Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
This is why Congress remains deadlocked on climate and guns
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/politics/guns-climate-senate-standoff-smaller-states/index.html
(CNN)There's a political dynamic that virtually guarantees Congress will remain locked in a contentious stalemate over gun violence like the weekend's mass shooting in Texas and the risk of climate change embodied in the ferocious Hurricane Dorian menacing the Southeast United States.
Both issues highlight the effective veto over legislation that the Senate provides to a group of inland states -- many of them smaller, preponderantly white and heavily rural -- with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry and a strong gun culture.
These states -- primarily across the South, the Plains and the Mountain West -- provide Republicans enough Senate seats to sustain a filibuster blocking action on guns or climate change, despite polls showing that a clear national majority now supports a federal response to both.
Even if Democrats in 2020 hold the House, retake the White House and regain a Senate majority, this regional dynamic virtually guarantees Republicans could still block any legislation that offers an ambitious response to either challenge.
That's why a growing number of Democratic observers think if the party regains unified control of government in 2020, climate and gun control will likely be the two issues that create the most pressure for eliminating the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance legislation in the Senate.
On both issues, a stark regional divide with cultural and economic implications now separates the parties.
(CNN)There's a political dynamic that virtually guarantees Congress will remain locked in a contentious stalemate over gun violence like the weekend's mass shooting in Texas and the risk of climate change embodied in the ferocious Hurricane Dorian menacing the Southeast United States.
Both issues highlight the effective veto over legislation that the Senate provides to a group of inland states -- many of them smaller, preponderantly white and heavily rural -- with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry and a strong gun culture.
These states -- primarily across the South, the Plains and the Mountain West -- provide Republicans enough Senate seats to sustain a filibuster blocking action on guns or climate change, despite polls showing that a clear national majority now supports a federal response to both.
Even if Democrats in 2020 hold the House, retake the White House and regain a Senate majority, this regional dynamic virtually guarantees Republicans could still block any legislation that offers an ambitious response to either challenge.
That's why a growing number of Democratic observers think if the party regains unified control of government in 2020, climate and gun control will likely be the two issues that create the most pressure for eliminating the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance legislation in the Senate.
On both issues, a stark regional divide with cultural and economic implications now separates the parties.
It would be sweet if Dems swept unified control. We need that to correct some of the damage Trump has done and appoint some liberal judges to balance out the RW extremists.
