WASHINGTON (AP) — Days before the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the Senate will vote soon on easing filibuster rules in an effort to advance stalled voting legislation that Democrats say is needed to protect America’s democracy.
In a letter Monday to colleagues, Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Senate “must evolve” and will “debate and consider” the rule changes by Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as the Democrats seek to overcome Republican opposition to their elections law package.
“Let me be clear: January 6th was a symptom of a broader illness — an effort to delegitimize our election process,” Schumer wrote, “and the Senate must advance systemic democracy reforms to repair our republic or else the events of that day will not be an aberration — they will be the new norm.”
The election and voting rights package has been stalled in the evenly split 50-50 Senate, blocked by a Republican-led filibuster with Democrats unable to mount the 60 votes needed to advance it toward passage.
So far Democrats have been unable to agree among themselves over potential changes to the Senate rules to reduce the 60-vote hurdle, despite months of private negotiations.
Two holdout Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have tried to warn their party off changes to the Senate rules, arguing that if and when Republicans take majority control of the chamber they can then use the lower voting threshold to advance bills Democrats strongly oppose.
President Joe Biden has waded only cautiously into the debate — a former longtime senator who largely stands by existing rules but is also under enormous political pressure to break the logjam on the voting legislation.
Voting rights advocates warn that Republican-led states are passing restrictive legislation and trying to install election officials loyal to the former President, Donald Trump, in ways that could subvert future elections.
Trump urged his followers last Jan. 6 to “fight like hell” for his presidency, and a mob stormed the Capitol trying to stop Congress from certifying the state election tallies for Biden. It was the worst domestic attack on a seat of government in U.S. history.
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How the Senate filibuster rules would be changed remains under discussion.
It seems certain that a full-scale end of the filibuster is out of reach for Democrats. Changing the rules would need all 50 votes, and Manchin and Sinema have made it clear they are unwilling to go that far.
Senators are wary of a sweeping overhaul after seeing the fallout that came from Democrats ending the filibuster for some judicial and executive branch nominees. Once Republicans took power, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the GOP leader, did away with the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations — ushering three Trump-picked conservative justices to the high court.
But despite their reluctance on major filibuster changes, Manchin and Sinema both support the election legislation. In fact, Manchin helped craft the latest package in an unsuccessful effort to win Republican support. Now the two Democrats’ colleagues are working on ways to change the filibuster so at least this legislation could pass.
Private talks with senators have been underway for weeks and continued during the holiday break.
Ideas include forcing senators to hold the floor, old-fashioned style, rather than simply raise their filibuster objections — a scene that would have echoes of the 1950s and 1960s when Southern segregationists filibustered civil rights legislation.
Other ideas are also being considered, and some Democrats have noted that Sinema has mentioned she is open to hearing the arguments as part of a full debate.
Republicans are so worried Democrats will end the filibuster that McConnell has taken other actions to try to keep Manchin and Sinema close so they don’t join the rest of their party in making any drastic changes.
One Republican, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, argued on Monday that ending the filibuster would turn the Senate into a “Lord of the Flies”-style institution where majority rules, no matter what.
“It is absurd and dangerous to the institution itself,” said Lee in a statement. He said Schumer and his “disastrous plan” must be stopped.
Statement on Senator Schumer’s rule change threat: pic.twitter.com/114DfxPYyl
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) January 3, 2022
© 2022 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
For the sake of this country let’s hope there are enough Senators, both democrats and republicans, to block any action Crying Chuckie tries in order to get Biden’s massive bill passed. Adding more debt to that already on the American citizens would cause more problems than we can handle.
PITY we can’t vote this demon-spawn and the REST OF THE DNC, off the planet!
Part 1—“easing filibuster rules in an effort to advance stalled voting legislation that Democrats say is needed to protect America’s democracy.” This is now becoming their battle cry—Hillary Clinton echoed the same sentiment in a televised interview. The foxes are suddenly concerned about the safety of the hen house. No greater internal danger exists as a threat to our republic than the Democrat Party of today.
“Let me be clear: January 6th was a symptom of a broader illness . . .” You accidentally spoke a truth, Mr Schumer, but you incorrectly identify the problem. Democrats just cannot accept it when they find themselves out of favor with their fellow Congressional members—and with the American people. Something has to be wrong when everything they propose and/or initiate doesn’t pan out—they just cannot accept it when they are overruled and do not hold the majority voice. So, they feel the necessity to embark upon changing rules and procedures in an effort to force acceptance of whatever it is they are trying to do.
Schumer claiming he is easing filibuster rules in an effort to advance stalled voting legislation that Democrats say is needed to protect America’s democracy, is a guarantee that what he proposes will help destroy American Democracy. He calls himself a Democrat yet acts and governs like a Stalinist. Their whole party needs to be sued to change their party name to actually reflect the socialist anti-American policies they propose. They have in essence corrupted the meaning of the word democracy every bit as thoroughly as they seek to corrupt the meaning of our Constitution which is designed to only be changed by 2/3rd votes in Congress, not by Presidential party edicts and fake impeachments to remove Constitutionally elected Presidents to replace them with geriatric age depleted puppet people in need of special care, to run an executive department Constitutionally designed to be able to protect and take care of WE THE PEOPLE. Losing a Democracy is when your puppet President can’t answer questions for fear he might get in trouble with his disguised puppet masters who pull his strings, and when your party votes ignore the written Constitutional law, and refuses to protect your borders so as to advance the party interests over promoting the general welfare of the country.
“to protect America’s democracy”…. another words … to protect “mob rules”. The Republicans need to scream and shout these communist occupiers down that this is a Limited Republic…. NOT…. a democracy!! So… these useless self centered elitists would be “OK” if 51% of the public wanted to imprison all the democrat senators without food or water until they died…. after all we need “to protect America’s democracy”… RIGHT!
THEIR idea of democracy is “ONLY WE KNOW WHATS BEST..”
Part 2—How ironic in this particular situation—they don’t have the votes they need for passage of some of their legislation—yet they clamor about Republican legislation that protects voting integrity. Take out your pacifier and go pout in Nancy Pelosi’s office, Chuck. Whether it is a Congressional vote or a general public vote, the final tally determines the outcome—and it has to be accepted and respected—by both sides. That is—with both sides playing by the same rules.
These desperate Democrats are more and more acting like a criminal who knows he is about to get found out and punished, so he removes anyone and anything that might Constitutionally put his miserable hide in jeopardy. or in jail. They desperately are gambling that by getting so close to total power they will risk total annihilation in total social war up to and including violence on the streets and fake impeachments, rather than wiat and continue the creepping socialism that has brought them so close to total control, but like Hillary, will just result in the revelations of their total dishonesty, corruption, greed and pathological need for total power OVER the PEOPLE. Schumer like Pelosi and Cuomo will not go out with a bang, but a whimper. They were given the opportunity to acquire greatness, but only failure, division and destruction followed in their wake. They took the UNITED States of America, and turned it into the DIVIDED States of America. Shame on them all. Their warped socialist concepts of what Democracy is about has removed the concept of governing by the consent of THE PEOPLE to governing by asking permission of the Party leaders who do nothing unless the 10% toll is paid in bribes, and the 90% paid in taxes, leaving nothing for THE PEOPLE to live off of.
The Democrats never look to the future, that is the repercussions of what they do today affecting what happens down the road. They want it, and they want it now! Harry Reid did this with the approval of judges by majority vote expecting Democrats would have the chance to alter the Court under President Obama. The opportunity didn’t come and Republicans back in charge thankfull blocked Merrick Garland and used the voting change to install three, using the Democrat rule change. Chuck is not looking to the midterms when they might be thrashed at the polls and then not have the filibuster to block anything the Republicans want to do.
Schumer would pimp out his mother to get to President Trump.
i wonder if we could talk her into a retroactive abortion!
I am confused… didn’t the Democrats -win-? Why would they need to change the rules due to the results of the last election to protect the “Democracy”? Are they saying the last election was a mistake? Perhaps they are saying that there was, indeed, an insurrection that was successful and the wrong people are, in fact, in power.
Bravo, Jeff. Bravo!
In effect, that’s exactly what happened!
deputy reichs furher chuck himler using famous nazi tactics for total control.
may he reap what he has sewn.
This too should backfire in the demonrats faces!! They have literally SCREWED EVERY US CITIZEN over in less than a year!! In fact, the MAJORITY of US CITIZENS have no problem with voters having to show a picture ID! For the love of Jesus, everyone is already having to show a picture ID for the most mundane of reasons, the most of which are certainly NOT as important as casting ONE VOTE PER CITIZEN!
TO THEM, it matters NOT< what the majority of AMERICANS want.. ONLY "they" know best.
Schumer , this constantly lying and demented old P O S really needs to retire or be retired.
The bill is not for “voter’s rights” legislation, it is to enhance the socialist dem party’s “voting fraud ability”. They know that the legal votes are swinging / will swing drastically now as the damage they have inflicted hots most everyone. They must expand ways to get illegal voters, deceased voters, and multiple ballot voters into the prime areas of all elections or they will lose power. The tsunami is coming and they are desperate to cheat to whatever extent to illegally keep it. It worked for them in 2020 so they feel it will work again. It’s all they have. The last minute (year) spending spree is inevitable to pork their pet projects and anti-American ideology. All future elections will be about fighting off globalism, marxism, communism, socialism, anarchism, atheism, liberalism, islam-ism, etc – The Platform of the once great democratic party is all of these. They all must go and the eyes of the ignorant and gullible have to opened NOW !!!!
Back in 2017 Schumer said, “If you can’t get the 60 votes, you shouldn’t change the rules”. Guess he changed his mind.
LIKE they always try to do, when they don’t get their way..