Democrats still have the filibuster. Thanks Sinema for saving it
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Democrats still have the filibuster. Thanks Sinema for saving it

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With Republicans soon to be in control of the White House, the Senate and perhaps even the House, the filibuster will be one of Democrats’ few remaining speed bumps to slow Trump’s plans.

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So I imagine the Democrats’ thank you letters are in the mail to outgoing US Sens. Kyrsten SinemaI-Ariz., and Joe ManchinDW.Va., for their refusal to end the filibuster.

US Representative Ruben Gallego once called the 60-vote Senate rule”a tool to prevent“, when Democrats ran the association. Gallego, in a tight race to replace Sinema in the Senate, was one of many Democrats who called out the senator for her refusal to join them in ending the filibuster so that a wish list of Democratic proposals could flow through with a simple majority.

“My position is that the filibuster needs to be reformed. It’s not a tool for compromise, it’s a tool for obstruction,” Gallego said last year when announcing his Senate campaign.

I still feel the same now, I wonder Republicans are on track to control the Senate?

Now that Donald Trump will be back in the White House, with a Senate eager to advance his agenda on taxes and immigration? About education and health care and social policy? (Confirmations of judicial and executive power require only 51 votessince that part of the filibuster rule was removed a decade or so ago.)

Democrats said Sinema was wrong to protect the filibuster

Democrats were horrified when Sinema and Manchin stuck to the filibuster after Joe Biden became president, refused to waive the procedural rule to pass a 2022 voting rights bill.

Ditto in September, when Vice President Kamala Harris called for scrapping the filibuster to pass abortion rights legislation.

“To state the extremely obvious, eliminate the filibuster to codify Roe v Wade also makes it possible for a future Congress to ban all abortion nationwide,” Sinema said in September. “What a absolutely terrible, short sighted idea.“

The Democrats immediately reached for their knives.

Today they should reach for her hand, to thank Sinema for standing up.

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The filibuster will protect Democrats in the GOP-controlled Senate

With Republicans soon to be in control of the White House, the Senate and perhaps even the House, the filibuster will be one of Democrats’ few remaining speed bumps to slow some of Trump’s more controversial plans for America.

Can you imagine if the Democrats had already removed that?

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2018, when Republicans controlled both chambers and Senatea frustrated President Trump called for an end to the filibuster as Democrats blocked his border initiative and other grand plans.

The Senate Majority Leader at the time Mitch McConnell opposed Trump’s call.

On Wednesday, McConnell again stood firm maintain the filibuster in place even if Republicans could throw out supermajority rule with a simple majority.

“The filibuster will stand,” McConnell told reporters.

Even if McConnell steps down as party leader, his comments signal that Senate Republicans are likely to leave the filibuster in place.

And Democrats? I suddenly guess that the outdated “tool of obstruction” now looks very much like a protector of minority rights.

Laurie Roberts is a columnist at the Arizona Republic, where this column was originally published. Reach Roberts at [email protected]. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz and on threads: @LaurieRobertsaz

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