I think what’s happened is that over time people have grown increasingly aware of the absurdities of the Senate, and the senators’ insistence on hiding behind them, so some bluffs are being called.
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1366744696702332930
If Dems say they support a pathway to citizenship…
…but can only do two filibuster-proof bills a year...
...and those are only for taxes...
...unless @VP says otherwise...
...and we’ll probably lose power in two years...
...what do you think advocates are gonna demand?
…but can only do two filibuster-proof bills a year...
...and those are only for taxes...
...unless @VP says otherwise...
...and we’ll probably lose power in two years...
...what do you think advocates are gonna demand?
One reason I’m thrilled to see filibuster abolition go mainstream, and which I’ve been bleating about for 15 years, is that as constituted it inverts accountability. When a bill fails in “the Senate” it’s usually because of the minority, not the party in charge. LIKEWISE...
As constituted, the filibuster allows an out party to say ‘vote us in, we support X, Y, and Z’ *even when they know they aren’t unified around those things*. Because they know the filibuster will prevent them from becoming law.
That worked until filibuster reform went mainstream! What’s happening now is that too many people have come to understand that the rules are mostly artifice, and so if promises go unfulfilled it means they were just empty to begin with.
Needless to say that’s a catastrophe for a majority party that promises a lot of things that require new legislation. Now you gotta keep ‘em!
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