Editorial: Progressives now learn to love the Senate filibuster

News outlets called the last outstanding U.S. Senate race this week for Democrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona. That gives Republicans a 53-47 edge in the chamber after picking up four seats.

And suddenly there’s silence from Democrats on eliminating the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court. Apparently it wasn’t about principle and preserving “democracy,” after all. Who knew?

For the past few years, progressives have been agitating to change the rules in the Senate to allow passage of controversial bills by a simple majority vote. In 2021, 100 House Democrats signed a letter urging their Senate brethren to kill the filibuster, which allows senators to hold up legislation unless 60 of their colleagues prefer otherwise. “We cannot let a procedural tool that can be abolished stand in the way of justice, prosperity and equity,” the letter insisted.

In fact, the movement had nothing to do with “justice, prosperity and equity” and everything to do with a raw power grab that would allow Democrats to enact a number of radical proposals, including statehood for Washington, D.C., expanding the Supreme Court and killing the Electoral College.

Heading into last week’s election, most Senate Democrats — including Nevada’s Jacky Rosen — made clear their intention to bury the filibuster if their party kept the White House and the upper chamber.

But that was then, and this is now.

The website Fast Company reported this week that it contacted a dozen Democratic senators who had voiced support for ending the filibuster and “none responded.” In addition, Fix Our Senate, a coalition of left-wing groups that demanded an end to the filibuster, has “shut down its website.”

Notably, one of the signers of the 2021 House letter, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat and chair of the Progressive Caucus, said at a news conference last week, “Am I championing getting rid of the filibuster now when the (GOP) has the trifecta? No. But had we had the trifecta, I would have been.”

Political hypocrisy reaches a new low. As an amusing thought experiment, imagine the response from Rep. Jayapal and her fellow travelers if Republicans — in the spirit of bipartisanship — said they would soon neuter the filibuster and add six seats to the Supreme Court.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down as his party’s leader, said last week that the “filibuster will stand” under the GOP majority. As outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., stabilizes our democracy, promotes bipartisan cooperation and protects our nation from partisan whiplash and dysfunction.”

Progressives vilified him and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., for standing firm against their party’s efforts to erode minority power. After the election rout, they should send them both gift baskets.

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