Mitch McConnell is at it again
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell recently warned Democrats that if they got rid of the filibuster or altered it in a manner to pass voting rights legislation, “Nobody in this chamber can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate would look like.” But Democrats can imagine it because it was McConnell himself that hammered through Trump’s Supreme Court nominees, and 2017 tax cuts, benefitting only the very wealthy, by using a technique that avoided the filibuster.
McConnell warned that without the filibuster he would defund Planned Parenthood, pass anti-abortion legislation, and create national concealed-carry gun laws, all of which are very unpopular measures and more of a threat than a warning. So is McConnell threatening Democrats, or the majority of Americans, or both? In the end pushing through such unpopular measures could permanently kill the Republican party, which has been dying a slow death anyway, thanks to Trumpism.
If Democrats don’t reform the filibuster in order to pass HR1, the voting rights act that would “defang” the hundreds of voter restriction and suppression measures that Republicans are pushing in 43 states, it could be extremely difficult for Democrats to ever win control again, effectively killing the Democratic party, no matter how popular they are. HR1 would mean both parties compete fairly, which is what most Americans are in favor of. Republicans are becoming so unpopular, a fair fight puts them at a disadvantage. They have come to rely on voter restrictions and suppressions (including gerrymandering) to win and control southern states, in particular. So, since it may indeed be a matter of life and death, better the Republican Party should die than the Democratic Party. HR1 must become law.
