It seems like such a long time ago, back when the GOP barely held the Senate. They controlled the legislative agenda but could not overcome a Democratic filibuster. Did they cower in fear? Did they explain to the media that they couldn’t advance their radical agenda because they “didn’t have the votes?” Were they forced to compromise even a little bit? Not even once! An up or down vote, they demanded, as if the minority party had no rights whatsoever. And the Democrats calculated and repeatedly caved, giving Republicans the votes they wanted again and again. I remember urging the Democrats to use their filibuster power to keep Alito off the Supreme Court. They chose instead to “keep their powder dry” rather than be lampooned in the press as being obstructionist.
It comes as a shock to exactly no one that once the GOP fell into the minority their principled stand against the filibuster turned out to have been nothing but wind. They have used the filibuster to make troop rotations harsher, to keep DC residents unrepresented in Congress, to deny fundamental human rights, all together obstructing legislation to an unprecedented degree. We understand that hypocrisy arises naturally when your stated reasons for your decisions do not match your real, hidden, reasons. There is no case more significant than the “deliberative” house of congress which already gives unaccountable weight to low-population states. We expect these to be professionals, and yet the best they can do now is protect their president from vetoes.
The strategy for the majority is obvious for everyone except for the beltway insiders: force the votes. Very popular decisions are being blocked by a bare minority of senators. If they were forced to go on record defending their inaction over and over again they would face an angry electorate when they went home to campaign for their seats. Indeed the only thing they do by filibustering is prevent headlines that talk about vetoes, and that’s a sad standard. There’s no way to justify their actions – so don’t make it easy.
Make them sweat. Frankly I don’t care if it helps us electorally. It just feels good. And it’s about time that Democrats felt good for a change.
- jack*
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