Democrat Kyrsten Sinema DEFENDS the filibuster, says eliminating it would 'damage our democracy' and calls out her party for using it in the past in op-ed ahead of voting rights bill vote today
Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema doubled down on her defense of the filibuster under mounting pressure to denounce the legislative practice ahead of a crucial Senate vote on a voting rights bill on Tuesday.
The Arizona Democrat, who touts her political independence and models her career in the maverick mold of the late John McCain, refused to bow to pressure from her own party and argued ending the filibuster 'damages our democracy.'
'The filibuster compels moderation and helps protect the country from wild swings between opposing policy poles,' she wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Monday night that defended the legislative tool.
The filibuster refers to the 60-vote threshold required to move legislation forward in the Senate. The Democrats' voting rights bill is expected to fall victim to it on Tuesday when it comes to the Senate floor.
The legislative tool makes the minority party a power player in the Senate. In the current makeup of the chamber, Democrats need 10 Republicans to vote with them to pass any legislation if all Democrats vote the party line.
Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema doubled down on her defense of the filibuster under mounting pressure to denounce the legislative tool
Sinema defended the voting threshold, arguing that political parties don't always stay in the majority and there could come a time when the filibuster is needed by Democrats.
'I do not accept a new standard by which important legislation can only pass on party-line votes — and when my party is again in the Senate minority, I will work just as hard to preserve the right to shape legislation,' she wrote.
And, she noted, eliminating the filibuster to pass the voting rights bill could come back to haunt Democrats.
'To those who want to eliminate the legislative filibuster to pass the For the People Act (voting-rights legislation I support and have co-sponsored), I would ask: Would it be good for our country if we did, only to see that legislation rescinded a few years from now and replaced by a nationwide voter-ID law or restrictions on voting by mail in federal elections, over the objections of the minority?,' she wrote.
The For the People Act - the Democrats' voting rights bill that has already passed the House - has 49 Democratic co-sponsors but no chance of getting enough Republican votes to advance in the Senate.
Sinema and fellow moderate Democrat Senator Joe Manchin have been vocal in their defense of the filibuster, at times to the ire of fellow members of their party.
And a progressive group, Just Democracy ,launched a a seven-figure ad campaign in Arizona to target Sinema, to try and get her to support abolishing the filibuster. Sinema is up for re-election in 2024.
Sinema and Manchin also had separate meetings at the White House on Monday with President Joe Biden to discuss his legislative priorities.
The two senators are key votes for the president. In the evenly-split 50-50 Senate he cannot afford to lose a single Democratic vote on his agenda items.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is another vocal defender of the filibuster
There are ways to get around the filibuster in the Senate through a process called budget reconciliation - which requires just 51 votes to advance legislation.
Democrats used it to approve the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, in 2010. Republicans used it in 2017 to pass tax cuts.
Senate Democrats used it to Biden's advantage in March to pass the president's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package when all Republicans voted no.
There is a catch, however.
Budge reconciliation can’t be used for just any legislation, but provides a way for some budget-related measures to pass with a simple 51 votes. It usually is invoked for legislation involving revenues, spending or debt.
The Senate parliamentarian makes the final determination when it can and cannot be used.
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