The Left Never Sleeps. They’re Still Trying to Destroy Tradition.

The radical progressive left is a juggernaut. It’s a machine that never stops. There are some calm stretches and setbacks, but they don’t last for long.

The left bides its time, gathers its forces and resumes the attack on tradition and norms of behavior. Compromise does no good. No sooner do you offer some reasonable accommodation to the extreme left than they immediately take it (with no thank-yous) and demand more. A good case in point is highlighted in this article.

The Democrats have controlled the U.S. Senate since Biden was elected in 2020. But they have controlled it by the barest of margins. From 2020 to 2022, the Senate was split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, but the Democrats could win on legislation with a tie-breaking vote from VP Kamala Harris who sits as president of the Senate.

After the 2022 elections, the Democrats had a 51-49 majority (including three independents who caucused with the Democrats). That sounds like working majority for the Democrats, but it’s not because of the filibuster.

A filibuster is an unlimited debate that can stop any legislation in its tracks. In the old days, a senator had to stand on the floor and keep speaking (sometimes for days) to block legislation. Today, that’s not necessary. A senator can simply file an objection and that’s enough to hold up the process.

The way to end a filibuster is with 60 votes to end debate. Here’s the conundrum. It takes 60 votes to end a filibuster, but it only takes 50 votes (with a VP tiebreaker) to change the rules and eliminate the filibuster.

The Democrats want to eliminate the filibuster so they can move ahead with their radical agenda to pack the Supreme Court and make Puerto Rico a state so they can have two more Senate seats. With 51 votes in their caucus, why don’t they just do it?

The answer is that two senators in the Democratic caucus, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, were opposed to eliminating the filibuster. So, the Dems only had 49 votes and couldn’t get it done. Now, both Sinema and Manchin have announced they are leaving the Senate at the end of this year. This puts the filibuster elimination possibility back in play.

Everything depends on the outcome of the 2024 election. If the Republicans can take control of the Senate (a reasonable bet), the filibuster rule change goes away for the time being. But if Democrats can take control of the Senate without the two opponents to the rule (Sinema and Manchin), they might be able to push this through.

That could mean the end of some of our most valued traditions, including the nine-member Supreme Court and the requirement for 60 votes (which almost always means bipartisan support) to pass legislation. Like I said – the radical progressive left never sleeps. They just bide their time.

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