# Is there any way that Senate Republicans can override Mitch McConnell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 5, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231 "2019-01-05T02:44:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/21 "2019-01-06T21:33:24Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Trump, aided and abetted by the right-wing propaganda machine, managed to instill fear into a majority of Americans. A majority? Do you mean that people throughout the political spectrum, and not just on one end, are now afraid? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/22 "2019-01-06T22:39:40Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Why is it that these polls matter but polls showing that a majority of people want something like (say) gun control are thoroughly ignored? ([A majority of republicans too](https://www.npr.org/2018/03/02/589849342/npr-poll-after-parkland-number-of-americans-who-want-gun-restrictions-grows)) > > I am NOT hijacking this into a gun control debate. I am asking why some polls matter and others do not. To answer a different question than the one Exapno and JKellyMap addressed (about the relative change in % of Americans listing ‘immigration’ as a serious issue): The reason we see many polls indicating a majority of Americans caring about an issue, combined with _ **inaction** _ on that issue, is that it’s expensive to run for Congress. Thus whoever has the biggest checkbook—and on gun issues, that’s the NRA and associated interests—will determine whether there will be action or inaction on the issue. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/23 "2019-01-07T20:43:57Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > A majority? > > Do you mean that people throughout the political spectrum, and not just on one end, are now afraid? Speaking (again) for Exapno, he clearly meant “_irrationally_ afraid.” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/24 "2019-01-24T21:48:18Z")
There were votes today by the Senate, one on the Trump proposal for funding the government, and a separate one on the Pelosi proposal. Neither one of them received the 60 votes necessary to advance, much less the 2/3 majority needed to override a veto. So it looks like McConnell has read the Senate correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/25 "2019-01-24T23:27:44Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Presumably you mean 27 Republicans. Assuming all 47 non-R’s would also support this, then 74.7% of the 99 sitting Senators would be required — 73.7% would not be enough. Is it proper that important workings require this threshold? It wouldn’t be enough to have the 67% needed for veto override; they need over 74%? No he meant that 27 Republicans could dump McConnell as majority leader and install one them as majority leader. Then there would also be enough, with the 47 Democrats, to override a veto. There remains the question of getting 55 Republican representatives to also cave, but if 27 senators did, that would probably happen too. At that point, I imagine Trump would not want to be overridden so he would either sign it or wait ten days in a fit of pique and let it become law. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/26 "2019-01-24T23:58:54Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > A majority? > > Do you mean that people throughout the political spectrum, and not just on one end, are now afraid? I think a case can be made that a sufficient number of Democrats agree with the overwhelming number of Republicans that it falls across the line into majority. Take this article on a recent [Harvard CAPS/Harris poll](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/426500-immigration-is-top-issue-facing-country-poll). > [@](#): > > “Immigration is surging as the top issue in the country, displacing healthcare,” said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll. … > > Penn said that the rising prominence of immigration as a political issue, however, appeared to be “more of a win for the Trump forces,” given the president’s intense focus on illegal immigration and claims that a crisis is unfolding on the southern border. … > > Nearly half – 49 percent – said that they see border security as a “serious problem,” Not quite a majority, but they can’t all be Republicans. A “[Economist/YouGov.com poll](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/poll-8-in-10-call-illegal-immigration-a-problem-58-say-serious)found that 84 percent believe illegal immigration is a “problem” for the United States.” A [Quinnipiac poll](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/15/voters-doubt-trump-border-wall-will-solve-immigration-issues-poll-says.html) found “Fifty-four percent of voters surveyed say there is a “security crisis” along the southern border, versus 43 percent who think there is not. Eighty-six percent of Republicans and 54 percent of independents surveyed said there is a security crisis. However, only 25 percent of Democrats said there is a crisis.” I don’t play games with polls. As I said earlier, the important datum is not the absolute number but the fact that it has risen so drastically in a short amount of time. Whether this particular fear is irrational is irrelevant. Fear campaigns cannot be limited to one segment of the population. They slop over. People are cautious and rightfully so. They’re right to have some fears and a complex world makes it difficult to rate fears above or below one another. Making the world less frightening is a rational strategy. I’m sure lots of Democrats would just like the border issue to go away so they don’t have to worry about it any more. That Trump lies about the amount of crime coming over the border doesn’t make that number zero. As long as trumpeting FEAR FEAR FEAR works, it will work across party lines. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/27 "2019-01-25T01:52:16Z")
Of course illegal immigration is a problem. But there’s only one solution to it, and you’ll never hear a Republican proposing it. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/28 "2019-01-25T02:17:34Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Pence only gets to vote if there’s a tie, otherwise he’s just keeping his seat warm. I know this is an older post, but you missed the point. It’s not about one vote, it’s about the role of the President of the Senate to bring legislation to the floor. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/29 "2019-01-25T04:27:15Z")
I didn’t know about this poll. That is horrifying not to mention shocking. Is this an outlier? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/30 "2019-01-25T16:45:17Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > There were votes today by the Senate, one on the Trump proposal for funding the government, and a separate one on the Pelosi proposal. Neither one of them received the 60 votes necessary to advance, much less the 2/3 majority needed to override a veto. > > So it looks like McConnell has read the Senate correctly. The kicker is, the Trump proposal lost with a vote of 50-47 while the Schumer proposal lost 52-44. So, more R’s voted for the Democrat proposal than the Trump proposal. Schumer and the Dem’s are getting more Republican support than Trump is garnering. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/31 "2019-01-25T16:58:28Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > [Quinnipiac poll](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/15/voters-doubt-trump-border-wall-will-solve-immigration-issues-poll-says.html) found “Fifty-four percent of voters surveyed say there is a “security crisis” along the southern border, versus 43 percent who think there is not. Eighty-six percent of Republicans and 54 percent of independents surveyed said there is a security crisis. However, only 25 percent of Democrats said there is a crisis.” Wow – that is terrible. As a Latin Americanist human geographer, I have a professional obligation to educated the public that there IS no security crisis – but what an uphill battle. I am actually close to tears as I type this. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/32 "2019-01-25T17:35:16Z")
When Fear replaces the actual problem as the main problem, no good results are possible. 9/11 started the current plague of Fear. No major outside terrorists attacks have occurred in 17 years but Fear of terrorism pervades the country, and skews it in many warped ways. Letting Trump start his fence might in some ways assuage the fears of illegal immigration. People actually want the TSA no matter how much they complain about it, and the fence would never be in their faces the same way. The counterargument is that fear of illegals is not a matter of better immigration policy; it’s a symptom of whites knowing that they will forever become a minority - and they know all too well how they treat minorities. It’s different in scale but not in meaning from why the South went insane before the Civil War. (And why the North rammed through anti-immigration laws in the 1920s.) Trumpsters don’t mind poisoning the well because they think they can live on bottled water. We’ll see how true that is. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/33 "2019-01-25T17:45:30Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I know this is an older post, but you missed the point. It’s not about one vote, it’s about the role of the President of the Senate to bring legislation to the floor. The presiding officer of the Senate has no substantive role in bringing legislation to the floor, other than recognizing a senator to make a motion to do so. Nor is the position of presiding officer (as in the selection of whomever is sitting in the chair at any particular moment) subject to any vote. The Senate votes on a resolution to appoint a President Pro Tempore (in this case, Chuck Grassley) and then the PPT appoints other senators to sit in the seat at various times during the day. Further, the idea of the Senate voting to appoint a new PPT is a non-starter, as the Majority Leader still controls the schedule of what bills or resolutions get called up, when they are voted on, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231/34 "2019-01-25T17:54:46Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Why is it that these polls matter but polls showing that a majority of people want something like (say) gun control are thoroughly ignored? ([A majority of republicans too](https://www.npr.org/2018/03/02/589849342/npr-poll-after-parkland-number-of-americans-who-want-gun-restrictions-grows)) > > I am NOT hijacking this into a gun control debate. I am asking why some polls matter and others do not. Senators are not elected by the nation. There are two from every state. If polls show 60% of all Americans want X, and 60% of the voters in your state don’t want X, how do you think a Senator is going to vote? Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-senate-republicans-can-override-mitch-mcconnell/827231.md?page=1)