Earlier this week, the Republican’s legislative merchant of death, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, engaged in some surprise loser talk—attacking Democrats for wanting to eliminate the legislative filibuster. It was an odd rant; why go after Democrats on a rule change that could only happen if Republicans lost the majority? And what would McConnell care if Democrats killed the filibuster if Donald Trump (with his veto pen) was still president?
In one fell swoop, McConnell betrayed that 1) he expects Democrats to take the majority, and 2) he expects Trump to lose the White House. And those fears were out in full force today, once again. In fact, it was an all-out freakout.
The whole idea of the filibuster is ridiculous—that 60% of senators must vote for something to pass. This undemocratic precept isn’t a Constitutional one. It was a botched rule change in the early 1900s that morphed into an obstructing tactic. There’s nothing special or magical about it.
That’s why Democrats got rid of it for Supreme Court judicial confirmations in 2013, and McConnell got rid of it for all judicial Supreme Court confirmations when Trump took the White House [edited for correctness]. So this makes McConnell’s hyperventilating all the more ridiculous.
“Vandalize the rules,” says the guy who has made a mockery of Senate rules to pass whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
To repeat: McConnell eliminated the filibuster for judicial confirmations just three years ago! Not sure why suddenly the legislative one is so much worse than the one that doesn’t need House approval, and secures lifetime appointments!
“Ill-gotten power”? So confirming lifetime judges is well-gotten power. Passing legislation that must then pass the House, and must then be signed by the president—just as the Constitution intended—is ill-gotten? That guy is legit a piece of shit.
But, again, this rant doesn’t exist if he thinks Republicans hold the Senate and/or the White House. He sees the writing on the wall, and it’s a unified Democratic trifecta. And in that nightmare scenario for Republicans, the only leverage they would have, anywhere, would be with a Senate filibuster. He’s desperate to hold on to power as the national electorate looks poised to strip it away.
And yes, Washington, D.C. is a big part of their panic. All we need to induct Washington, D.C. (Douglass District) as a state is a simple law. Republicans would obviously filibuster any such effort—the last thing they want or need is a more fair Senate. The one they have, in which Wyoming has two senate seats despite having a smaller population than 116 counties in 33 states, works great for them. And sure, let’s split the Dakotas (combined population 1.6 million) in half, so they can have four senators—more than California or Texas or Florida or New York or any state with actual residents.
The Senate is a fundamentally broken, undemocratic institution. There’s no reason to break it even more with the filibuster, and adding states like Washington, D.C. and maybe Puerto Rico, if its residents vote for it, would help mitigate a non-representative governing chamber too heavily biased toward small, rural, white, and old states.
Yes, Democrats used a tool that was at their disposal. Once they vote to eliminate that tool, it will no longer be available to be used at their disposal. That’s how this stuff works.
In any case, it’s a stupid rule. Had the Senate passed their police “reform” bill, it would’ve died in the House anyway. The only value in it is when the voters have stripped you of power in the House, Senate, and the White House. And in that case, a rump minority—no matter the party—shouldn’t be able to stop legislation from happening.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had fun responding: