Senate Filibuster on the Dems' Chopping Block
But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warns that he will shut down the Senate should they move forward.
by Thomas Gallatin: Joe Biden, the former longtime senator from Delaware before becoming Barack Obama’s vice president, weighed in Tuesday on the Senate filibuster, which Democrats are seeking to eliminate. Using the Democrats’ favorite rhetorical blame-game tactic, wherein they ridiculously assert that Republicans are “undermining democracy” when they resist the radical leftist agenda, Biden pulled out the “back in the good old days” trope. He claimed that since the manner by which the filibuster is currently applied has changed (no more marathon speaking sessions required), we might as well throw the whole thing out. “It’s getting to the point where, you know, democracy is having a hard time functioning,” he said. Nothing says “unity” like blatant partisanship.
Actually, it appears that the only one really having a hard time functioning is Biden himself, as he has gone over 50 days without holding a press conference, but we digress.
President Unity obviously wants an end to the filibuster, which serves as a roadblock to the Democrats’ radical agenda — an agenda that includes packing the Supreme Court, statehood for DC and Puerto Rico, as well as other Liberty-robbing bills such as HR 1, the Green New Deal, and extreme gun restriction.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats, who just a few years ago were praising the filibuster while warning against its removal, are now decrying it as what Dick Durbin ridiculously called a “weapon of mass destruction.”
The Illinois senator sang a different tune in April 2017, when he warned against ending the filibuster: “I can tell you that would be the end of the Senate as it was originally devised and created going back to our Founding Fathers. We have to acknowledge our respect for the minority, and that is what the Senate tries to do in its composition and in its procedure.”
Yet on Monday, Durbin said, “The filibuster is still making a mockery of American democracy. The filibuster is still being misused by some senators to block legislation urgently needed and supported by a strong majority of the American people. … It’s not the guarantor of democracy. It has become the death grip of democracy.” Talk about an about-face.
Clearly, Democrats want to remove any roadblocks to the implementation of their radical leftist agenda, even when it means completely rejecting the standards they once touted. The increase of this pressure campaign is clearly directed at getting two particular Democrat senators, Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), to give up their resistance to eliminating the filibuster.
However, given the Senate’s 50-50 split, Republicans would not be left without a potential trump card even if Democrats succeed in getting Manchin and Sinema to cave. And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that he would indeed use it if the Democrats move forward with their scheme. “Some Democratic senators seem to imagine this would be a tidy trade-off. If they could just break the rules on a razor-thin majority, sure, it might damage the institution, but then nothing would stand between them and their entire agenda. A new era of fast-track policymaking,” McConnell observed in a Senate floor speech. But, he then warned, “Let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues: Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate would look like. None of us have served one minute in a Senate that was completely drained of comity and consent.”
McConnell explained that all Republicans would withdraw from the Senate, preventing a physical quorum for controversial votes, which require the presence of at least 51 senators. And Kamala Harris doesn’t count, as she is not a senator. Such action would essentially shut down the Senate. The Wall Street Journal editorial board observes, “A quorum without unanimous consent is 51 Senators, and there are only 50 Democrats. If Republicans kept their nerve in opposition, Democrats couldn’t confirm nominees or vote on legislation. The Nancy Pelosi-Joe Biden agenda couldn’t move any more than if there were a filibuster.” And what motive would Republican senators have to provide a quorum when all Democrats would do is run roughshod over any of their objections as they jammed through their radical partisan agenda via simple-majority votes?
It’s not Republicans who are “making a mockery of American democracy.” It’s the Democrats who desire to force their radical leftist agenda onto the American people. To do it, they’re willing to destroy the very checks and balances in our governmental institutions that were expressly designed to protect the American people from the type of governmental tyranny the Democrats want to impose.
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Thomas Gallatin writes for The Patriot Post.
Tags: Thomas Gallatin, The Patriot Post, Senate Filibuster, on Dems', Chopping Block To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Thomas Gallatin: Joe Biden, the former longtime senator from Delaware before becoming Barack Obama’s vice president, weighed in Tuesday on the Senate filibuster, which Democrats are seeking to eliminate. Using the Democrats’ favorite rhetorical blame-game tactic, wherein they ridiculously assert that Republicans are “undermining democracy” when they resist the radical leftist agenda, Biden pulled out the “back in the good old days” trope. He claimed that since the manner by which the filibuster is currently applied has changed (no more marathon speaking sessions required), we might as well throw the whole thing out. “It’s getting to the point where, you know, democracy is having a hard time functioning,” he said. Nothing says “unity” like blatant partisanship.
Actually, it appears that the only one really having a hard time functioning is Biden himself, as he has gone over 50 days without holding a press conference, but we digress.
President Unity obviously wants an end to the filibuster, which serves as a roadblock to the Democrats’ radical agenda — an agenda that includes packing the Supreme Court, statehood for DC and Puerto Rico, as well as other Liberty-robbing bills such as HR 1, the Green New Deal, and extreme gun restriction.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats, who just a few years ago were praising the filibuster while warning against its removal, are now decrying it as what Dick Durbin ridiculously called a “weapon of mass destruction.”
The Illinois senator sang a different tune in April 2017, when he warned against ending the filibuster: “I can tell you that would be the end of the Senate as it was originally devised and created going back to our Founding Fathers. We have to acknowledge our respect for the minority, and that is what the Senate tries to do in its composition and in its procedure.”
Yet on Monday, Durbin said, “The filibuster is still making a mockery of American democracy. The filibuster is still being misused by some senators to block legislation urgently needed and supported by a strong majority of the American people. … It’s not the guarantor of democracy. It has become the death grip of democracy.” Talk about an about-face.
Clearly, Democrats want to remove any roadblocks to the implementation of their radical leftist agenda, even when it means completely rejecting the standards they once touted. The increase of this pressure campaign is clearly directed at getting two particular Democrat senators, Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), to give up their resistance to eliminating the filibuster.
However, given the Senate’s 50-50 split, Republicans would not be left without a potential trump card even if Democrats succeed in getting Manchin and Sinema to cave. And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that he would indeed use it if the Democrats move forward with their scheme. “Some Democratic senators seem to imagine this would be a tidy trade-off. If they could just break the rules on a razor-thin majority, sure, it might damage the institution, but then nothing would stand between them and their entire agenda. A new era of fast-track policymaking,” McConnell observed in a Senate floor speech. But, he then warned, “Let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues: Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate would look like. None of us have served one minute in a Senate that was completely drained of comity and consent.”
McConnell explained that all Republicans would withdraw from the Senate, preventing a physical quorum for controversial votes, which require the presence of at least 51 senators. And Kamala Harris doesn’t count, as she is not a senator. Such action would essentially shut down the Senate. The Wall Street Journal editorial board observes, “A quorum without unanimous consent is 51 Senators, and there are only 50 Democrats. If Republicans kept their nerve in opposition, Democrats couldn’t confirm nominees or vote on legislation. The Nancy Pelosi-Joe Biden agenda couldn’t move any more than if there were a filibuster.” And what motive would Republican senators have to provide a quorum when all Democrats would do is run roughshod over any of their objections as they jammed through their radical partisan agenda via simple-majority votes?
It’s not Republicans who are “making a mockery of American democracy.” It’s the Democrats who desire to force their radical leftist agenda onto the American people. To do it, they’re willing to destroy the very checks and balances in our governmental institutions that were expressly designed to protect the American people from the type of governmental tyranny the Democrats want to impose.
---------------------------
Thomas Gallatin writes for The Patriot Post.
Tags: Thomas Gallatin, The Patriot Post, Senate Filibuster, on Dems', Chopping Block To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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