 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(January 2023) |
Obstructionism is the practice of deliberately delaying or preventing a process or change, especially in politics. [1]
An obstructionist causes problems. Neuman and Baron (1998) identify obstructionism as one of the three dimensions that encompass the range of workplace aggression. In this context, obstructionism refers to "behaviors intended to hinder an employee from performing their job or the organization from accomplishing its objectives". [2]
Obstructionism or policy of obstruction denotes the deliberate interference with the progress of a legislation by various means such as filibustering or slow walking which may depend on the respective parliamentary procedures.
Obstructionism can also take the form of widespread agreement to oppose policies from the other side of a political debate or dispute.
In September 2010, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show announced the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, an event dedicated to ending political obstructionism in American mass media.
"We're looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn't be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it's appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles." [3]
The most common tactic is the filibuster which consists of extending the debate upon a proposal in order to delay or completely prevent a vote on its passage.
Another form of parliamentary obstruction practiced in the United States and other countries is called "slow walking". It specifically refers to the extremely slow speed with which legislators walk to the podium to cast their ballots. For example, in Japan this tactic is known as a "cow walk", and in Hawaii it's known as a "Devil's Gambit". Consequently, slow walking is also used as a synonym for obstructionism itself. [4]
John O'Connor Power, Joe Biggar, [5] Frank Hugh O'Donnell, and Charles Stewart Parnell, [5] Irish nationalists; all were famous for making long speeches in the British House of Commons. [6] In a letter to Cardinal Cullen, 6 August 1877, The O'Donoghue, MP for County Kerry, denounced the obstruction policy: "It is Fenianism in a new form." [7] The tactic deadlocked legislation and 'the autumn Session of 1882 was entirely devoted to the reform of the Rules of Procedure with a view to facilitating the despatch of business.' [8] Sir Leslie Ward's "Spy" cartoon of John O'Connor Power appeared in Vanity Fair's "Men of the Day" series, 25 December 1886, and was captioned "the brains of Obstruction".
A recent example is United States Senator Mitch McConnell. The Republican from Kentucky has gained notoriety for orchestrating numerous filibusters of federal judge nominations as Senate Minority Leader (2007-15, 2021-), [9] and for repeatedly blocking such nominations as Majority Leader (2015-21). He has bragged about his obstructionism, [10] referring to himself as the "Grim Reaper" of the Democratic agenda. [11] He called the successful block of the Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination "one of the happiest nights of [his] Senate career". [12] According to former President Barack Obama, in one meeting between Vice President Joe Biden and McConnell about a piece of legislation blocked by the latter, McConnell stopped Biden's explanation of the merits of the bill, saying "you must be under the mistaken impression that I care". [13]
Cloture, closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French for "the act of terminating something". It was introduced into the Parliament of the United Kingdom by William Ewart Gladstone to overcome the obstructionism of the Irish Parliamentary Party and was made permanent in 1887. It was subsequently adopted by the United States Senate and other legislatures. The name cloture remains in the United States; in Commonwealth countries it is usually closure or, informally, guillotine; in the United Kingdom closure and guillotine are distinct motions.
A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out a bill", and is characterized as a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision-making body.
Isaac Butt was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist parties and organisations. He was a leader in the Irish Metropolitan Conservative Society in 1836, the Home Government Association in 1870, and the Home Rule League in 1873. Colin W. Reid argues that Home Rule was the mechanism Butt proposed to bind Ireland to Great Britain. It would end the ambiguities of the Act of Union of 1800. He portrayed a federalised United Kingdom, which would have weakened Irish exceptionalism within a broader British context. Butt was representative of a constructive national unionism. As an economist, he made significant contributions regarding the potential resource mobilisation and distribution aspects of protection, and analysed deficiencies in the Irish economy such as sparse employment, low productivity, and misallocation of land. He dissented from the established Ricardian theories and favoured some welfare state concepts. As editor he made the Dublin University Magazine a leading Irish journal of politics and literature.
Addison Mitchell McConnell III is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell has been the Senate leader of the Republican Party since 2007 and has served as minority leader since 2021, having previously held that post from 2007 to 2015 and was majority leader from 2015 to 2021.
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93 (2003), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), often referred to as the McCain–Feingold Act.
Speculation abounded over potential nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States by President George W. Bush since before his presidency.
In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke cloture on a resolution to amend the Standing Rules. The term "nuclear option" is an analogy to nuclear weapons being the most extreme option in warfare.
The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., most commonly known as St. Matthew's Cathedral, is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. As St. Matthew's Cathedral and Rectory, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974.
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch or where the legislative branch concurs and approves something previously enacted by a strong executive branch.
Frank Hugh O'Donnell, born Francis Hugh MacDonald was an Irish writer, journalist and nationalist politician.
The Standing Rules of the Senate are the parliamentary procedures adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings ..."
Joseph Gillis Biggar, commonly known as Joe Biggar or J. G. Biggar, was an Irish nationalist politician from Belfast. He served as an MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Home Rule League and later Irish Parliamentary Party for Cavan from 1874 to 1885 and West Cavan from 1885 to his death in 1890.
Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449 (2007), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that issue ads may not be banned from the months preceding a primary or general election.
The Thurmond rule in U.S. politics posits that at some point in a U.S. presidential election year, the U.S. Senate will not confirm the president's nominees to the federal judiciary except under certain circumstances. The basic premise is that the President and the Senate majority are of opposite political ideologies and as such the judiciary committee will not allow an appointee to receive a floor vote from the entire Senate during a presidential election year.
A filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate; in general, if no other senator is speaking, a senator who seeks recognition is entitled to speak for as long as they wish. Only when debate concludes can the measure be put to a vote.
The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2014 is a bill that focused on improving energy efficiency in the United States by reducing homeowners' energy use, improving the energy efficiency provisions of building codes, and making other changes.
The 2005 debate on the nuclear option was a political debate in the United States Senate regarding the possible use of the nuclear option to allow a simple majority to confirm judicial nominees. At the time, three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn were required to end debate on nominations under Rule XXII of the Senate's standing rules.
The For the People Act, introduced as H.R. 1, is a bill in the United States Congress intended to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new ethics rules for federal officeholders.
The political positions of Mitch McConnell are reflected by his United States Senate voting record, public speeches, and interviews, as well as his actions as Senate majority and minority leader. McConnell was known as a pragmatist and a moderate Republican early in his political career, but shifted to the right over time. He led opposition to stricter campaign finance laws, culminating in the Supreme Court ruling that partially overturned the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) in 2010.
On September 26, 2020, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to fill in the vacancy left by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At the time of her nomination, Barrett was a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, Illinois. The Senate received word from the president on September 29.
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