Memo to mainstream journalists: Stop treating Mitch McConnell as an institutionalist. No one has blown up more norms. Stop taking everything he says at face value. Do you really think if he employed obstructionist tactics to blow things up that the majority would be helpless?
Use unanimous consent to bring the Senate to a complete halt? The majority can bring back a motion on the previous question to override, or use other rules changes to obviate. Delay every confirmation? Majority can find many ways to expedite. 2
Go to DEFCON 1? Majority can schedule votes and sessions with scant notice, can schedule votes when majority of Rs are going to be back home, telling Ds in advance to organize their schedules. In other words, McConnell's threats are idle. 3
So why did Mitch not change the filibuster for legislation when Trump and Rs had control for 2 years? He had only these priorities: confirm Supreme Court justices-- he blew up that rule, along with the blue slip--get a huge tax cut, try to repeal Obamacare. 4
He could accomplish those in reconciliation. So no need to eliminate 60 threshold for legislation. But you can be sure that if he had other top priorities he could only accomplish be shredding Rule XXII, he would have done it in a nanosecond. 5
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
