Imagine two scenarios, one with the Senate filibuster and one without it. In the first, gridlock prevails. Democrats, the current minority party, are able to successfully hijack the government and render it essentially inoperable over a few dumb, woke disagreements they have with the proposed funding bill of the majority party, Republicans. Yet, a large percentage of the public, including many who voted for Trump, blames Republicans for failing to get things done. (And ironically, whatever they have managed to get done, like the Big, Beautiful Bill and judiciary appointments, were only accomplished because of previous changes that weakened the filibuster.)
Fairly or unfairly, the majority party pays dearly in the midterms, then ultimately loses the presidency in 2028. GOP senators shrug their shoulders and complain about how powerless they were against the handful of (now formerly) minority party members who refused to vote to break the filibuster. Otherwise, they promise, they would have really gotten some great things accomplished. Alas, it was not to be. But it's not their fault, they insist. Americans should have elected 60 Republicans.
In the second scenario, Republicans manage to find their long-lost spines and do away with the Senate filibuster altogether. Then, they are able to break every Trump agenda item up into individual bills and vote on them separately, one at a time. This makes it much harder for senators to hide their intentions for voting no. Sure, a few bills still fail because of squishes like Sens. Collins and Murkowski, but the majority pass and, over the ensuing three years, actually succeed in turning the economy around and making life better for ordinary Americans. Best of all, Republicans manage to agree on and pass a bill requiring voter ID and banning mail-in ballots nationwide. Then, the next GOP presidential nominee runs on a solid economy, a desire to keep things going, and, with solid election laws in place, wins in a landslide.
Obviously, we are smack dab in the middle of the first scenario, watching things play out in slow motion, knowing with a deep sense of dread how it all will probably end. When they take power in 2029, everyone knows exactly what Democrats will do with that Senate filibuster that saved them over the previous four years. They are going to nuke it into orbit and pass all the items THEY want to pass. Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia will become states with four more Democratic senators. The border will be thrown open, and illegal immigrants will become "citizens." The Supreme Court will be packed with enough leftist judges to ensure conservatives can't overturn the coming insanity in the courts. Election laws will be changed to ensure Democrats will be able to easily cheat their way into power election after election into perpetuity.
Recommended
People on our side who want to preserve the filibuster will say that all those things are exactly what will happen if Republicans nuke the filibuster and Democrats take power anyway, and they are right. What they miss, however, is the fact that either way, the filibuster has a death sentence. Because if Republicans fail to eliminate it, the Democrats WILL eliminate it. They wanted to eliminate it during the Biden era but were prevented by Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, both of whom are no longer in the Senate. Take a gander at these posts from Democratic senators about wanting to nuke the filibuster then. What are the odds they've changed their mind? Oh, they may pretend to love it now that they are out of power, but we all know what will happen when circumstances change. This renders any argument against our side doing it completely moot.
So if the filibuster is going away either way, it only makes sense for our side to take the first bite at the apple. Imagine a system where a law could be passed after approval by two Houses of Congress and the president's signature, and then, if the law became unworkable or unpopular, the people could merely put another party in power, and it could be changed, replaced, or abolished. Imagine being able to find out what really works and what doesn't in the span of a presidential term, instead of decades or never finding out at all. (For example, Obamacare would have been gone in 2017 instead of us still having to deal with its remnants today.) Instead of relying on giant Omnibus bills and budget reconciliation that hides countless evils under a few good things and obscures what lawmakers are really voting for, imagine separate bills that politicians are held accountable by voters for voting for or against.
Sure, the current crisis has passed and a compromise was reached to end the longest government shutdown in history, but what happens when that money runs out in January? Are we going to do it all again? And even if the money keeps flowing, is there any indication that enough Democrats are willing to work with Trump and Republicans on anything at all of consequence, especially pertaining to key aspects of the president's agenda? None of what happened changes what needs to ultimately be done, for the good of the country.
The filibuster is the dumbest political machination known to man, and anyone still supporting it at this point is either a naïve fool or a bad actor who doesn't want to pass Trump's agenda in the first place. Thankfully, thanks in large part to our president and vice president, there seems to finally be some momentum to put some pressure on the do-nothing GOP senators. They can wax on about tradition, moving slowly, having consensus, and all that, but the reality on the ground is that today's politics are simply too divided for the filibuster to serve as any sort of useful tool except as a weapon wielded by the minority party against the gullible majority. It's a relic of a bygone age, and it's time for it to end and for constitutional majority rule to begin.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
Help us report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member