Progressives set sights on scrapping filibuster as midterm prospects improve

[Valin]

The Washington Examiner

Kate Scanlon, Congressional Reporter

September 05, 2022

A growing number of Democrats is campaigning on scrapping the filibuster as polling in key races has the party hopeful it can expand its majority enough come November to weaken or eliminate the Senate rule.

The filibuster, a procedure that effectively gives the minority party veto power over legislation unless it can attract 60 votes, has kept Senate Democrats from passing bills on priorities ranging from voting rights to abortion access.

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Now, a chorus of voices is declaring that the midterm elections are Democrats’ best hope of circumventing that opposition. If Democrats can win two more seats in the Senate, they say, the party can get rid of the filibuster — or at least nullify it for bills on certain topics.

The vice president made this case while speaking to donors on Thursday at a private fundraiser in North Carolina, where Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican Ted Budd are locked in a competitive Senate race.

Speaking on behalf of Joe Biden, Harris said the president has “had enough” and “will not let the filibuster get in the way” of passing critical legislation.

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Liberals are urging their base to donate to Democrats as though power in Washington depends on it. A major rallying cry has been codifying abortion access into federal law after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

"If we elect two more pro-choice, anti-filibuster Democrats to the U.S. Senate, and if we hold onto the House, we can protect abortion rights nationwide as early as January," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tweeted on Aug. 19.

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With Apologies to The Bard of Avon "Lord what fools these Democrats Be!"