Two Senate Seats Shy of Radicalism

[Kamaji]

Two Senate Seats Shy of Radicalism

By John McCormack
January 20, 2022

By forcing a vote on the nuclear option, Schumer makes it clear that Democrats are two seats away from implementing a radical agenda on many issues.

What did Chuck Schumer’s failed attack on the filibuster accomplish?

When the Senate majority leader pushed ahead with a doomed vote on the nuclear option — using a simple majority to set a precedent contrary to the Standing Rules of the Senate — he was mostly acting to placate progressive donors and activists.

Pushing his caucus to the brink without succeeding will not help Democratic incumbents in battleground states such as Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and New Hampshire, but it might help ensure that Schumer will not have to face a left-wing primary challenge this year from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or some other AOC-backed candidate.

Schumer’s charge against the filibuster didn’t substantively move the ball forward for opponents of the filibuster — he simply made something clear that was always true. At the beginning of Schumer’s anti-filibuster crusade, there were only two Senate Democrats — Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — firmly opposed to ending the 60-vote hurdle to cut off debate for most legislation. Schumer’s crusade merely forced weak supporters of the filibuster and senators up for reelection in battleground states to publicly make clear that they would never stand up to a concerted effort to get around the 60-vote rule. Perhaps the only thing that progressive opponents of the filibuster gained was momentum for a 2024 primary campaign against Sinema.

Schumer made it clear to the public that if Democrats hold the House of Representatives and gain a couple of Senate seats, they would be able to enact radical policies on a number of different issues.

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Will the prospect of being two seats away from unchecked Democratic governance rally the progressive base, or is the high-profile failure going to demoralize them? The latter seems somewhat more likely than the former. And the prospect of a 52–48 Democratic Senate and a Democratic House will surely turn off independents and motivate Republicans to turn out in 2022.

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Source:  https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/01/two-senate-seats-shy-of-radicalism/

[Hoodat]

If Republicans hadn't stood idly by while Democrats stole the election, the Senate would look like this:

Republicans - 53
Democrats - 45
Hardline Communists - 2

[berdie]

If Republicans hadn't stood idly by while Democrats stole the election, the Senate would look like this:

Republicans - 53
Democrats - 45
Hardline Communists - 2

I will try...really try to understand why 2 hardline communists (or more) are in the governing body of this country. Of course I understand the "why".

But I am having a hard time understanding "how"? Rhetorical question, I guess....I even understand how, but it won't stop me from having a fit.