How Democratic Senate candidates can put democracy on the ballot

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EJ Dionne
@EJDionne
How Democratic Senate candidates can put democracy on the ballot: ⁦@JRubinBlogger⁩.
Dems should take on the GOP’s obstruction through the filibuster, its opposition to #VotingRights, and a Supreme Court that “has run amok.”

washingtonpost.com
Opinion | How Democratic Senate candidates can put democracy on the ballot
They should adopt a bold — and popular — set of pro-democracy reforms.
11:30 AM · Jun 1, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/01/how-democratic-senate-candidates-can-put-democracy-ballot/

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While the White House has rightly focused on the economy, the multi-pronged crisis of democracy has not abated. Laws to suppress voting and subvert elections have taken root, the Supreme Court is working to rewrite voting rights and 2020 election deniers are on the ballot in dozens of races.

Democratic Senate candidates would be wise to zero in on these efforts. They should make the GOP’s campaign to diminish the rights of millions of Americans a central issue of the midterm elections.

With few exceptions, Republican Senate incumbents have repeatedly voted to block debate on voting rights; cheered the prospect of stripping women’s constitutional protection against forced births; countenanced the defeated former president’s attempted coup (by, among other things, acquitting him in the second impeachment trial); and refused to consider reasonable police reforms despite ample evidence of systematic abuse. These are not popular positions, but thanks to the filibuster, Republicans have stymied bipartisan attempts at reform.

A savvy Democratic Senate candidate would run on a “restore democracy” platform aimed to empower voters. Such a campaign would begin with a commitment to reform the filibuster to overcome resistance from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. However the reform is styled (e.g., demanding that cloture opponents physically hold the Senate floor, carving out exceptions for constitutional issues), the goal would be the same: The Senate minority should not be able to block reforms that protect or restore constitutional rights.

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