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The Filibuster - Kill It for the Good of Democracy

I’m not sure where I stand on the filibuster issue. I do feel is that despite my total disgust in what happened January 6th, a Commission on the incident would conclude nothing. It would only spend time and money to reach a conclusion that would prove only that a bunch of Dump loonies invaded the Capitol. I’d rather resources be spent being sure that every SOB who broke the law that day be thrown in jail. But let’s not kid ourselves; we all know both the Dems and the Pubs intent in this vote.
 
We know a "bunch of Dump loonies" invaded the Capitol. We don't know who funded it. We don't know if they had inside help. We know Republicans don't want us to know.
 
Yeah, the main part of the investigation should have been into inside sources aiding in the insurrection, be it planning, Twitter status reports, etc. Also, it is just another instance of McConnell and other GOP leadership being allowed to sidestep an issue by saying it should be handled at the appropriate time and then choosing not to handle that issue later because the time has passed. Eventually, they should be held accountable for that.
 
PhDeac said:
We know a "bunch of Dump loonies" invaded the Capitol. We don't know who funded it. We don't know if they had inside help. We know Republicans don't want us to know.
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I think the lawyer for the Insurrection Shaman described the people that invaded the capitol as "they’re all f------ short-bus people" and "These are people with brain damage, they’re f------ retarded, they’re on the goddamn spectrum". Typically this sort of language is what Republican can get behind (e.g., Trump), but doubtful they will agree in this circumstance.

Every American should want to know who funded and if there was inside help. Republicans probably already know.
 
These are people who flew from all over the country and participated in a well-organized event.
 
The Wisdom of Kyrsten Sinema. No word from her on how to get Senate Republicans to change their behavior, however. Even if the Democrats were to somehow win over Manchin (which ain't happening) they'd still have to deal with her.

 
The Daily yesterday was a 30 minute long psychoanalysis of Joe Manchin. I can't say it shed much light on anything. Amazing that getting anything done in the most powerful country in the world depends on the inscrutable preferences of a guy who represents a thinly populated, extremely poor slice of Appalachia.
 
Deacon923 said:
The Daily yesterday was a 30 minute long psychoanalysis of Joe Manchin. I can't say it shed much light on anything. Amazing that getting anything done in the most powerful country in the world depends on the inscrutable preferences of a guy who represents a thinly populated, extremely poor slice of Appalachia.
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I'm not sure if this post was intended as a comment on the filibuster, but the same could be said even if the filibuster went away. This will always be the case when a deliberative body is roughly evenly split.

Manchin doesn't want the filibuster to go away because it keeps him from having to vote on Dem bills his constituents don't like. The Pubs can kill the bills, and he doesn't have to piss off either the Dems or his constituency. It's a win-win for him.
 
Yep

If we want to get good shit done, we’ll have to find a way to elect more Democrats.
 
 
PhDeac said:
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As if he's actually listening or cares. All he's thinking about is his next reelection effort in deep red WV, and if Democrats nationally have to suffer so he can get another cushy term in the Senate, so be it. And Sinema is likely thinking the same. At this point it seems obvious that the only way the filibuster or serious voter protections happen in Congress will be if the Democrats can gain at least 2 more seats in 2022 to make those two irrelevant. And they likely need to gain 3 or 4 to make it a real possibility.
 
“The End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund survey, first shared with Newsweek, found HR 1—also known as the For the People Act—to be extremely popular among all voters in both states.

In West Virginia, respondents supported the bill by 79 percent. In Arizona, 84 percent of likely voters supported the bill, and 73 percent "strongly" backed the voting rights legislation.”

https://www.newsweek.com/arizona-we...n-bill-conservative-opposition-mounts-1591695

Not just voting rights.

“The survey, conducted by Change Research, found that nearly 70% of registered voters in Arizona, Utah and West Virginia support federal cannabis legalization and want their Senators to vote in favor of federal reform this year.

The survey also found all three states polled an average of over 50% in favor of expunging records for non-violent cannabis offenses and allowing medical cannabis to be prescribed to veterans.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/70-voters-arizona-utah-west-190901351.html
 
Highland Deac said:
As if he's actually listening or cares. All he's thinking about is his next reelection effort in deep red WV, and if Democrats nationally have to suffer so he can get another cushy term in the Senate, so be it. And Sinema is likely thinking the same. At this point it seems obvious that the only way the filibuster or serious voter protections happen in Congress will be if the Democrats can gain at least 2 more seats in 2022 to make those two irrelevant. And they likely need to gain 3 or 4 to make it a real possibility.
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The thing with opposing voting rights is that it might cost Manchin the election because WV can more easily write voter suppression laws. If he's not on board with this, what is he on board with? Infrastructure maybe, but I don't even trust him to confirm Biden's hypothetical SC nominee at this point.
 
Apparently Sinema's opposition to ending the filibuster and other progressive measures isn't doing her any favors in Arizona. If she's hoping to win enough independents and Republicans to make up for the loss of Democrats she's likely fooling herself. At this rate she's going to throw away a Democratic Senate seat, and she's almost certainly going to face a tough primary challenge in 2024.

 
You don’t even have to be a progressive Democrat nowadays to favor getting rid of the filibuster.
 
I posted a couple months ago I can't understand Sinema's long game strategy here. I assume she thinks being a "Maverick" like McCain was is some key to long term power and maintaining her seat in Arizona, but that is just a bad bet.

She is definitely going to have a primary challenge, and if she survives it, she is still a Democrat is a lean red state so Republicans aren't voting for her and to win she'll need strong Democratic turnout and Independents. I just think her fake moderate stance here is going to lower Democratic support and turnout and cost the seat either way for her.
 
dcnelso said:
I posted a couple months ago I can't understand Sinema's long game strategy here. I assume she thinks being a "Maverick" like McCain was is some key to long term power and maintaining her seat in Arizona, but that is just a bad bet.

She is definitely going to have a primary challenge, and if she survives it, she is still a Democrat is a lean red state so Republicans aren't voting for her and to win she'll need strong Democratic turnout and Independents. I just think her fake moderate stance here is going to lower Democratic support and turnout and cost the seat either way for her.
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Agreed, both on her strategy of trying to become the next McCain in Arizona politics, and on what a bad strategy that is. Judging from that poll she's not being seen as another McCain, but as simply an opponent of the Democratic Party's congressional agenda, which is costing her her base. And I also agree that it won't get her any votes from Republicans either. She's just turning out to be a really poor and misguided politician.
 
She’s playing the Manchin WV game in a state Biden actually won.
 
Is it only those two who are against it, or are they giving cover to others who are against it but not vocal about it?
 
i'm sure there are several other Democrats who don't want to eliminate the filibuster, who just aren't vocal about it. But I think the others would be on board with reform and changes to make the process more difficult for the minority.

I personally don't hate the filibuster in theory, I think legitimate debate is a good thing, but the current process is just too easy to kill everything and it has broken congress completely no matter which party is in power.
 
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