Can I tell you the secret to ending the GOP's filibuster?
Can I tell you the secret to ending the GOP's filibuster?
I'm using the word "secret" loosely here...
Hi! Ari here, with a quick newsletter entry this week…
…digging into the one thing that hangs over the entire Biden and Democratic agenda:
Why won’t Democrats reform the filibuster to get things done?
Democrats control all three branches of government. History shows that rarely lasts.
But most things Democrats want to do are held hostage by Senate Republicans, who filibuster most legislation, preventing it from getting floor votes.
President Biden has waffled on reforming or ending the filibuster. A few conservative Democratic senators suggest they won’t vote to reform it if the issue hit the floor. (The reasons range from “tradition,” to liking a tactic that keeps tough votes off the floor, to reasoning that it’s a good tool for when their party loses power.)
But here’s the thing.
Reform has to start somewhere
Blowing up the filibuster tradition might be hard, all at once. (It’s not a law and the Senate can change it anytime, but it is an institution of habit.)
But picking the right battle may show some reform can work.
Washington insiders say Mitch McConnell just walked the Senate closer to seeing what reform could look like — because his game of chicken with the debt ceiling had Democrats mulling ending the filibuster for just that issue.
The idea would be specifically ending the power to filibuster the U.S. into the self-sabotage of economic default.
Democrats could pass that exception - a tweak, really - and defend it to the public as common sense for jobs and economic prosperity.
Once people see the filibuster can be reformed without destroying the Senate, other tweaks might seem more viable.
Big Picture
The issue is much larger than the recent debt ceiling clash.
Other arguments for some kind of reform include:
Action: People vote for Congress so it can legislate, not be stalled by a stubborn minority.
Democracy: The filibuster routinely blocks the will of the American public.
Democracy, but like, for real: The Senate is 50-50 because of its organization via states, but today Democratic Senators represent over 40 million more people than Republican Senators do.
McConnell Blinked
The recent debt ceiling clash played out like vintage Beltway theater; overheated and ultimately uneventful.
It did feature Sen. McConnell backing down, however. That suggests his obstruction is politically weaker when it targets the economy itself. The GOP only backed down until December, when this issue may pop again, giving Democrats a chance to seriously dent this tool of obstruction… if they really want to.
We covered this recently on The Beat with former Obama campaign aide Chai Komanduri, you can watch our report and conversation below….
And tell me in the comments:
Do you think it would be good for democracy to reform the filibuster, or not?
Editor’s Note: If you like this newsletter, consider subscribing for the whole thing:
Absolutely. It’s a senate tradition, not a bylaw, and it was used to prevent civil rights legislation. I will never vote for my current Senator Sinema again. A complete disappointment bordering on a disaster.
HI Ari, my name is David and I'm an Air Force Veteran. I know you probably won't respond to this because you have thousands of followers. I look forward to your show everyday. I appreciate your personality, humor, knowledge, intelligence and integrity in covering pressing issues. Your show is a bright spot in my day as I'm a full time caregiver for my wife who had a brain tumor removed last year which has impacted her life. I was a loadmaster on C130 and C141 aircrafts and traveled all over the world while in the military. My family is all from VA and PA, I grew up 30 miles from Jefferson's estate at Monticello in the Shenandoah Valley close to the Blueridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. I personally feel the filibuster should be modified or eliminated because the GOP is holding our country hostage, the majority of Americans spoke loudly, freely and clearly during 2020 election. More importantly what concerns me the most as a Veteran that served our country like millions of other Veterans, we honored our oath to protect our Constitution and Republic, unlike our ex-president and GOP, they make a mockery of this and are hypocrites because they took the same oath. Trump and the GOP did everything they could to undermine the Constitution and got away with it. They have no respect for rule of law, due process of law or separation of powers. Never in my lifetime did I think I would see a coup attempt or an insurrection because a narcistic , autocrat lost an election and was a poor loser. I see the GOP as the obstruction party, they have no plans, they are the cancel culture party and the voter suppression party, they can't run and win on their own merits, so they suppress voting and employ gerrymandering in their efforts to win. Our ex president is a nationalist and a racist who embraces supremacists that are part of his base and the GOP turns a blind eye to this, our country is going backwards not forward. Hate crimes have doubled in our country or tripled because the last administration turned a blind eye to this because a lot of our ex-president's base are racists and supremacists that have been given a platform in the GOP power grab.