On Monday, as the U.S. continued to square off against the suppressive new election restrictions proposed and in some cases enacted by the GOP, ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman spoke out in favor of ending the Senate filibuster. At present, filibuster rules in the Senate demand the agreement of at least 60 Senators in the 100-member chamber before moving forward, including to a final vote, on most legislation, which currently allows Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his allies to band together and block progress.
Vindman commented as follows:
‘The high-minded objections for retaining the filibuster fall flat when considered against the injustice of disenfranchising black & minority voters. Ending filibuster is tragic, but the GOP has left little recourse. Pass voter protections and investigate 1/6.’
The high-minded objections for retaining the filibuster fall flat when considered against the injustice of disenfranchising black & minority voters. Ending filibuster is tragic, but the GOP has left little recourse. Pass voter protections and investigate 1/6. #HereRightMatters https://t.co/2Z75KeREW0
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) June 7, 2021
Those who have defended the Senate filibuster — particularly Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — have extolled so-called bipartisanship, which they claim is protected by the filibuster — but many Republican leaders do not seem interested in bipartisanship. Across the House and Senate, a full 147 Republican members of Congress voted against certifying key components of Joe Biden’s election victory altogether when the matter came up for Congressional certification. Many Republicans remain actively engaged in propagating the lie that last year’s election was somehow rigged for Biden.
Recently, Senate Republicans lodged their first formal filibuster of this legislative session, blocking the progression of a bill that would have created an independent commission to investigate the January riot at the Capitol, but the threat of another filibuster from Republicans has loomed over the progress of a slew of other critical legislative proposals, like federal protections for voting rights.
