Democrats vs. the Filibuster

 

Reason:  Will Democrats Really Nuke the Filibuster—and What Happens If They Do?   "The Senate, unlike the House, permits a minority of its members to block bills supported by a majority. Specifically, Rule 22 requires three-fifths of the Senate (60 senators) to vote to end a filibuster by invoking cloture on a bill. To end a filibuster of a proposal to change the Senate's rules, Rule 22 says you need even more votes: two thirds of the senators present and voting. (Normally that's 67 people.) In effect, Republicans can block a final vote on Democratic priorities because the Senate's rules require more votes to end debate on a bill than they do to approve it.

"A growing number of Biden's supporters want Senate Democrats to abolish the filibuster through another route: the so-called nuclear option. This is a procedural maneuver senators can use to ignore, circumvent, or otherwise change the Senate's standing rules by a simple majority vote in direct violation of those rules. Basically, they create a new precedent that is inconsistent with Rule 22 but nevertheless supersedes it." . . .

. . . "That said, the GOP's past behavior may undermine the credibility of McConnell's threat: Republicans did not retaliate when Democrats used the nuclear option in 2013, and they used it themselves in 2017 and 2019. The specific nature of McConnell's threat may also weaken its deterrent effect: By signaling that a Republican majority would be likely to go nuclear in the future, it could lead Democrats to discount the utility of adhering to the rules in the present." . . .

Biden Now Supports Ending Filibuster, Held Meeting On How ‘Big,’ ‘Fast’ He Can ‘Jam Through’ Agenda: Report   . . ."The push for Senate Democrats to eliminate the filibuster is reportedly being led by a massive far-left dark money group. The Free Beacon reports:

Fix Our Senate is steering a coalition of 60 progressive groups to pressure moderate Democrats to eliminate the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote supermajority to advance legislation. The group is a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit incubator managed by the D.C.-based consulting firm Arabella Advisors. Arabella’s network of funds is used by the nation’s wealthiest liberal donors to secretly bankroll a host of progressive initiatives.  …