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Greg Sargent Profile picture
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22 Jun, 4 tweets, 4 min read
.@SenatorSinema has accidentally exposed the profound weakness of the pro-filibuster stance. She raises the prospect of legislative majorities curbing voting, without admitting this is *already* upon us. She is consigning us to that very fate. My response:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@SenatorSinema The threat posed by ending the filibuster really is frightening.

Imagine a world in which legislative majorities could pass voting restrictions over the objections of minorities!

Oh wait, we already live in that world:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@SenatorSinema Here's what makes Sinema's argument so dishonest.

Sinema claims we have more to lose than gain from ending the filibuster. But she doesn't admit to what we *actually would gain* from ending it -- a check on democratic backsliding and minority rule:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@SenatorSinema Sinema can't admit to what we would gain from ending the filibuster -- a check on democratic backsliding and the entrenchment of minority rule -- because it would be tantamount to admitting that her position risks consigning us to that very fate:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

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More from @ThePlumLineGS

Greg Sargent Profile picture
18 Jun
An interesting move: As part of their probe of the Trump DOJ subpoening of Dems' phone records, House Judiciary Dems have demanded release of communications between the Trump WH and DOJ about those subpoenas.

We know where that could lead.

New piece:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
DOJ is still refusing to answer basic questions from @RepAdamSchiff's office about the Trump-era subpoenaing of his and @RepSwalwell's phone records, an official confirms to me.

Judiciary Dems are now demanding info from DOJ that will shed light on that:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@RepAdamSchiff @RepSwalwell “AG Garland has an interest in restoring the rule of law — of that I have no doubt. But we believe that there will be no return to the rule of law if we allow these events to be swept under the rug.”

@RepRaskin, to me. This DOJ secrecy is untenable:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 4 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
15 Jun
House Dems just released new info detailing Trump's corrupt pressure on Jeffrey Rosen (Barr's replacement) to use DOJ to subvert the election. This will get worse: Sources tell me Rosen is in talks about sitting for an interview. He can tell us much more:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
The new revelations from House Dems detail a truly extraordinary effort on Trump's part to enlist DOJ in his scheme to subvert the election and remain in power illegitimately.

I summarized some of the main findings here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
If Dems can secure an interview with Jeffrey Rosen, it could fill in the full scope of Trump's efforts to corrupt DOJ into helping overturn the election.

Here's a rundown of what we could learn. We may be just scratching the surface now:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 5 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
11 Jun
NEW:

@RepAdamSchiff's office has repeatedly asked DOJ for info on the subpoenaing of Dems' metadata, including what the legal basis is and what prompted the move.

Incredibly, DOJ has refused to answer, a committee official tells me.

New reporting here:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@RepAdamSchiff “We have repeatedly posed basic questions to the department for more than a month, but have received virtually no information."

Intel Committee official tells me DOJ won't divulge legal basis for seeking Dems' metadata and what triggered the decision:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@RepAdamSchiff Crucial context:

Trump himself called for an investigation into alleged Adam Schiff leaks in early 2020 and early 2018.

That may broadly sync up with the new revelations about the Trump DOJ subpoenaing Dems' metadata.

I have Trump's quotes here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 4 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
10 Jun
.@propublica's shocking expose of superrich tax gaming underscores an ugly reality: Soaring inequality is largely the result of *policy choices.*

“Billionaires can defer, defer and defer,” @RonWyden tells me. "No working person can play those games."

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@propublica @RonWyden The fact that we tax income and investment returns but not overall worth, and that we tax investment returns at lower rates than labor income, are policy choices we make, not something handed down to us on stone tablets.

We can make better choices.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
@propublica @RonWyden The folk theory that distributive outcomes flow from "free" markets has badly distorted our public debate. It has insulated from public scrutiny the *many* ways in which market rules have been restructured to channel income and wealth upward for decades:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 4 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
9 Jun
There's a deep tension at the core of Biden's European trip. He'll declare the US is prepared to lead the global struggle between democracy and autocracy. Yet we're failing to protect democracy at home, and Biden's urgency about this is unclear. My latest:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Biden has been reading "How Democracies Die" to prepare for making the case for democracy abroad.

As it happens, that book's authors just signed a statement warning that US democracy is in real peril and urging passage of major voting rights legislation:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Given that Biden has been reading "How Democracies Die" to prep for making the case for democracy abroad, I called up @dziblatt, one of the book's authors, to see what he thinks of our current moment.

Really fascinating stuff from Ziblatt here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 5 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
8 Jun
New reporting:

The new Senate report on Jan 6 security failures was carefully negotiated to win GOP buy-in, which required minimizing the importance of Trump's lies about the election and the real motive of the rioters, a Dem aide tells me.

Details here:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
“To get bipartisan agreement, the language had to be carefully negotiated,” a Dem aide tells me.

The aide recounts how Republicans wanted the minimization of Trump's lies and the motives of the rioters.

I did a close read of those parts of the report:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
To be clear, there are reasons we want GOP buy in on this report, since it's mainly focused on improving security at the Capitol.

But what this really shows is that we need a fuller accounting, and it demonstrates exactly why Republicans don't want one:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 5 tweets

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