‘Only Two Of Us Didn’t Change’: Joe Manchin Says He Will Back Kyrsten Sinema For Reelection
'She stood tall when it was time to stand tall'
New York Democrat threatens to nuke filibuster and pack Supreme Court in order to grab guns
A Democratic lawmaker on the House Judiciary Committee casually threatened to blow up the Senate filibuster and pack the U.S. Supreme Court to confiscate guns during markup on a series of gun control proposals Thursday.
"Enough of your thoughts and prayers, enough," committee member Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) said, pounding the table during debate on the gun control package. "You will not stop us from advancing the Protecting Our Kids Act today. You will not stop us from passing it in the House next week. And you will not stop us there."
He continued: "If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand it. And we will not rest until we have taken weapons of war out of circulation in our communities.
"Each and every day we will do whatever it takes to end gun violence. Whatever it takes," he vowed.
\u201cRep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) promises "whatever it takes to end gun violence." \n\n"If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand it. And we will not rest until we have taken weapons of war out of circulation in our communities."\u201d— Chris Pandolfo (@Chris Pandolfo) 1654185330
The Democratic-led committee is meeting in an emergency session Thursday to debate eight gun control bills collectively called the Protecting Our Kids Act. Moving the omnibus legislation out of committee and onto the House floor for a vote is a priority for Democrats, who want to score political points by putting Republicans on the record opposing gun control after the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said that the American people are "begging for us to address" gun violence in remarks opening debate on the package.
"Let us not wait one second longer," he said, claiming that the legislation put forward by Democrats is "wildly popular" with the American public.
However, the proposals Democrats are pushing are almost certainly too extreme to become law. The House bills would raise the age requirement to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 years old; criminalize the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of high-capacity magazines; and put new regulations on bump stocks among other measures.
The Democratic Senate majority is not big enough to pass any of these bills without Republican support, and it is highly unlikely there are 10 Republican senators willing to help Democrats reach the 60-vote threshold to overcome a GOP-led filibuster.
But Jones is in a position to benefit from denying reality and threatening to burn down American institutions to get what Democrats want. He's running in a tough primary election for New York's newly drawn 10th Congressional District, where he will face former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in a contest to see who can show Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn voters who's more progressive.
Part of the benefit of being an incumbent congressman is having a national platform to toss red meat to your base, as Jones did Thursday.
Tim Scott exposes Dem hypocrisy on Senate filibuster after Biden uses executive order for police reform
Republican Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) called out Senate Democrats on Wednesday, exposing their hypocrisy on the Senate filibuster.
Scott's public condemnation came after President Joe Biden signed an executive order on police reform and used the second anniversary of George Floyd's death to mark the occasion.
The order, among other things, establishes a national registry of police officer misconduct, bans the use of choke holds by federal law enforcement agencies, limits the use of no-knock warrants by federal law enforcement agencies, and mandates that all federal officers wear activated body cameras.
What did Scott say?
The South Carolina Republican noted in a statement that Democrats used the Senate filibuster to block his police reform bill in 2020, despite the legislation containing many of the same provisions in Biden's executive order.
"After the radical ‘defund the police’ movement helped create the current crime wave, President Biden is pursuing a partisan approach to many of the exact same policy solutions I proposed in the JUSTICE Act just two year ago," Scott began.
"The fact is Democrats used a filibuster they call racist to block my reforms that they’re now embracing," he added.
In fact, the JUSTICE Act would have required local police agencies to share databases of disciplinary records, incentivized agencies to ban the use of choke holds, incentivized the use of activated body cameras and penalized non-compliance, and required the Justice Department to develop new training standards on "alternatives to use of force, de-escalation tactics, and techniques for responding to a behavioral health crisis," among other things.
Additionally, Scott chastised Biden for creating new roadblocks to safe and effective policing, which ultimately manifest as "divisive politics."
"While my proposal added funding to help local law enforcement comply with higher standards, the Democrats' proposal sets departments up for failure by issuing unfunded federal mandates," Scott said. "Making it harder for police to do their jobs to the best of their ability should be a nonstarter, yet that’s exactly what the Biden plan does.
"I’m disappointed that the president who campaigned on unity has once again fallen into the trap of divisive politics," he added.
Why did Democrats filibuster?
Senate Democrats blocked Scott's bill, which had bipartisan support, because they did not believe it went far enough to address problems with law enforcement practices.
In contrast with Scott's bill that focused on incentivizing police reform, Democrats drew up their own bill that used government mandates to achieve the same results. Ultimately, neither bill became law.
Nick Saban’s support for the Senate filibuster was purposefully cut out of controversial letter to Joe Manchin ahead of vote
An open letter addressed to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) from Alabama coach Nick Saban and other prominent West Virginia sports figures was edited before publication to remove a footnote clarifying that Saban does not support nuking the Senate filibuster.
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told AL.com that the footnote was left out of the final letter with Saban's agreement after they decided it would be inappropriate.
“Coach Saban and I agreed that since the letter focused on the merits of the Freedom to Vote Act and the filibuster had not been discussed with everyone signing the letter, it was unnecessary to include the filibuster footnote in the letter to be publicly distributed,” Tagliabue said. “As a result, our press statement along with the letter released publicly did not address the filibuster issue.”
Tagliabue was a signatory on the Jan. 13 letter, joined by NBA legend Jerry West, former West Virginia University athletic director and NFL Houston Oilers player Oliver Luck, and former Buffalo Bills linebacker Darryl Talley. They had urged Manchin to support passage of the Freedom to Vote Act, a federal overhaul of U.S. elections that would override election security laws passed by Republican legislatures in several states and create federal standards for U.S. elections.
Democrats sought to change the Senate rules in order to remove the 60-vote threshold to overcome a legislative filibuster and pass their election bill. But Manchin, along with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), would not support any changes to the filibuster, frustrating their colleagues and stalling any piece of President Joe Biden's legislative agenda that lacks bipartisan support.
On Tuesday, CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported that Saban had initially asked to include a footnote stating his opposition to eliminating the filibuster to pass the Freedom to Vote Act.
“Coach Saban is not in favor of getting rid of the filibuster in the Senate. He believes this will destroy the checks and balances," the footnote said.
But when the letter was made public ahead of a Senate vote to end the filibuster, Saban's footnote was gone.
On the voting rights letter to Manchin that Saban & other West Virginia sports figures signed, I am told that he asked to include this footnote:\n\u201cCoach Saban is not in favor of getting rid of the filibuster in the Senate. He believes this will destroy the checks and balances..."pic.twitter.com/kHgtMeMOSj— Kaitlan Collins (@Kaitlan Collins) 1642532737
Asked about the letter and the filibuster Tuesday, Manchin bristled at the exclusion of Saban's footnote.
“Nick Saban at the bottom of his letter -- which they didn’t put, Paul Tagliabue didn’t put what Nick Saban wrote at the bottom, his footnote, he supports the filibuster,” Manchin told reporters. “Do not get rid of the filibuster. Now why did he automatically leave that out?”
He reiterated that he supports Democratic efforts to reform elections but not by nuking the filibuster.
“Nick Saban’s letter was straight on. They all [the co-signers] want the right to vote, right? We all want the right to vote,” Manchin said Tuesday. “I think everyone — we should all support the right to vote. But not breaking the rules.”
On Thursday, after Democrats failed to kill the filibuster and pass their election bill, Manchin publicly thanked Saban, his longtime friend and supporter, for agreeing with him.
"Coach Saban is exactly right: you cannot throw the filibuster out and expect the legislative process to work better," Manchin tweeted, highlighting the footnote.
Coach Saban is exactly right: you cannot throw the filibuster out and expect the legislative process to work better. I wholeheartedly agree with the coaches that "Our democracy is at its best when all Americans are encouraged to participate."pic.twitter.com/a3xAtrbGhh— Senator Joe Manchin (@Senator Joe Manchin) 1642716683
Saban's support for the Democrats' election bill drew harsh criticism from congressional Republicans, who oppose the bill.
“Nick Saban should focus on winning National Championships instead of destroying our elections,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said in a since-deleted tweet.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) roasted Saban and the others who signed the letter in a video posted by FreedomWorks, a conservative and libertarian grassroots organization.
TORCHED: @RepChipRoy drags "famed history and election law experts" Jerry West and Nick Saban for their support of the Democrats' radical bill to federally takeover our elections. #VoterID #ampFWpic.twitter.com/nq6uzIrm1c— FreedomWorks (@FreedomWorks) 1642697397
“They use that term on purpose, ‘voting rights,’ because who could possibly be against voting rights?” Roy said, commenting on the Democrats' bill.
“For example, allow me to quote from acclaimed election history and law experts Jerry West, Nick Saban, Paul Tagliabue, and company, quote, ‘In the last year, some 20 states have enacted dozens of laws that restrict voting access and allow local officials or state legislatures to interfere inappropriately with federal election outcomes, motivated by the unanticipated outcomes of recent close elections conducted with integrity,’ they say. ‘These state laws seek to secure partisan advantage by eliminating reliable practices with proven safeguards and substituting practices ripe for manipulation,'” he said.
“No doubt these famed election law experts spent the weekend reading the federal legislation for which they were lobbying, because, I mean, I got the 700-page bill at 11:30 last Thursday night before voting on it on Friday,” he continued.
“I assume they read it thoroughly over the weekend, as my staff stayed up into the middle of the night doing, to actually see what was in the bill. I assume, too, that they know, for example, that the bill would lead to completely outlawing or eliminating voter identification.
“Do they know that four in five Americans, 80%, support requiring voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot? I know my colleagues are sure fine with everybody having to show a voter identification with vax cards all across this country, including the nation’s capital. Do they know that Delaware and Connecticut require photo or non-photo ID?"
Concluding, Roy sardonically said he was "certain that they have studied the intricacies of Texas law before disparaging it."
"I’m sure they spent time looking at that. Or, say, studied the Georgia election law, at least a little better than studying the University of Georgia’s, say, defense," he added.
The Georgia Bulldogs defeated Saban's Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff National Championship earlier this month.
Biden will reportedly issue two executive actions on police reform, because what else can he do?
President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing two executive actions on police reform that will be timed to coincide with the start of Black History Month in February.
According to CNBC News, the executive actions are still being finalized and will be presented to the public around the same time that Democratic lawmakers reboot the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which previously failed to pass because Republicans favored a compromise bill that Democrats criticized as too weak.
The specific details of the executive actions were not disclosed by the sources who spoke with CNBC. The network reported that Biden will use the rollout of these executive actions to attack former President Donald Trump.
Democratic efforts to revive police reform come after promises made to the party's black voter base were not kept. A push to fight so-called "voter suppression" with a federal overhaul of U.S. elections failed miserably this week after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Sen Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) each said they would not support any changes to or the elimination of the Senate filibuster.
Months of effort by the president and Democratic leaders to cajole, threaten, and plead with the moderates in their conference were for naught, which leaves the 50-50 Democratic majority stuck in the unenviable position of having to compromise with the minority if they want to pass legislation.
But there is an election in November, which means that instead of compromise, Democrats will introduce several messaging bills that will get the party base excited but ultimately won't go anywhere. The president, meanwhile, will rely on executive actions that will give the appearance of doing something but cannot go too far, else they will be challenged in court and struck down, just like the Biden administration's employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The likely result is that any egregious actions taken by Biden will be reversed as soon as the next Republican president assumes office, whenever that may be.
This is all happening because Biden's approval numbers are tanking. A Quinnipiac poll released this week found that only 33% of U.S. adults approve of the president's job performance. Only 24% of independents approve of Biden. Among Hispanics, it's just 28%. The survey results suggest Biden is seen as divisive, Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy (turns out rampant inflation is unpopular), and more people are likely to say things are getting "worse" than "getting better."
Importantly, as CNBC noted, Biden's approval among black voters is at 57%, a significant fall from April, when his numbers with that demographic were at 78%.
If black voters don't turn out to vote for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections this November, Biden can kiss his threadbare congressional majorities goodbye. And if Republicans control both chambers of Congress, the only significant legislation Biden is likely to sign in the final two years of his first term are the massive spending bills funding the government that everyone except lobbyists hates.
Biden's dream of having an "FDR-size presidency" is impossible if Democrats lose in November. So expect executive actions on police reform and other issues important to Democrats to be rolled out nonstop from here until the end of the year, as Democrats will say and do anything to salvage the wreck of their failed policies.
Kyrsten Sinema obliterates all hope for Democrats to end the filibuster this year
Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Thursday drove the final nail into the coffin of Democratic ambitions to overhaul U.S. elections this year, declaring in a memorable speech that she will not now, or ever, vote with her party to end the Senate's 60-vote filibuster requirement.
Restating her commitment to supporting the three-fifths vote requirement to end debate and pass legislation, the Democrat accused both her own party and Republicans of equally contributing to "spiraling division" that prevents Congress from debate and compromise.
"These deepening divisions hurt our ability to work together. ... Americans across the country know this. They see it every day, not only on social media and cable news, but at their jobs and around dinner tables," Sinema said. "We are divided. It is more likely today that we look at other Americans who have different views and see the other or even see them as enemies instead of as fellow countrymen and women who share our core values."
Sinema Delivers Senate Floor Remarks on Voting Rights, America's Divisions, and the U.S. Senatehttps://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1DXGyDMLQzNKM\u00a0\u2026— Kyrsten Sinema (@Kyrsten Sinema) 1642093980
While the progressive senator said she supports two Democratic bills that would overhaul U.S. elections and overwrite Republican-backed state election integrity laws, she reaffirmed that she "will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division" by changing the Senate's rules for a temporary partisan advantage.
"There's no need for me to restate my long-standing support for the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation. There's no need for me to restate its role in protecting our country from wild reversals of federal policy," Sinema said. "This week's harried discussions about Senate rules are but a poor substitute for what I believe could have and should have been a thoughtful public debate at any time over the past year."
Continuing, she said, "But what is the legislative filibuster, other than a tool that requires new federal policy to be broadly supported by senators, representing the broader cross-section of Americans? ... Demands to eliminate this threshold from whichever party holds the fleeting majority amount to a group of people separated on two sides of a canyon, shouting that solution to their colleagues."
The immediate political ramifications of this speech are that President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) can no longer pretend an upcoming vote to end the filibuster and pass the so-called Freedom to Vote Act will matter. With continued Republican opposition to that bill and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and without Sinema's support to end the filibuster, the bills are dead in a 50-50 Senate, and there is nothing Democrats can do about it.
Adding insult to the injury to Schumer's plans, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told reporters Sinema's speech was "very good, excellent."
“I think it’s the points that I’ve been making for an awful long time and she has too,” he said, according to CNN.
At least two Senate Democrats won't budge on the filibuster, and there are likely more with the same position who have remained quiet to avoid upsetting their voters.
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