Progressives have long targeted Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin for his staunch refusal to abolish the filibuster. However, he’s not the only member of an oft-crazed party to note the obvious negative consequences of turning the Senate into the House of Representatives.
Democrat Senator Mark Warner recently told Fox News that he feels former Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid’s decision to abolish the filibuster for Presidential nominees was the wrong move. His opinion could make a huge difference should current Senate Majority Leader Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer try to push to abolish the filibuster later in the year.
“I would wish we wouldn’t even have started this a decade ago. When the Democratic leaders actually changed the rules, I don’t think we would have the Supreme Court we did if we still had a 60-vote margin on the filibuster, but we are where we are,” Warner said. “And the idea that somehow to protect the rights of the minority in the Senate, we’re going to cut out rights of minorities and young people all across the country – that’s just not right to me.”
Sen. Warren rightly points out that, if Reid had not abolished the filibuster for most presidential nominees back in 2013, former President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate would not have been able to successfully nominate and confirm three conservative justices for the Supreme Court, which ended with a 6-3 conservative majority.
When former Sen. Reid made the move, Sen. Mitch McConnell warned him and other Democrat senators that they would regret it. This warning came true in 2017 when then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell followed his predecessor’s move and removed the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. Democrat tampering with the filibuster also allowed the Trump Administration and then-GOP-controlled Senate to confirm over two hundred conservative federal judges.
Sen. Mark Warner is likely not the only Democrat who has noticed this problem. The party remains bitterly divided on the time-honored parliamentary position. President Biden has recently noted that abolishing the filibuster would “throw the entire Congress into chaos and nothing will get done.” However, as the Democrat Party continues its move to the left, party stalwarts may not be able to continue ignoring the cries of progressive activists effectively running the show.
Indeed, some senior Democrat politicians are already calling for a special exception to be made in order to pass controversial voting rights legislation. Nonetheless, even a “one-time” exception could be used as a precedent for future exceptions, as recent history shows. And, without the filibuster to ensure bipartisan agreement, any party that takes control of Congress and the White House can easily undo anything the last party did.
Democrats really didn’t think this through…and it’s going to cost them.
