Sinema: Dems hypocritical for trying to end filibuster after using it 'just last year

[dukkha]

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Monday doubled down on her defense of the Senate’s legislative filibuster, declaring in a Washington Post op-ed that it is important to stop "repeated radical reversals" of federal law.

Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have been the two most vocal Democrats in the chamber defending the 60-vote threshold for legislation, often attracting the ire of their more liberal colleagues. And Sinema took a page from Manchin’s playbook Monday by laying out her case for the Senate’s controversial minority protection in an opinion piece.

"To those who want to eliminate the legislative filibuster to pass the For the People Act (voting-rights legislation I support and have co-sponsored), I would ask: Would it be good for our country if we did, only to see that legislation rescinded a few years from now and replaced by a nationwide voter-ID law or restrictions on voting by mail in federal elections, over the objections of the minority?" Sinema wrote in The Post.

This question is less about the immediate results from any of these Democratic or Republican goals," she continued. "[I]t is the likelihood of repeated radical reversals in federal policy, cementing uncertainty, deepening divisions and further eroding Americans’ confidence in our government."

The majority of the Democrats in the Senate signed a 2017 letter led by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Chris Coons, D-Del., asking Senate leaders to preserve the filibuster during the Trump presidency.

But as the 2020 election approached, and especially since President Biden was sworn in earlier this year, many Democrats renounced or at least distanced themselves from that stance, including Coons. Now Manchin and Sinema are the only two staunch filibuster defenders among Senate Democrats, with a few other moderates and institutionalists who quietly support them.

Sinema notes in her op-ed that Democrats often used the filibuster to stop Republican-supported legislation during President Trump's tenure, when Republicans controlled the Senate.

"Once in a majority, it is tempting to believe you will stay in the majority. But a Democratic Senate minority used the 60-vote threshold just last year to filibuster a police reform proposal and a covid-relief bill that many Democrats viewed as inadequate," Sinema wrote. "Those filibusters were mounted not as attempts to block progress, but to force continued negotiations toward better solutions."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kyr...end-filibuster

[Legion]

Hypocrisy is the DEMOCRAT'S standard.

[dukkha]

Hypocrisy is the DEMOCRAT'S standard.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pointed that out.. amazing

[Nordberg]

Nothing amazing about it. Even if something is bad, politicians will use it if it works for them. getting rid of it shows an understanding and a wish to do better. The reds abuse the filibuster as policy. They love it. It is only the Dems who are trying to fix it.

[BidenPresident]

yes, right wingers support Sinema.

[Concart]

Not in the least bit hypocritical. Sinema is making excuses, just like Manchin.

[Legion]

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pointed that out.. amazing

She'll fall into line, I suppose.

[AProudLefty]