Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said that while she plans to vote for Democrats’ legislation designed to initiate a national takeover of U.S. elections, she does not support abolishing the filibuster to accomplish that power-grab.
“There’s no need for me to restate my longstanding support for the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation. There’s no need for me to restate its role in protecting our country from wild reversals in federal policy. … It is the view I continue to hold,” Sinema told her congressional colleagues from the Senate floor on Thursday.
In her speech, Sinema said she felt “disappointment” that Republicans have not conceded ground in the Democrats’ attempts to weaponize the weaknesses of the 2020 election for their gain but noted that nuking the filibuster does not help anyone in the future.
“What is the legislative filibuster, other than a tool that requires new federal policy to be broadly supported by senators representing a broader cross-section of Americans, a guardrail inevitably viewed as an obstacle by whoever holds the Senate majority, but which in reality, ensures that millions of Americans represented by the minority party have a voice,” Sinema said.
While the Democrat repeated leftist talking points about former President Donald Trump, lied about election integrity, and used “disinformation” and Jan. 6 as examples to justify her support for the Freedom To Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, she also stated that getting rid of the process that protects minority voices in the upper chamber will not accomplish what Democrats want.
“Eliminating the 60-vote threshold on a party line with the thinnest of possible majorities to pass these bills that I support will not guarantee that we prevent demagogues from winning office,” Sinema said. “Rather, eliminating the 60-vote threshold will simply guarantee that we lose a critical tool that we need to safeguard our democracy from threats in the years to come.”
Sinema’s opposition to eliminating the filibuster dashes the hopes of President Joe Biden, his administration, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who have spent the last few weeks demanding Democrat legislators join their campaign to ditch the filibuster. The Democrat leaders thought they could circumvent Republicans who object to the problem-ridden election legislation by getting rid of the filibuster but they simply don’t have enough support to sustain the 60 votes needed.
As a result, Biden gave a speech this week comparing anyone who disagrees with the Democrats’ power grab to Confederate leader Jefferson Davis and suggesting they endorse racism. This accusation necessarily targets lawmakers in his own party such as filibuster guardians Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sinema.
