'Five-alarm fire': Liberals use Jan. 6 panel blockade as rallying cry to abolish filibusterMore than 100 liberal groups are urging Senate Democrats to abolish the 60-vote threshold, using the Republican blockade of a commission to investigate the Capitol riot as a rallying cry.
"In the face of Republicans' inability and unwillingness to defend our democracy, it is clearer than ever that the filibuster needs to be eliminated," reads a letter dated Thursday, led by Fix Our Senate and co-signed by Indivisible, March For Our Lives, Our Revolution, the Sierra Club and other groups.
Although the letter is addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the real targets are Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the two most outspoken proponents of the filibuster in the party.
The letter cites Manchin's recent remarks that the GOP move to block the creation of a Jan. 6 commission was "disheartening" and concerning for the country. And it calls for passage of the For the People Act, a sweeping bill to guarantee voting procedures like 15 days of early voting and mail-in ballots in all states.
Schumer plans to bring up the bill in the coming weeks, along with others, like the Paycheck Fairness Act and possibly LGBTQ rights legislation, which are likely to be blocked by filibusters. They will test the Democratic resolve to preserve the supermajority rule...................
https://www.yahoo.com/news/five-alarm-fire-liberals-jan-082752958.html
