The Best Solution I’ve Heard For The “For The People Act” In The Senate

I ain’t as young as I used to be, or as quick, and so I had to take a little time to make sure I had this right before I wrote it up. But I double checked the video, and it’s rock-and-roll-choochkie-coo.

Yesterday, the GOP blocked the We the People Act from even coming to the floor of the Senate for debate. Which basically means that it’s dead in the water, since Manchin and Sinema are adamant that they won’t torpedo the goddamn filibuster to keep our democracy alive. Personally, I love the pressure being put on Manchin right now by his own constituents, and hope Sinema constituents follow suit. Nut that doesn’t solve the short term problem.

Last night, on Rachel Maddow’s show, she had Senator Amy Klobuchar on. Full Disclosure. Amy Klobuchar was my first choice in 2020, and Teri and I supported her until she dropped out, when we switched to Biden. She is taking her Rules Committee on the road to Georgia to hold a hearing on voting rights in Georgia, and plans to go to other GOP dominated states to push the issue locally. And after Rachel played a clip of Chuck Schumer stating that there were several options that the Democrats were looking at to advance the bill, Klobuchar let it slip through the cracks.

The Democrats are seriously considering folding the necessary components of the For the People Act into the budget reconciliation infrastructure bill that both the House and the Senate are crafting for when the GOP finally stops dicking around. And that is a stroke of brilliance.

Because the budget reconciliation bills are not subject to a Senate filibuster, they can pass on a base 51 vote majority. Which means that the Democrats don’t have to get into a Deathmatch 200 over reforming the filibuster. But there’s one problem with the plan.

By its very name, budget reconciliation bills require that the internal components affect either the budget, or the deficit. Items that do not fit that criteria are subject to rejection by the Senate Parliamentarian. This is what happened to the $15 an hour minimum wage in the Covid relief bill. Affecting only employers, and neither the federal budget or the deficit, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that it had to go. And likely, so would the voting rights provisions.

But the main point is, who gives a shit? These are Senate rules we’re talking about. If McConnell comes back and tells Schumer that he has to strip the voting rights legislation from the bill, tough noogies. because Schumer can just turn around and put a motion on the floor to override the Senate Parliamentarian, which only requires a 51 vote majority to pass. McConnell used this tactic to ram through several ineligible clauses on the Trump tax giveaway.

Now granted, the Democrats simply accepted McConnell’s ruling on the minimum wage, and didn’t try to override it, mainly because they think they have several other legislative vehicles in which to get it done. But I find it inconceivable that they wouldn’t all come together to override the Parliamentarian on this one. Why not live to fight another day on the filibuster by taking the bird in the hand, and taking all of the activist heat off by overriding the Parliamentarian and ramming the For the People Act clauses home on a simple majority vote?

Schumer said that there were several options under consideration, but this one comes with a delicious cherry on top. Moscow Mitch loves to think of himself as the Grand Master of Parliamentary procedures in the Senate. What better way to shove it right up McConnell’s ass, with a tactic he’s used himself, and let him know that the Democrats are finally ready to play hardball. Stick a pin in this one.