Senator Mitch McConnell vowed that Republicans would bring the Senate to a standstill if Democrats changed the filibuster rule.

[JEDI]

Biden Endorses Filibuster Rule Changes (Published 2021)

President Biden for the first time said he favored a return to the requirement that opponents occupy the floor when making their case against legislation. Senator Mitch McConnell promised a “scorched earth” response.

www.nytimes.com

Biden said he supported modifying the rule to require senators to speak on the floor.
(just like old times a couple of decades ago.)


How can Mitch bring the Senate to a standstill as the minority leader?
whats this scorched earth tactic he;'s talking about?

cant the majority leader just cut off debate after some hrs?

 

[uclaLabrat]

Apparently there are procedural things that require unanimous votes that he's threatening to stop or otherwise grind to a halt. No clue what that pertains to, but I assume he's threatening to block procedural shit like taking out the trash that would cause a nuisance if it got stalled (facetious example, might be stuff like pay raises or other things, I have no idea).

Wants to cry like a bitch then take his ball and go home. Fuck him. He's threatening to obstruct unless we let him obstruct.

The bigger issue for him is it threatens his grip on the caucus; if moderate repubs see this as a way to generate bipartisanship and he loses the ability to control votes as a bloc, his power is fucking gone like a fart in the wind.

Put them on the record. Make them stand up and tell Americans why they want bliionaires to be richer and the poor and minorities to be disenfranchised. Make them own it. Then throw them to the masses.

Fuck you mitch.

 

[Fenixgoon]

And this would be different from Mitch as majority leader, how, exactly?
Fuck you, Mitch.

 

[JEDI]

And this would be different from Mitch as majority leader, how, exactly?

no diff.
but as minority leader, i dont see how he has the power to do as he says.

else the dems would have done it during Trump's time for any numerous bills/people confirmed that Trump wanted.

 

[dank69]

no diff.
but as minority leader, i dont see how he has the power to do as he says.

else the dems would have done it during Trump's time for any numerous bills/people confirmed that Trump wanted.

That's the thing: when the GOP had full control they couldn't get 51 votes to pass the things they say they want to pass. Except tax cuts, but they only need 51 to pass those anyway.

 

[pauldun170]

Apparently there are procedural things that require unanimous votes that he's threatening to stop or otherwise grind to a halt. No clue what that pertains to, but I assume he's threatening to block procedural shit like taking out the trash that would cause a nuisance if it got stalled (facetious example, might be stuff like pay raises or other things, I have no idea).

Wants to cry like a bitch then take his ball and go home. Fuck him. He's threatening to obstruct unless we let him obstruct.

The bigger issue for him is it threatens his grip on the caucus; if moderate repubs see this as a way to generate bipartisanship and he loses the ability to control votes as a bloc, his power is fucking gone like a fart in the wind.

Put them on the record. Make them stand up and tell Americans why they want bliionaires to be richer and the poor and minorities to be disenfranchised. Make them own it. Then throw them to the masses.

Fuck you mitch.

Exactly

 

[fskimospy]

The appropriate answer to this should be that if he switches from abusing the filibuster to abusing different senate rules then he ability to abuse those will be taken away as well.

 

[K1052]

The bigger issue for him is it threatens his grip on the caucus; if moderate repubs see this as a way to generate bipartisanship and he loses the ability to control votes as a bloc, his power is fucking gone like a fart in the wind.

There are too few GOP moderates now to cut deals that the Dems could likely say yes to. Like getting 8 GOPs to actually sign on to something, a deal which is likely to be lopsided and risk Dem support, doesn't get you anything. This is the reality all the arguing over the filibuster papers over. I mean if Susan Collins loves something that's great but you're still 9 votes short so what's it worth?

So yes even though some GOPs might officially be against it they could restore their clout.

 

[feralkid]

Bring it on, turtle-squirt!

 

[uclaLabrat]

I think the proposals to re-invigorate the talking filibuster or the reverse-cloture vote (requiring 41 senators to be present to keep a bill from moving forward) de-fang a lot of the threats from McConnell and the right. We're not getting rid of the filibuster, but you fucking well better own it. Quite literally, put up or shut up.

 

[K1052]

Lol Manchin is out there saying no changes to the filibuster after going on all the Sunday shows talking about making changes to the filibuster. He also said a 2T COVID relief bill with checks was a non-starter so I suggest people don't read too deeply into what he says. I think he just likes the attention.

 

[uclaLabrat]

I dont get what his angle is; he either believes his own bullshit and thus hes an idiot, or he's trying to 4D chess his constituents into thinking he's just a reasonable dem who could pass as a conservative in order to not piss off the hyperconservatives who might otherwise mobilize in droves.

It's a bold move cotton.

 

[hal2kilo]

Lol Manchin is out there saying no changes to the filibuster after going on all the Sunday shows talking about making changes to the filibuster. He also said a 2T COVID relief bill with checks was a non-starter so I suggest people don't read too deeply into what he says. I think he just likes the attention.

Bingo!

 

[senseamp]

You mean he'll do what he's doing now?

 

[nakedfrog]

On the one hand, I really wish he'd fucking die already, but on the other hand, I imagine he'd be replaced with a functionally identical mound of excrement, so the end result probably would be no change.

 

[IronWing]

The Dems need to kill the filibuster quickly and get on with governing. If the Dems yet again fail to deliver on their policy agenda, 2022 will be 2010 all over again.

 

[fskimospy]

On the one hand, I really wish he'd fucking die already, but on the other hand, I imagine he'd be replaced with a functionally identical mound of excrement, so the end result probably would be no change.

Yeah I think people really overestimate McConnell’s abilities, he doesn’t seem like any sort of evil genius to me, he just has a senate map that wildly over-represents his party and rules that make his opponents need 60 votes for their agenda while he needs 50 votes for his. This is like saying the dealer at a casino is a card savant because he wins so much.

 

[Fenixgoon]

On the one hand, I really wish he'd fucking die already, but on the other hand, I imagine he'd be replaced with a functionally identical mound of excrement, so the end result probably would be no change.

I'm not so sure about that. Mitch is exceptionally skilled. Few people play the political game as well as he does.

 

[hal2kilo]

Interesting Salon article on this subject.

McConnell's filibuster threats are already backfiring: Biden signals support for major Senate reform | Salon.com

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had been making a mockery of Senate norms for years as Majority Leader and he had made it quite clear those old-fashioned notions were no longer operative. There was a time when elected officials would express their support for a new president of the opposite party, wishing them success for the good of the country. McConnell broke that norm during Barack Obama's first term when he openly admitted that he considered it his top priority to deny Obama a second term. He didn't believe it was in his interest to accommodate or negotiate in good faith and instead began a campaign of total obstruction so that the president and his administration would fail and the Republicans would take back the White House.

While this sort of scorched-earth tactic wasn't unprecedented, it was unusual for a national political leader to flaunt his intentions so boldly. There used to be a penalty for being so openly ungracious but McConnell found that it didn't hurt him so he kept right on going, purposefully paralyzing the Obama administration, making it obvious that democratic norms were no longer functional. And left unable to confirm any members of the judiciary under McConnell's obstructive tactics, the Democrats had to eliminate the filibuster norm for everything but nominees to the Supreme Court. After he won the majority, McConnell brazenly blocked the nomination of Merrick Garland, Obama's choice for the high court, for months only to scrap the filibuster for the Supreme Court as well once Donald Trump won the White House and nominated a Republican to the seat. McConnell's excuse, which he made up out of whole cloth, was that in an election year the seat should stay empty because it should be up to the people to decide which president should choose the new justice.