For quite some time, Joe Biden’s made it abundantly clear that he wants the Senate filibuster gone.
The president now claims the filibuster is problematic because of racist roots. However, Democrats never had an issue with the filibuster when they were the minority party in Congress and therefore benefited from the filibuster.
Right now, Republicans are the minority party, while Democrats are in the majority. Therefore, the filibuster doesn’t currently work to Democrats’ advantage. In light of this, growing numbers of individuals within the party, including Biden, want the filibuster gutted altogether.
However, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema recently threw cold water on this by coming out and backing the 50 GOP senators who don’t want the filibuster removed, as reported by Washington Examiner.
The Latest From Sinema on the Filibuster
On Monday, the Arizona Democrat wholeheartedly expressed her support for the filibuster. Not only does Sinema oppose getting rid of this measure, but she also believes it should be applicable in all cases, including for voting on nominees for the judicial branch.
Sinema then went on to say that keeping the filibuster in place would encourage middle-ground solutions, rather than short-term wins for whichever party happens to control Congress at the moment.
McConnell introduces Sinema at McConnell Center.
SINEMA: "Despite our apparently differences, Sen. McConnell and I have forged a friendship, one that is rooted in our commonalities, including our pragmatic approach to legislating, our respect for the Senate as an institution." pic.twitter.com/D0ckpxvkc8
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 26, 2022
The congresswoman’s support for keeping and strengthening the filibuster has made her an ally to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Like Simena, McConnell also believes the filibuster should remain in place, rather than being ripped to shreds so Democrats can steamroll over the GOP minority.
If Republicans manage to take back control of Congress as expected, it will be interesting to see if anti-filibuster Democrats, including Biden, change their tune on wanting the measure gone.
Outrage from the Left
Democrats who want the filibuster gutted so nothing stands in their way of power are furious with Sinema. Many of these folks are Biden supporters and believe getting his agenda through needs to happen at all costs.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been taking to social media by saying the party needs to expand its majority so that Sinema’s support of the filibuster isn’t enough to stop it from being axed.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) says she's not only against abolishing the filibuster, she's for strengthening it: "The best thing you can do for your child is to not give them everything they want… We should restore the 60-vote threshold for areas in which it has been eliminated." pic.twitter.com/OR53ymuE4x
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) September 26, 2022
Sinema’s determination to stick by the filibuster means either party which controls the Senate won’t be able to just force through their ideas alone unless they have a supermajority of 60 votes.
Republicans have applauded Sinema for standing by the filibuster, with the party also working to win more Senate seats in November so Democrats don’t succeed in removing this critical measure.
What do you think about Sen. Kyrsten Sinema siding with Republicans in wanting to keep the filibuster in effect? How do you believe this will impact Joe Biden’s agenda, especially during the second half of his presidency? You’re welcome to share your thoughts in the comments area.
This article appeared in Watch Dog News and has been published here with permission.
