McConnell on Senate rules: A travesty of an absurdity

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has left our nation’s fate hanging by a thread because Chuckie Schumer threw a hissy fit. 

To quote John Adams, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  Progressives, who have no morality nor any loyalty to the Judaeo-Christian religions — and who seek total power and submission — are, indeed, “any other.”

There is no question that, if the now-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has his way, Democrats will vote to take steps that will mark the de facto end of our Republican experiment.  They have promised to change the rules under which we operate, something that will alter the balance of power permanently in favor of progressives, both electorally, with the addition of new states, and in the judiciary by packing the Supreme Court to ensure a permanent progressive majority.

If there are no rules on which both sides agree, then there is only power.  And as Mao told us, raw political power “grows out of the barrel of a gun.”  Sadly, so do civil wars.

But Schumer does not have the power to alter our nation — yet.  I admit that I have minimal knowledge of the rules of the Senate.  I know that each new iteration of the Senate — lasting for two years — must vote to approve the rules under which it will operate.  I thought that included the vote of the Vice President as leader of the Senate, but apparently, he/she/it will only cast a vote in the Senate on legislation, not on the internal Senate rules.

Right now, that apparently means that the 50/50 split in the Senate will only be resolved if Mitch McConnell, as Minority Leader, agrees to a set of rules on which the entire Senate can vote.  In other words, the filibuster rule that would give the Republicans the right to object to such legislative changes to the rules under which we operate will only be removed if McConnell agrees to allow it to happen.

Chuck Schumer has proposed an equal power-sharing agreement but one in which the legislative filibuster is removed (after a 215-year run), thus allowing him to radically alter the nation so that progressives are never again out of power.  It is a civil war waiting to happen.  McConnell, for his part, refused until today to even consider agreeing to a vote on any set of rules that allow for an end to the legislative filibuster.  Indeed, as long as he maintained that position, there was nothing at all that Schumer could do about it, other than issue a relentless cri de couer.

And that’s what Schumer has been doing.  Schumer was stamping his feet like an impotent little bitch on MSNBC that McConnell has to agree to a vote on rules that include the end of the legislative filibuster because it is making his “entire caucus” mad. McConnell’s response was, appropriately a middle finger.

But no longer.  After two Democrat Senators stated that they would not support ending the legislative filibuster, McConnell folded like a worn-out set of playing cards.  He is now going to allow a vote on Senate rules that include an end to the legislative filibuster.  There is no reason to do this other than that McConnell wants to stop the incessant criticism of the MSM — which will never end unless and until McConnell capitulates to the left.  Just like McConnell fucking has . . . . [Bookworm here: Or McConnell get a memo from the CCP….]

This from the NYT:

“With these assurances, I look forward to moving ahead with a power-sharing agreement modeled on that precedent,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement.

Democrats had been anticipating a capitulation by Mr. McConnell and said they believed he had overreached in the negotiation.

“We’re glad Senator McConnell threw in the towel and gave up on his ridiculous demand,” said Justin Goodman, a spokesman for Mr. Schumer. “We look forward to organizing the Senate under Democratic control and start getting big, bold things done for the American people.”

But as in past fights over the filibuster, the outcome is likely to be only a temporary solution. As they press forward on Mr. Biden’s agenda, Democrats will come under mounting pressure from activists to jettison the rule, which effectively requires 60 votes to advance any measure, should Republicans use it regularly to stall or stop the administration’s priorities.

The two Senators in question are Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

This from The Hill:

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Monday that he won’t vote to kill the filibuster “under any condition,” drawing a hard line against mounting pressure from progressives.

Manchin, speaking to reporters in the Capitol, reiterated that he does not support going “nuclear” to gut the 60-vote legislative filibuster and indicated that there was no timeline where, if Republicans blocked legislation, he would change his mind. . . .

To go “nuclear” — change the rules by a simple majority — Democrats would need every vote in their 50-vote caucus, and several have signaled that they are leery of changing the rules.

In addition to Manchin, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has long been viewed by supporters of nixing the filibuster as opposed to taking the step.

Sinema’s office made it clear on Monday that she is still not supportive of nixing the filibuster after The Washington Post incorrectly suggested that she might be open to the move.

Sinema is “against eliminating the filibuster, and she is not open to changing her mind about eliminating the filibuster,” a spokesperson told the Post. . . .

This is a nightmare.  The fate of our Republic now hangs in the hands of two Democrats whom McConnell is turning to for cover.

Manchin is a Democrat through and through.  He “did not vote to put the highly-qualified Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court . . . [but he] did vote to impeach President Donald Trump.”  I know of no reason to trust this man.

Sinema is an interesting character.  Her backstory suggests that she a hard-core progressive.  She is bi-sexual and a staunch proponent of invented rights for the LGBTQ cr0wd. And back in the days before her election to Congress, she was a social worker and a member of the Green Party, not to mention a member of Code Pink and a friend to the local witches.  But, she has not voted like a hard-core progressive since ascending to Congress.  Actually, she has been a bit the mirror image of John McCain; that is, she’s a “maverick” in relation to her own party.  I would not be shocked if Sinema is true to her word.  But I would no more trust her to go against her party in this than to fly.

McConnell has left our nation hanging by a thread because Chuckie Schumer threw a hissy fit.  It really is a travesty of an absurdity.