I'm so happy to be wrong, plus two questions about voting rules and legislation
Its been almost a year since I disengaged after my melodramatic disappointment in the primaries. I was so discouraged that Bernie didnt make it and now Im laughing at myself because I love our new president. I think hes the perfect president for these insane times. I love his wife, his grandchildren, his bomber jacket, his dogs, and when they get a cat, I will love their cat too. I think hes doing a wonderful job of threading the crazy needle of Washington politics and restoring our position globally. I still prefer Bernies politics, but he would have made too much of a target for the GQP.
Anyway, I think I have post trump stress syndrome, because Im already fretting about 2024. I wondered what it would take to change the rules Congress put in place in 1876 for presidential elections. Instead of throwing the decision to state legislatures in case they couldnt certify their vote, why not just tally whatever votes are certified and let the popular vote decide. That would have short circuited the shenanigans we saw in January. Would ending the filibuster allow this Congress to change the rules? Has anyone read about whether there is an effort to revamp these rules? It just feels like a failed coup waiting to be tried again.
Also, I read somewhere that the Senate could decide to eliminate the filibuster on just legislation that deals with the 15th amendment, specifically the bill that is being considered to preserve voting rights. That bill would also short circuit a lot of the legislation that is coming at the state level from the GQP. But I cant remember where I read this now. Does anyone have information on the validity of this idea? I wrote to my senators to support the elimination of the filibuster for this type of legislation, thinking they might be able to move Manchin et al more easily up this hill, rather than eliminating the filibuster altogether. But Im not even sure this is a legitimate idea.