Why Mitch McConnell Didn't Kill the Filibuster [View all]

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Marc E. Elias
@marceelias
"The last time the filibuster presented a serious obstacle to the GOP agenda, Mitch McConnell killed the filibuster and got things done."

Why Mitch McConnell Didn’t Kill the Filibuster
Read the latest by David Litt here.
democracydocket.com
10:07 AM · Apr 3, 2021

https://www.democracydocket.com/2021/03/why-mitch-mcconnell-didnt-kill-the-filibuster/

Mitch McConnell has spent a lifetime manipulating Senate rules for partisan advantage. But now, with his favorite tool for obstruction under unprecedented attack, he would like you to know he’s a man of principle.

“My colleagues and I have refused to kill the Senate for instant gratification,” McConnell proclaimed, during a recent speech defending the legislative filibuster. “In 2017 and 2018 I was lobbied to do exactly what Democrats want to do now. A sitting president leaned on me to do it. I said no.”

McConnell playing the committed institutionalist is what scholars of political rhetoric refer to as “complete horseshit.” But when it comes to his facts, rather than his tone, he’s not wrong. The last time the GOP had full control of government, President Trump urged McConnell to end the filibuster and allow bills to pass with a simple majority vote. He refused.

But McConnell’s choice has nothing to do with principle. The reason he didn’t end the filibuster is that he could pass the bulk of his agenda without it.

There are currently three ways to bypass the 60-vote threshold for legislation in the Senate—and all three of them are far more useful to conservatives than to progressives. The first is to attach a legislative priority into a larger “must-pass bill,” such as a continuing resolution to keep the government running. This works reasonably well if you want to make small, unambitious tweaks to existing law without disrupting the status quo. It also allows Senators to deliver federal aid and funding to their home states—when Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner wanted to legalize hemp, for example, Mitch McConnell tucked a provision allowing research on the crop into the 2014 Farm Bill.

*snip*