate, assuming Sens. Kennedy and Byrd are able to return to the floor or are replaced with Democrats. As a result, the Democrats have more legislative dominance than they (or for that matter, the Republicans) have had since the 1970s. Obviously this will permit the Dems to push through a wide swath of their legislative agenda, regardless of whether that agenda is good public policy.
Americans should be terrified of this possibility, because the last time the Democrats had this much legislative power, they came within a hair’s breadth of successfully implementing the transparently destructive and frightening system of:
A. Communism
B. Sharia Law
C. Socialism
or
D. Metric Measurement
Look, I find the notion of either political party having a filibuster-proof Senate majority to go with a significant House majority mildly frightening. But for some reason, I feel a little less frightened when the bugaboo for why this is a bad thing is that we might stop using a system of measurement that is a relic of our days as an English colony and which imposes a burden on our ability to do business with the rest of the world.
Is Metric on the table?
I was worried about stuff like “Cap and Trade” and “get rid of the outliers in medical care” kinda stuff.
If being able to buy gas by the liter instead of by the gallon is the worst that will happen to me, I’ll be thrilled! That’s a discount of almost 70% per unit! It’ll irritate me to buy almost 4 times as many units though…Report
xkcd had a really interesting strip about converting to metric; it actually helped me a good deal.Report
This post is begging for a Front Porch-style smackdown.Report
I always think of war and things like that when there is too much power concentrated in one party. Maybe that’s silly, though. War seems to be one of the few affairs that’s truly bi-partisan.Report
Surely the democrats know better than to get us involved in another Vietnam!Report
Unless there are political requirements!Report
In the 20th century, I believe wars have only begun when one party controlled congress and the presidency , usually Democrats. The tradition continues in the 21st with the Republicans leading the way. Hopefully we won’t backslide with the Democrats in control again.
http://www.dflorig.com/partycontrol.htmReport
Yeah it’s a real shame since the repub’s were all for peace and love and staying the hell out of viet nam. And that damn FDR, if he hadn’t actually seen war was coming and started a military build up against the wishes of just about everybody, then Japan and Germany would have been like peaches and cream.Report
It’s Wilson’s fault.Report
Read “Day of Infamy.”Report
Not always… it’s true of the Bush and Johnson years, but Carter has large Democratic majorities in Congress and was by far the most pro-peace President the US has had in recent years.Report
As an engineer, I’m more than willing to move to metric…but we need to keep the “foot”, it’s just about the handiest measure ever, and there really isn’t an equivalent length in metric.Report
I don’t know the 60 includes Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Kent Conrad, Evan Bayh, who are really liberal conservatives far as I can tell. Hell Nelson might just be a conservative for all I know. Hardly any difference between them and Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins. Whose that wacko that filled Obama’s seat? Oh yeah, Burris.
The Dems may have 60 but they have a whole lotta C or D team members.
Plus, whose going to scare them into disciplinary shape: Harry Reid? Please. Dick Durbin? Gimme a break.
I would expect them to fumble around as per their usual for sometime.Report
But even if they were all party-line Democrats, I would think that the threat of the metric system would rank as a laughingly weak argument against single-party dominance.Report
true dat.Report
First they came for quarts,
then they can for miles,
then they came for inches, before you know it: muslim-facist-communist-sharia-athiest-anarchy-totalistarinism.Report
And yet, I honestly can’t think of anything more likely to return the House and Senate to Republican control in 2010 than an attempt to reinstate the metric system…
Socialized medicine? Well, maybe I’ll get something out of that.
Global Warming? Well, I don’t understand the science and there’s stuff about The Children so I guess maybe I’ll get something out of that.
I have to buy liters of gas now and drive 100km/hr on the freeway????? DID WE LOSE A WAR OR SOMETHING???? THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!!!!!!Report
Sad But True.Report
Powerfully rendered!
It’s why I visit…just throw the commie bums out and return the corrupt capitalists to power! Will someone do a post on secession, I have a headache!Report
We can pray!Report
You scoff now, but give em the metric system, and the next thing we’ll have a month called “Thermidor”Report
Chad
“In the 20th century, I believe wars have only begun when one party controlled congress and the presidency , usually Democrats. The tradition continues in the 21st with the Republicans leading the way. Hopefully we won’t backslide with the Democrats in control again.”
As has been pointed out above, foreign affairs actually do matter with the US government’s war/peace decisions. Take away WWI and WWII, and the US probably wouldn’t have started them, no matter how Librul Fascist FDR was.Report