Meaning of "Majority"

Bob, a caller to the Michael Medved program that I was listening to on Friday on XM satellite radio in my rental car, unintentionally made Ann Coulter's point for her. A result which would probably annoy Bob.

Ms. Coulter had argued in a recent column that the Republican leadership in the Senate should simplify down it's argument in the never ending filibuster and "nuclear option" debate to the following: "Majority vote wins".

This quaint historical essential element of American politics seems to have eluded Bob and his more vocal peers on Air America, which I also listened to that day, and in the Democrat leadership in this country.

Bob opined at length in his moment in the sun as a on-air caller about the need for the filibuster to make it fair because, after all, "you Republicans got control of the Congress and the White House."

Uh, no Bob. Nobody "got control" - like I "got" a speeding ticket, or Bill Clinton "got" caught with an intern.

Bob, I don't want to surprise you or anything, but Republicans "won" control of the Congress and the White House. Winning elections, Bob, that's how it's done. I know that's only incomprehensible theory to most Democrats of late, but it's about winning elections.

That's how you dominate the agenda, Bob. You win the right to do that. That's what being a majority means.

If you win the majority of votes for President, Bob, then you win the right to nominate judges. That's what President Bush, who won the election Bob, did - he nominated judges of his choosing. If you win the majority of seats in the Senate, Bob, then you win the right to confirm (or reject) judges. And that's what the majority party in the Senate (Republicans) will do.

Why is this suddenly a hard concept to understand?

It's apparently hard for Bob, who went on to complain that, without the filibuster as a protection for the minority, "the majority will just confirm all of Bush's judges". Which they are entitled to do, Bob. They won the majority by winning elections. Remember? I know I brought this up two paragraphs ago and that's a long time to keep an attention span, Bob, but stay with me. Majority vote wins.

You do have a way to protect your point of view, Bob, as a minority party. Don't be one. Convince enough people that you're right. Win elections. It's that simple.