Scorched-earth Senate

Joan McCarter of Daily Kos reported that Monday Sen. Dick Durban, the second highest Democrat in the Senate, gave a speech on the floor. He talked a bit about the history of the filibuster – defend Jim Crow – and that it’s time to end it. Durban said the filibuster ...

is what hitting legislative rock bottom looks like. […] Rather than protecting the finely balanced system our founders created, today's filibuster throws a system out of balance, giving one half of one branch of government what amounts to a veto over the rest of government. It promotes gridlock, not good governance.

Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported that in response to Durban Moscow Mitch threatened the Senate yesterday. If the Senate limits or gets rid of the filibuster, Mitch said,

Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate would look like.

Republicans are also threatening Democrats with what they will do the next time the GOP regains the majority. Mitch laid out the agenda: anti-union laws, defund Planned Parenthood, a massive hardening of the southern border, sweeping abortion restrictions. Eleveld wrote, first if the GOP controls the House, Senate, and Presidency any time in the next decade, the filibuster will be the least of our worries. Second, blocking every part of the Biden/Democrat agenda is what they were planning anyway. Third, the GOP caucus is such an unruly beast they won’t be able to legislate anything if they get back in power. Finally, since the GOP goal is to block progress, the filibuster hurts Democrats more than it does Republicans. Eleveld concluded:

Following McConnell's "scorched-earth" threat, Jentleson, author of the filibuster-themed book Kill Switch, tweeted, "Trading this for the ability to actually pass bills like voting rights seems like an easy call. If McConnell's tactics become truly onerous, Dems can always pass further reforms to end obstruction. McConnell's goal is to make government fail, Dems' goal should be to make it work."

McCarter wrote that in response to Mitch’s threats, Durban said:

He has already done that. He's proven he can do it, and he will do it again

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is now the chair of the Subcommittee on Federal Courts, part of the Judiciary Committee. When part of the Senate minority he kept a list of things that he saw as not right. Now that he’s chair, and now that Merrick Garland is Attorney General, it is time to act. Joan McCarter reported first up is why was there a lack of investigation by the FBI when Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court? Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault. Witnesses came forward. None were listened to. A tip line was set up, but Whitehouse wrote: “This 'tip line' appears to have operated more like a garbage chute with everything that came down the chute consigned without review to the figurative dumpster.” Christopher Wray was head of the FBI during the Kavanaugh hearings and still is. He hasn’t been answering Congressional inquiries. Either Garland can shake him loose or recommend to Biden to get rid of him. Then maybe Whitehouse will call for investigations to Kavanaugh, especially into how so much of Kavanaugh’s debt so quickly disappeared in the year before he was nominated. I reported that after the insurrection many corporations stopped donating to Republicans. Funding insurrection was not a good corporate look. Laura Clawson of Kos reported that corporations have also stopped giving to Democrats. All the major Democratic Party campaign committees have seen a drop of more than 90%. Yes, it is good to get corporate money out of politics. Alas, it isn’t the big source of money it used to be. That’s been taken over by dark money, outside groups that run attack ads, have secret donors, and don’t have morals. Clawson laments that in an era filled with shouts of “both-sides do it!” this is one of the worst examples.