On Tuesday, the Republican minority in the Senate blocked crucial voting rights legislation from going to debate, in yet another example of the Senate filibuster's bulwark against productivity in Congress.
The vote was split at 50-50. If a simple majority were required, Vice President Kamala Harris would have cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of voting rights. What's more, the 50 Democratic members of the Senate represent a total of 40+ million people than the 50 Republican members.
But instead of a simple majority, the Senate filibuster imposes a 60 vote threshold on most pieces of legislation in order for them to advance to debate and have a chance of passing.
Though Democrats celebrated securing a razor-thin majority in the Senate earlier this year, the win has been sullied by the eagerness of Senate Republicans to block nearly all legislation proposed by the majority. They warn that doing away with the rule, which has historically been used to preserve racist laws, would lead to a fickle Congress and the quick passage of radical legislation.
Frustration at the development has put some moderate Democrats—like Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona—in the hot seat for their continued opposition to any kind of filibuster reform.
Though one of the most notable faces in the House of Representatives, Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York turned her attention to the Senate in reaction to the news, pushing back against the constant characterization of abolishing the filibuster as radical.
She invited critics to call her radical if it meant she supports the elected majority no longer being under the minority party's thumb.
Call me radical, but I do not believe a minority of Senators should be able to block voting rights for millions of people.\n\nBut I guess I\u2019m just from that far-left school of thought that legislation should pass when a majority of legislators vote for ithttps://twitter.com/ABC/status/1407465436040548354\u00a0\u2026— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1624407818
People largely agreed with her.
Exactlyhttps://twitter.com/AOC/status/1407494522578378753\u00a0\u2026— Marquette County Dem (@Marquette County Dem) 1624420392
The system is broken. Sadly.https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1407494522578378753\u00a0\u2026— brentacPrime \ud83d\udd77\ud83d\udd78 (@brentacPrime \ud83d\udd77\ud83d\udd78) 1624408155
End the filibuster!https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1407494522578378753\u00a0\u2026— Pearl Gervais (@Pearl Gervais) 1624456427
Amend the Filibuster. G'night folks.https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1407494522578378753\u00a0\u2026— Jared Brock (@Jared Brock) 1624416434
Democrats agree that something must be done about the filibuster.
Abolish the filibuster to protect the right to vote.— Pramila Jayapal (@Pramila Jayapal) 1624410960
If Senate Democrats aren\u2019t able to ban the filibuster, they should at least reform the procedure and require it to be a TALKING filibuster. Make Republican obstructionists stand up for hours on end and talk until their voices grow hoarse.— Jon Cooper \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Jon Cooper \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1624409034
The Hard Truth\n\nIf we don\u2019t nuke the filibuster to pass laws that Americans overwhelmingly want, we are going to lose the Senate and House, at which point Republicans will nuke the filibuster anyway\u2026\n\nto institutionalize fascism.— Lindy Li (@Lindy Li) 1624415764
Now might be a good time to remind America that the filibuster does not appear anywhere in the Constitution.— Hakeem Jeffries (@Hakeem Jeffries) 1624451273
To make clear where I'm at on the filibuster: I've been leading the effort to reform the filibuster for 12 years\u2014and the need has never been more urgent than it is now.\n \nWe cannot allow the McConnell Veto to undermine Americans' freedom to vote!— Senator Jeff Merkley (@Senator Jeff Merkley) 1624410679
The Senate's voting rights bill fails as Republican legislatures across the country are proposing bills to suppress access to the ballot box, boosting Republicans' chances at taking back the House and Senate in 2022.
