By: Mark Glennon*
The top priority of Congressional Democrats is now passage of two pieces of legislation – the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Both passed the House along party lines.
But with Senate Republicans unanimously opposed, passage in the Senate would require amendment or repeal of the filibuster rule which has been in place in the Senate in some form since 1806. The rule requires 60 members to move bills on most topics to a vote. Its purpose is to provide some degree of assurance of bipartisan support for new laws.
Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin and most of their Democratic colleagues therefore want to change the filibuster rule to allow for passage of the two bills they have prioritized.
That suits them today since their party holds a majority, though they are short of the 60 votes needed to override a filibuster.
But what did they say when Republicans were in the majority?
In 2017, Duckworth joined a bipartisan group of 61 senators in signing a letter to Senate leaders urging them to maintain the filibuster. It was essential, they said, to ensure that bipartisanship remained a component of passing bills through the Senate. Among the things Duckworth’s letter said:
Regardless of our past disagreements on the issue, we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of Members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor.
We are mindful of the unique role the Senate plays in the legislative process, and we are steadfastly committed to ensuring that this great American institution continues to serve as the world’s greatest deliberative body. Therefore, we are asking you to join us in opposing any effort to curtail the existing rights and prerogatives of Senators to engage in full, robust, and extended debate as we consider legislation before this body in the future.
Durbin, when asked in 2018 about ending the filibuster, said, “Well, I can tell you that would be the end of the Senate as it was originally devised and created going back to our Founding Fathers. We have to acknowledge our respect for the minority, and that is what the Senate tries to do in its composition and in its procedure.” (Emphasis added. And the filibuster doesn’t actually go back quite that far, but almost.)
In 2005, Durbin said we need to use the filibuster to “preserve the voice of the minority in America” and “to protect the right of debate in the Senate to preserve checks and balances so that no one party can do whatever it wants.” It was “about the rights of the American people… You can’t change the rules in the middle of the game.”
To what end have they flip-flopped on the filibuster? The two bills they seek to pass would strip states of their powers to oversee elections, federalizing the process. Together, they are over 700 pages, summarized here. Among their federal mandates:
- Make Election Day a national holiday, mandate 15 days of early voting and require all states to allow mail-in voting, among other changes.
- Count all absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 7 days.
- Require states that mandate voter IDs to accept a broad and uniform range of both photo and non-photo IDs
- Call for states to choose whether to implement public funding for House campaigns by matching every dollar a candidate raises from small donors with $6 from the government.
- Require states to offer automatic voter registration at the department of motor vehicles.
- Limit states’ ability to purge voters from the rolls.
Duckworth and Durbin had it right originally, but principles mean nothing and hypocrisy rules. The filibuster is there to prevent exactly what the new Duckworth and Durbin want: partisan, rash changes by a radical, ephemeral majority.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Those are two of the biggest waste of flesh to ever sit in Congress.
Let’s make it simple. Politicians should be serving us. We let them take over. We need to take the power back. It is ours.
I have no idea why so many Americans are launching personal attacks on the men and women serving in the house and senate. I DO NOT agree with the state of our nation however, name calling and bashing their character isn’t going to change anything. In fact, it may be the fuel that causes the fire of division to burn longer and hotter. The leaders have lost touch with their constituents. It has been much to long since I have heard a single congressman or state representative cast a vote because the outcome would be in the best interest of… Read more »
Trina, you have “have no idea why so many Americans are launching personal attacks on the men and women serving in the house and senate”? Because so many of them lie to us incessantly. Because so many of them are spectacularly incompetent. Because they are destroying the country more rapidly than we ever thought possible. Those guilty must be labeled as such and ridiculed into oblivion. Cease criticizing them and you are only contributing to their reelection.
They go beyond lying, in order to justify the lie, they literally change the meaning of words, then spread the new meaning as truth. That way the lie is converted to truth, so nobody has to even do the work spreading the lie anymore, because it now lives as truth. But its still a lie.
It’s because of partisanship. There is no middle ground on abortion, or healthcare for illegal immigrants, or non-citizens voting. There is no compromise with a policy position that poses an existential threat to your very existence. And the only politicians that ‘cross the aisle’ are a bunch of phonies, like Romney or Kinzinger, who do so to help themselves instead of actually trying to achieve bi-partisan agreement. Crossing the aisle on budgetary issues is one thing; but crossing the aisle to twice impeach your own party’s president, and then give interviews on CNN about it, is disloyal sedition to all… Read more »
Kinzinger is the lowest of low. Just like Bill and Hill, he is only concerned with how he is perceived, not the impact of that which he contemplates/says.
Look for him to be lauded by JB as he runs his campaign and contemplates running for higher office…
Trina, I understand completely. However we’re are being ruled hoodlums and flagrant thieves. Any personal attack is well deserved. Our elected leaders are only in office for stealing! Why do politicians retire fabulously wealthy? Pelosi Is just fine with insider trading. The entire government is an Ignatius Riley farce! Politicians are like copilots! If there is unintended contact with terrain you just point at the captain or designated chump. You can’t attract talent, just thieves!
The attacks should be metered. However, accountability must be established and required. Duckworth is not, please excuse the reality of this statement, a stateswoman or an intellect of great depth. Frankly, she shouldn’t have run for office and the implications of her decisions (read: votes) is beyond her ability to understand. Durbin is a poster child for all that is wrong with a system that creates lifetime employment. He is a product of the system and is willing to prostitute himself for power and influence. At a certain point, it is important we understand how these elected leaders ideals reflect… Read more »
Duckworth leaned and still leans heavily on her disabled veteran status. That status and 5.50$ will get you a Starbucks coffee, but it does not make one qualified to be in Congress!
I should remind you that “tar and feathering” did not come from our era. The politicians in the old days would have it much worse if they lied with abandon like their modern counterparts.
As Mark alluded to, it’s the dishonesty and the deception that makes it personal. If it was just a difference in opinion, I think you would be right that personal attacks would not be justified. But they make it personal when they insult us with thievery, duplicity and double-dealing.
globoshill
Trina, are you new to this planet? Are you aware of how politicians think? The state of the Nation is directly linked to how these two and most like them treat their constituents! You need to read something or travel and talk to people . Learn something.
It looks like the democrats will get steamrolled in 2022, possibly losing both houses. And they want to dump the filibuster? Wouldn’t that just hand enormous power to the republicans after the midterms? They are all tactics and no strategy it appears. Their tactic is to run another fraudulent election. And I know firsthand that the last election was fraudulent. Because my wife and I voted twice, with no problem. Once by mail, then we realized that the person opening up our Trump mail ballot will throw it in the garbage. So we went to vote again in person, guess… Read more »
Good. We need more Republicans who support communist justices like Roberta and Kavanaugh.
The doofus McCarthy in charge of the house must have the communists shaking in their boots.
A few more Pyrrhic victories like this and we’re finished.
Thinking ahead is really not the Left’s strong suit.
Do Nothing Durbin and Tammy Dimwit are beyond useless. Hopefully others will do the right thing, because these two sure won’t.
What’s really amazing is that Durbin and Duckworth still show their face around Illinois. They are now like cartoon characters.
They both exist in a fantasy land in their heads.
Total cognitive dissonance. That the media has created such a lopsided story here when it was the status quo not too long ago goes to show why no one trusts them anymore.
Following Dim Dick and Daffy in search of hypocrisy is like following a burning fuse in search of an explosion; one never has to wait very long.
I do respect tradition and appreciate the fact that the US Senate is the more deliberate body. I think the problem isn’t necessarily the filibuster, but the fact that the entire a Senate and House is in the pockets of the donors like so many nickels and dimes. The Civil Rights Act passed, as has other landmark legislation. Nothing of consequence has passed other than the expansion of the surveillance state and, the wars in the Middle East, and the gift to insurance companies that was Obamacare. It’s not right/left, it’s just plain corruption. It serves both parties financially to… Read more »
I would say this is mostly true up until the Obama era. Republicans were mostly RINOs and there was the uniparty of Democrats and Republicans voting for each other’s interests. During Obama the Republicans took a united stand against all of Obama’s progressive-lite legislation and for six years Obama got nothing done. This infuriated the Democrats and when Trump was elected Democrats went certifiably insane. That’s when the ideological progressives (aka communists) became a vocal minority in the Democrat party and now run the agenda. That agenda isn’t a donor driven agenda. Sure, donors benefit (primarily unions, big tech and… Read more »
I don’t buy it. Pelosi, Schumer, Steny Hoyer, Clyburn, Biden, are communists? They use identity politics and this progressive bullshit as a cloak to shield their lack of good policy for workers. It’s all for the donors. Most people don’t care about abortion. They may may not like it, but realize THEY don’t have to get one. The party only trots that out when they need to gin up the crazies. The Republicans refused to pass real immigration reform, OR fund the wall when they had both houses. The “great” Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell could only get the tax… Read more »
I’m pretty sure if you look through history you will find it democrats are the party of war.
Not Iraq and Afghanistan, the 20 year fiasco. Halliburton was Cheney’s baby and both sides got rich off the war. 100 billion a month. It’s funny, for that kind of money, you could Build schools and health clinics, and boys and girls clubs all over the country. A trillion for the military industrial complex, no problem! For health care and people’s well being, No way!
Richard Nixon, “I have a secret plan to end the Vietnam war.”
Please just remember one thing, how many brave American men and woman lost there lives.
I think you are both right. It is a constant tension between ideology and donors. Politicians need money and lots of it. This is just a fact of the modern campaign and year-round politicking. But when this becomes too transparent, the base starts getting agitated, and the politician responds with these extreme positions and legislation. “Gotta take care of the base.” The donors will then have their say, and it becomes a tug-of-war, depending on the issue. From a party perspective, I think there are differences. The Democrats’ donors are very ideological. Yes, there are grifters, such as renewable energy… Read more »
Abortion is a huge issue. It may not be in IL and many, many IL conservatives seem not to care, but nationally it’s a major issue. The flurry of abortion bills and the fiasco over Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, which was all about abortion, shows voters do care about abortion hugely. As for Pelosi and the rest. She’s in charge but she’s not running the agenda – the progressives are running the agenda. They are the communists. There are real political differences between the parties today that didn’t exist at the same level even 5 or 6 years ago. There’s… Read more »
Not surprised by their change, the same is true about open borders, their hatred (along with Pelosi, Schumer & Schiff) for Trump has so distorted their thinking that all they seem to be able to do is continue to destroy this country. I DON’T know how they keep getting elected! Hypocrites
Do either of these two shills ever campaign south of I-80?
Nope. Nothing down here but us white supremacists and knuckle draggers. that and the fact that they know they don’t need our votes to get re-elected..
I just read a new bit about how the democraps used the filibuster over 300 times in 2021. Nothing new, democraps as usual.
Tammie is hardly worth even discussing. Bona fide war hero for sure. But that alone doesn’t qualify you to be a US Senator. Anyone who deals with her will tell you how unimpressed they are. Can you identify one issue she cares about? Anything of note she has accomplished? Of course not. Good order taker for the Democrats who has done nothing for Illinois. Durbin is a classic case of Washington destroying a guy. When he was a state legislator from Springfield, he was a moderate who worked well with Repubs for years. Even when he first went to Washington… Read more »
Likewise, and respectfully, being a war hero does not qualify you, as in Duckworth’s case, to pay zero in property taxes on her Illinois home.
Property tax exemptions should be means tested FFS. Duckworth earns $174k a year!
I subsidize this person (AGI $36,000 in 2021), and I resent this because it is not fair.
PIGS. IN. TROUGH. all of them.
I call both of these hypocrites almost daily from my car as I eat my lunch along with schnieder. Everyone should be.
They’re going for broke now because they know it’s going to be a while before they have power again. They don’t know how to compromise, and they can’t govern unless they are able to shove it down our throats with brute force and total power.
2022 midterms are going to be a bloodbath for them, and they know it.
What’s that quote?
“If liberals didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all.”