Posted on 06/10/2021 8:39:34 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Some of the folks on the left have been seething at Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), viewing them as the blockers to Democrats being able to eliminate the filibuster and seize total power.
There’s no question that Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have been standing strong to protect the rules and defend the rights of the minority party.
But they’re not the only people, as some have pointed out, although they get most of the press. Democrats have a much deeper issue because some others are also not so happy with these efforts. But those Democrats are happy to remain more in the background and let Manchin be the bigger target taking the hits out there for the concept.
But exactly who’s aligned with him, even discreetly, on another consequential question—whether to end the legislative filibuster—is less clear. Only one other Democrat, Sen. Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), has been as strident about keeping the Senate’s 60-vote threshold as Manchin. A handful of others, such as Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), have sounded concerned notes or have avoided answering the question entirely.
Some Democrats look at that and argue that Manchin, who has defiantly insisted he will not gut the filibuster under any circumstances, is publicly voicing concerns that this group agrees with privately.
“There are other Democratic members who share his reservations about eliminating the filibuster,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who strongly differs with Manchin on the issue. “Perhaps they’re less outspoken, and perhaps less vehement.”
It sounds more and more like Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) might be among them as well, at least when it comes to the filibuster. As we previously wrote, Feinstein said she doesn’t “see us abolishing the 60-vote threshold” so she saw it as a “non-issue.”
But today, Feinstein caused another meltdown on Twitter because of the following comments she made, according to Forbes reporter Andrew Solender.
Feinstein, asked about some Dems saying they'd choose democracy over the filibuster: "If democracy were in jeopardy, I would want to protect it. But I don't see it being in jeopardy right now."
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) June 10, 2021
Feinstein on nuking the filibuster for H.R. 1: “It’s an ‘if.’ Let’s wait and see what happens. Okay?”
On filibuster reforms she might support: “I’d have to take a look. Right now, nothing comes to my mind.”
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) June 10, 2021
“If democracy were in jeopardy, I would want to protect it. But I don’t see it being in jeopardy right now,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein said she wants to “wait and see what happens” with H.R. 1. When asked if she would be in favor of any filibuster reform measures, she said, “I’d have to take a look. Right now, nothing comes to my mind.”
So just one more sign that even Feinstein might not be on board. Feinstein’s a lot of things, but she may be seeing what Manchin and Sinema are smart enough to realize: if they eliminate the filibuster and Democrats lose in 2022, they would be in deep trouble, having cooked their own goose. Manchin and Sinema sound like they’ve been operating on principle, but Feinstein may see that it’s just a bad political move as well.
Just one more sign that Democrats may be up a creek without a paddle when it comes to their power grab.
Who believes the dems will not instantly restore it 5 minutes before a conservative majority is to be sworn in?
Why the filibuster is important. The house can send up any legislation they want, it can be good or very bad. When it reaches the Senate 60% must agree or the filibuster kills bad legislation. This is good. Unfortunately much bad legislation in the past did not suffer this fate.
Exactly. Since anything done by a bunch of imbeciles like that is so many times more likely to be bad than good anything that stops legislation is a good thing far more often than not.
Wait…we are not supposed to like “mavericks” now?
Democrat mavericks bad.
The older members of the Senate know that the worm always turns. How did that nuclear option work for ya? The newer democrats are just YOLO imbeciles egged on by the media.
And a hardy 'thanks for all the judges' dems... Trump got in a boatload...
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