THREAD: With the big news that @Sen_JoeManchin
will vote YES to proceed with debate on protecting democracy, here are some thoughts on the landscape, the forks in the road, the leverage, the key questions for activists (and pundits) to consider. A thread. thehill.com/homenews/senat…
The big question advocates have asked for weeks is: Will there be 50 votes to move forward the substance? Without that, the filibuster doesn't matter. 50 Democrats are saying together: We are committed to protecting democracy. "Inaction is not an option."
WE ALWAYS KNEW that if Dems succeeded in getting 50 votes, Repubs would filibuster. The goal is to pass reform by August, so it can be implemented by 2022. It was smart for @SenSchumer to call the question in June to allow time for next steps to play out. We're ahead of schedule.
A KEY QUESTION FOR ADVOCATES: How is our reaction, our activism, our tone different today than if Schumer came up short on votes or waited until August for today's key unity moment? How do we reward success while keeping the pressure on to get this across the finish line?
A FORK IN THE ROAD: After today's unity vote, do we demand filibuster reform NOW or consider it the next step? If Schumer commits to another vote soon, it seems smart to organize, let Manchin see AGAIN that Repubs don’t deal in good faith, and make rules change the big next step.
In addition to timing, there are different theories on reform: 1) Eliminate the filibuster altogether. 2) A democracy exception. 3) First, eliminate the filibuster on the “motion to proceed” to debate. Then more changes. 4) Other variations like requiring 40 pro-active votes.
Seems like we should go as big as we can as fast as we can. If we end the filibuster on starting debate, Repubs would not like the embarrassing votes for big-money corruption they'd be forced to take. Pressure would build to either pass the bill or for MORE rules changes quickly.
As Fox's Chris Wallace pointed out to Manchin...every time he says that he opposes filibuster reform, he hurts his own leverage with GOP senators. If Manchin wants to save democracy, he'll need to be disciplined in keeping his options on the table. And exercising those options.
At the end of the day, @MsLaToshaBrown and @PublicWise sum up the choice for us all: "The choice for senators and all Americans is simple: we protect our democracy for everyone, or let Republicans dismantle it for everyone but their own voters."
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/on-voting…
Minutes ago, all 50 Democratic senators stood united to protect our democracy — & Republicans chose obstruction instead.

This vote is just the start of the fight. Help us be all in this month — to organize, engage key senators, & REFORM THE FILIBUSTER: pccc.me/3gOqseM

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More from @BoldProgressive

22 Jun
THREAD: @RonJohnsonWI is one of the WORST senators. An apologist for Jan 6 insurrectionists — and for Putin interfering in our elections.

Here’s some good news: A bold progressive just stepped up to run against Johnson in 2022 — @ChrisJLarson!

#WISen

pccc.me/2SkSCEK
.@MehdiHasanShow told @chrislhayes, "When I saw Putin speak about 1/6, I thought, 'Wow, the President of Russia is doing his best impression of Sen Ron Johnson of Wisconsin!'"

In reaction, @ChrisJLarson called out Johnson as a "Trump/Putin puppet":

Chris has a long history of activism: Back in 2011, Chris was a leader of the Wisconsin 14 — a group of state senators who left WI to block then-Governor Scott Walker from attacking workers and democracy.

npr.org/2011/02/17/133…
Read 6 tweets
19 Sep 20
THREAD: Current Republican senators saying, as a matter of principle in their minds, there should be no Supreme Court vacancy filled during an election year.

As @LindseyGrahamSC says, this applies even for a Republican president... #HonorRBG #RBGRIP

THREAD: Sen. @MarcoRubio (R-FL) in 2016: “I don’t think we should be moving on a nominee in the last year of this president’s term — I would say that if it was a Republican president .” #HonorRBG
THREAD: Sen. @TedCruz (R-TX), 2016: "It has been 80 years since a Supreme Court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. There is a long tradition that you don't do this in an election year." #HonorRBG
Read 15 tweets
16 Sep 19
Hey, y'all! Take a quick listen to this story of Frances Perkins. It's about power, and it's about what we can do together.

"Let me take you back to that day of the fire. A woman was visiting friends who lived in a townhouse behind me when the fire broke out." #WarrenNYC
"She hurried into the street, joining the crowds as they ran across this park and headed to the Triangle Factory. When she got there, she watched. Watched as women on the ledge begged for help. Watched as they held each other. Watched as they jumped to their deaths."
"The woman watching was Frances Perkins. She was thirty years old and already a workers’ rights activist, but that day set change in motion."
Read 17 tweets
15 Aug 19
The New York Times apparently couldn't find a single person in Iowa or New Hampshire who thinks Elizabeth Warren's big, structural change is how we beat Trump in 2020, so we thought we'd help them out.
Wayne - a lifelong Republican who voted for Reagan, Bushes, Grassley and considers himself moderate - switched to Warren after hearing her in Fort Dodge, IA: "I have to say, she brought me to tears with the history of her life. And her plans & policies just really impressed me."
Amy, independent from Fort Dodge says: "Someone who comes from a common background like those of us who’ve grown up in Iowa and can understand what it actually takes to fight for what we need. All those things are things that resonated... but biggest was that she has a plan."
Read 6 tweets
1 Jun 19
.@ewarren at #CADem19: “For decades, the entire structure of our system has favored the rich and powerful. Pick any issue you care about and it’s painfully obvious.”

(📸: @DavidOAtkins)
"Tax loopholes favor the richest people & biggest corporations. Environmental regulations benefit drillers and polluters. The racial wealth gap holds back families generation after generation. The list goes on: gun violence, healthcare, and housing costs are piling up around us.”
“These are enormous problems. But they are all connected to one thing: power that is concentrated in the hands of the wealthy and well-connected who help themselves at the expense of everyone else.”
Read 5 tweets

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