Oh, Chuck, screwed up royally here. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate Majority Leader, is probably the only Democrat right now who can be in that spot. That doesn’t mean he has an iron grip on the caucus in the likes of the late Harry Reid. Schumer announced his intention to tweak the filibuster to pass the Democrats’ elections bill. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) were already vocal opponents, which killed this idea. It’s a 50-50 Senate, though Chuck and the rest of his party think they have this wide mandate to do whatever they want—they don’t. And that mindset is why the party has nothing to run on in 2022. They’ve got nothing. Build Back Better is dead. And this elections bill is dead. To cap it off, Sinema and Manchin might not be the only Democrats who are against this bill. Sinema-Manchin might have already taken a katana to this filibuster plan. Now, this political scheme is as bullet-riddled as Bonnie and Clyde (via Politico):
A Democratic senator from Arizona is still not sold on changes to the filibuster. And it's not Kyrsten Sinema.
Mark Kelly is not yet committed to a change in the Senate rules that would allow elections reform legislation to pass by a simple majority. A centrist who is up for reelection in November, Kelly said Monday he is still undecided just days before he may have to vote on proposals to weaken the filibuster.
[…]
Some, like Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) like a talking filibuster but are “not crazy” about making an exception for voting rights. Meanwhile, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) says reform is needed but is promoting more modest changes. She cites the near-impossible odds the party faces in getting all 50 Democrats on board for changing the filibuster unilaterally, also known as the “nuclear option.”
Manchin is hearing out several of his colleagues on changes, including Tester, while Sinema has urged a public debate. If Schumer does bring up rules changes on the floor, there’s a thought among his colleagues that everyone but Manchin and Sinema will quickly fall in line.
Democrats may never know until a vote occurs — and liberal groups are eager for Democrats to proceed. Still, there's plenty of risk in moving forward, including the potential GOP attacks on battleground state Democrats like Kelly for taking tough votes on a doomed proposal.
Oh, these guys thought competence would come back. They wanted to prove how the Democrats govern. We’ve seen enough. They can’t. Their bills are loaded with crap. They certainly didn’t sell Build Back Better. What was the selling point? What was the gist, the core? What was the pitch? How did they define it for the average voter? They didn’t. They overreached and now they’ve engulfed moderate—and vulnerable—House Democrats in this mess as they voted for this left-wing circus act that won’t pass. Biden said he could deliver Manchin and he couldn’t, leaving progressives holding the bad. Mr. Dealmaker couldn’t sway one Democratic vote. The moderate wing tossed their lot with Pelosi and now could be wiped out in 2022 as Biden becomes more unpopular by the day. Democratic retirements are already in the two-dozen neighborhood. This filibuster ‘Hail Mary’ only adds to the narrative that Democrats are utterly incompetent, just like the leader of their party.
Over at Hot Air, Ed mentioned how there could be other Democrats who might not be on board with blowing up the filibuster. We now have names. Democrats must know they’re going to lose in November and if they nuke this procedural tool, well—don’t be shocked if national right to carry, right to work, privatization of social security, the border wall, and other proposals are going to be passed with ease. These clowns set the precedents. We were able to secure a solid 5-4 SCOTUS majority and get scores of federal judges through the confirmation process thanks to dead Harry Reid’s tweaking of the filibuster rules for such nominations.
Don’t be mad at us for getting stuff done when the GOP is in charge.