Nuke the filibuster?

Nuke the filibuster?

The president is pushing the republicans in the senate to ditch the filibuster in order to pass the SAVE Act. Mike Lee and especially Ron Johnson are in favor. Johnson says “By ending the filibuster now, Republicans could pass important legislation that the public overwhelmingly supports, but Democrats oppose. For some inexplicable reason many of my Republican colleagues believe that maintaining the 60-vote threshold required to end a filibuster is crucial to the future of our republic. I’ll admit that the 60-vote cloture threshold has prevented many bad bills from becoming law, and that without it bad bills would become law more easily. But it also prevents good bills from getting passed.”

Johnson is no fool but he is totally wrong on this one. If I were Chuck Schumer I would have all the democrats in the senate immediately support Johnson to insure the elimination of the filibuster. Yes I know it would mean passage of the SAVE Act which Schumer despises, but think about the future, Chuck. When the day comes that the democrats have control of both houses of congress and the presidency, they can repeal the SAVE Act and then pass a bunch of stuff over the feeble objections of the republicans without the filibuster being an impediment.

Senate majority leader John Thune is smart enough to understand this. He has said “The filibuster has protected Republicans through the years, conservative principles, principles and priorities, by requiring a supermajority to get things done in the United States Senate.” Obviously, the republicans are not as smart as the democrats who got Obamacare through the senate without a filibuster. Why can’t the republicans come up with some procedural shenanigan to pass the SAVE Act? Also this is a weird hill to die on. It may not even be constitutional since the Constitution gives the states the right to determine their own election procedures. And as I detailed earlier, it attacks a problem that if real, is almost trivial in its impact.

Imagine that the SAVE Act only passes because the republicans are stupid enough to nuke the filibuster. What would that have wrought? If the democrats are back in total control what would stop them from making DC and Puerto Rico states with five new representatives and four new senators? What about bringing back the Green New Deal and proclaiming the climate a national emergency and enacting all sort of Al Gore’s endorsed acts? How about a stature codifying abortion? How about legalizing gender mutating surgery and codifying trans rights. Hello to the Equal Rights amendment! Welcome back open borders! Ban fossil fuels! Out with the SAVE Act and hello For the People Act! Pack the court! Bye bye Electoral College! Tax the rich! Defund the Pentagon! Open those borders! Needless to say the whole enchilada of voting rights, single payer healthcare, climate change initiatives, economic “equality” (universal income) and all the rest will be on the agenda. And all will become law. 

Also keep in mind that the leftists in the senate are unhappy with Schumer and will try to oust him in favor of someone more “progressive.” So imagine a Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren or Tina Smith as majority leader and then imagine what pieces of legislation get passed. Ron Johnson is not stupid, he just seems to be acting that way. He must recognize this possibility. Trump, keep in mind is a short-timer and probably doesn’t care about a future without him as president. But a trashing of the filibuster will have long lasting and devastating impacts on the Republic.

So if the democrats have any smarts they will do the “Don’t throw me in the briar patch!” thing or is a rope-a-dope thing to pretend they are against lifting the filibuster? Then when the republicans are foolish enough to bring it to the floor, the democrats should vote unanimously for it.