This is catastrophic

[Celerity]

22. Ok, I will play. Explain to me how filibustered bills (basically anything that cannot be passed

through reconciliation) get passed as now Manchin has said no to even MODIFYING the filibuster to any degree that would actually work for us.

Is he flat out lying? He is making absolute statements so either he is lying or he is going to block a shedload of Biden's agenda. Plus not many are even talking about Sinema, who is even more radical on the filibuster than Manchin. She wants a 60 vote threshold for ALL Senate action.

It is not me nor the press saying this. It is Manchin himself. He also says he will not pass a bill through reconciliation that doesn't have bi-partisan support. Where is that going to come from? What is his definition of bi-partisan? 1, 2 Rethugs? 10 Rethugs?

Do you actually think 10 Rethugs will sign on and vote all the voting rights bills into law? They would have too, as they al will be filibustered, and Manchin will not eliminate the 60 vote threshold. They cannot be put into a reconciliation bill.

If you do think 10 Rethugs will sign on for those voter bills, well, I have a bridge to sell you. It comes with a great view of the Thames.

Also, what modifications will he support now that he has taken any that 'weaken' it at all (which is the entire point of modification) off the table? He already specifically said NO, never, to the 41 votes to sustain option, and his insistence on 60 votes being kept as the threshold for cloture being invoked kills off the talking filibuster option to any remotely workable degree.


Joe Manchin says there is ‘no circumstance’ in which he would back weakening the filibuster.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/us/politics/joe-manchin-filibuster-reconciliation.html

Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a key moderate Democrat, on Wednesday reaffirmed his vow to protect the filibuster in the evenly divided Senate and suggested reluctance to his party repeatedly using a fast-track budget process to advance legislation without Republican votes.

Mr. Manchin has long been one of the most stalwart defenders of the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate in the upper chamber, even as it threatens to derail key elements of President Biden’s agenda. Despite previously toying with possible reforms to the procedural hurdle, he has repeatedly swatted away queries about what could drive him to vote to outright abolish the filibuster, even as Democrats have gamed out various scenarios in which he might relent.

In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, Mr. Manchin vowed that there was “no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster,” and he urged party leaders to compromise on legislation instead of trying to work around Republican opposition. Ten Republicans are currently needed to join all Democrats in a 50-50 Senate to pass major pieces of legislation through the regular process.

snip




https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/joe-manchin-filibuster-vote/2021/04/07/cdbd53c6-97da-11eb-a6d0-13d207aadb78_story.html



snip

The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic form of government. That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt: There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster. The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation.

Unfortunately, our leaders in the Senate fail to realize what goes around comes around. We should all be alarmed at how the budget reconciliation process is being used by both parties to stifle debate around the major issues facing our country today. Legislating was never supposed to be easy. It is hard work to address the needs of both rural and urban communities in a single piece of legislation, but it is the work we were elected to do.

I simply do not believe budget reconciliation should replace regular order in the Senate. How is that good for the future of this nation? Senate Democrats must avoid the temptation to abandon our Republican colleagues on important national issues. Republicans, however, have a responsibility to stop saying no, and participate in finding real compromise with Democrats.

Working legislation through regular order in the Senate prevents drastic swings in federal policymaking. Voting rights reforms, instituting health-care protections and changes to the federal tax code and business regulations take time to implement on the state and local levels. If the filibuster is eliminated or budget reconciliation becomes the norm, a new and dangerous precedent will be set to pass sweeping, partisan legislation that changes the direction of our nation every time there is a change in political control. The consequences will be profound — our nation may never see stable governing again.

So please do tell how this is going to work, and btw, quoting Schumer as saying 'Failure is not an option' is not a valid reply.


TIA