Setting the tone

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Establishing rules to effectively limit debate critical in Lincoln 

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Rules enforcement will be crucial this year in Lincoln.
On the eve of another session of the Nebraska Legislature there is a lot riding on meetings this week to establish the rules of the game. With a short 60-day session on the schedule, every day will count if there is to be any hope of getting things done and addressing priority issues of the day.
Unfortunately there is danger of scar tissue remaining after last year’s fiasco, which drew national attention the likes of which Nebraskans would prefer to avoid. 
Two senators from Omaha took a scorched-earth politics approach to not only slow the train, but do everything in their power to run it off the tracks, simply because their minority views were not persuasive. When it was over, the majority ruled on a few contentious issues involving abortion, gun rights, school choice and transgender care, though as that later issue was decided Sens. Michaela Cavanaugh and Megan Hunt vowed at the end of the day that “this fight is far from over.”
That set the tone in May for how important rules of engagement will be in the 2024 session. Cavanaugh’s infamous, emotional filibustering tactics will likely lead to a lengthy fight over legislative rules this session, including discussions about possibly lowering the threshold for ending debate. 
Sen. Ernie Chambers was a master of the filibuster, slowing and often defeating parts or all of bills he opposed, but he managed to do so without damaging the entire body’s credibility in the process. The point is he was able to impact legislation with effective use of his minority views, something Cavanaugh and Hunt have proven incapable of. 
Nebraskans want and expect all points of view to be heard, but they also want and expect lawmakers to act like adults. Having rules in place to limit filibustering tactics, and enforcing those rules, will be absolutely necessary this legislative session.
-- Kurt Johnson