Socialist Senate Democrats are waiting to get the welfare/socialist climate bill passed but in the meantime, they are considering blowing up the filibuster to force through their partisan overhaul of the country’s election laws. They favor Democrats to the point of destroying any chance of Republicans winning key seats.
This would be their major domestic win since they’re totalitarians. It’s their Christmas present to Republicans and the nail in the coffin of the two-party system.
“I think there’s a universal view in our caucus that we need to get something done,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat. “There’s a strong belief in the Senate that we can restore the Senate and at the same time deal with voting rights, and that’s what we’re aiming to do.”
They want to build on their recent success in creating a one-time fast track process for raising the debt ceiling. Who would have predicted that says I sarcastically.
McConnell caved to let it happen.
Schumer and other Democratic leaders say it has created an opportunity. They say that measure, which passed only because of the support of 10 Republican senators, has opened the door to suspend the filibuster one time to pass voting rights legislation.
“We in this chamber made a change in the Senate’s rules in order to push forward something that all of us think is important,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock, Georgia Democrat. “We set the stage to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, and yet as we cast that vote … this same chamber is allowing the ceiling of our democracy to crash in around us.”
Thanks, Mitch.
Mr. Warnock and a cadre of Democratic senators are working to craft a plan to change the Senate’s long-standing filibuster rules, which require at least 60 votes to end debate on the legislation, to pass the election legislation.
The key to unlocking the rules change is Sen. Joe Manchin III, a West Virginia Democrat.
“We could not imagine – we could not imagine changing the rules. That is, until last week. Because last week we did exactly that,” said Mr. Warnock. “Be very clear: Last week we changed the rules of the Senate.”
Yeah, right.
THE OPTIONS UNDER CONSIDERATION
- Some lawmakers, like Warnock of Georgia, are pushing for a simple one-time filibuster carve-out to pass voting rights.
- Others want a more radical change to the Senate institution. Along those lines, there is talk of changing the filibuster to require 41 “no” votes on ending debate rather than the 60 “yes” vote threshold.
- Another possibility is to require senators to mount a “talking filibuster,” which would require lawmakers to speak continuously on the floor in objection to a bill.
- “I think right now what we’re talking about is restoring the talking filibuster and restoring the Senate to the good old days when one person couldn’t have veto power,” said Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat who is part of the rule change talks.
- Manchin has signaled a willingness to discuss the topic.
“We’re talking about … everything, [including] the rules. How do we make the Senate work better?” said Mr. Manchin. “How can the Senate function the way it was designed to function?”
WILL MANCHIN GO ALONG?
Complicating the talks is that Mr. Manchin is also actively pursuing discussions with Republican lawmakers on whether a bipartisan fix is possible.
“All of my discussions have been with bipartisan, Republicans and Democrats,” said Mr. Manchin. “The rules change should be done to be where we all have input in this rules change because we’re going to have to live with it.”
Republican lawmakers are staunchly opposed to blowing up the filibuster rules.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said he is involved in Republican talks with Mr. Manchin, pressing him to oppose another filibuster carve-out of any kind.
“There is no Republican interest in the idea that we do a talking filibuster. … That’s eliminating the filibuster,” he said.
Please leave a comment after the ads and let us know what you think.
Subscribe to the Daily Newsletter
