Joe Manchin Will End The Filibuster Or Become A Republican by Robert Covington Jr.
Folks, the political endgame is near on the issue of the filibuster. All the rhetoric, intellectual debate of bad faith and irrational arguments that have been coming out of the mouth of Senator Joe Manchin will no longer be accepted by the Democratic Party and a choice will have to be made: Either abandon the filibuster or become a Republican.
President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party and the nation are about to find out what Senators like Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema truly value and what their core beliefs are in this fight to save our democracy. If we take Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at his word, he is going to put a lot of legislation on the Senate floor that reinforces a commitment to protections and empowerment of fellow citizens in a multiracial democracy. It is also inevitable that Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party will filibuster every piece of significant legislation.
When Biden, the American people and Democratic Party see the democracy strengthening legislation called the For The People’s Act, which aims to fight against the Republican Party’s commitment to white supremacy and nationwide racist voter suppression legislation is filibustered by Mitch McConnell, Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema can’t hide behind process because this is fundamentally a value issue that gets to the core as to how they define democracy and their willingness to protect it. Senator Raphael Warnock summed it up perfectly when he said: “We have to pass voting rights no matter what, and it’s a contradiction to insist on minority rights in the Senate, while refusing to stand up for minority rights in the society.”
When Schumer puts legislation on the Senate floor that addresses climate change, gun reform, dreamers, ethics and government reform, infrastructure that includes tax increases on the wealthy and rich, LGBTQ protections, DC and Puerto Rico statehood, Mitch McConnell will filibuster most, if not all of it. While this is happening in real time, Manchin will not be able to force democrats to negotiate with political sadists that fundamentally see themselves as better than the “others” that the legislation aims to protect, support, and validate.
As the filibuster centered strategy is clear, Senator Joe Manchin will FINALLY be forced to make a choice that is based on his values and core beliefs because he will not be able to hide behind the lies that the filibuster promotes bipartisanship any longer.
If Joe Manchin ends the filibuster, it will happen because he believes in democratic values, its goals and sees the Democratic Party as America’s best chance to improve society. If Manchin gets rid of the filibuster it will happen because he wants to see Joe Biden succeed as president and does not want to see Democrats lose the majority in 2022.
If Manchin attempts to hold on to the filibuster, Manchin is saying that he does not care if Democrats lose the majority in 2022 because that would mean voting rights legislation will not have passed. If Manchin holds on to the filibuster, he is telling Democrats that Republican obstruction is acceptable to HIM. If Manchin holds on the filibuster, he is telling Democrats that his values and beliefs are more aligned with the Republican Party than his own caucus at this point in his political career. Plain and simple.
If Joe Manchin continues to hold on to the filibuster, he will continue to feel the tension, disbelief and anger of his caucus, Biden, and the Democratic Party to the point to where I believe it would be impossible for him to remain a Democrat. In this scenario, Joe Manchin will change parties and become a member of the Republican Party. Another way of looking at it is this: If Manchin supported Republican obstruction and the use of the filibuster through all this, he would have been acting as a Republican anyway.
President Biden and the Democratic Party are about to find out if Joe Manchin will remain a Democrat or become a Republican because his current position is untenable. Democrats cannot accept severely weakened or watered down upcoming legislation that is unrecognizable to the original intent just to appease current version of Joe Manchin to only end up being filibustered by Republicans. This is a recipe for political disaster for the Democrats.
Reconciliation cannot save Biden or the Democrats, only strong, bold, progressive legislation that passes through the House and the Senate can do that. Given the stakes and magnitude of what is being fought for, America and the Democratic Party needs to know what side Joe Manchin is on. And we will soon find out.
Follow me on twitter: @robcovingtonjr
