Biden warms to nixing filibuster for voting rights legislation

[turbinetree]

By Emily Singer -October 22, 2021 10:14 AM

His change of heart was revealed at a town hall one day after Senate Republicans blocked a bill to expand voting rights.

President Joe Biden said he's warming to the idea of eliminating the filibuster for targeted issues such as voting rights and the debt ceiling, a major shift for the longtime senator turned chief executive in the United States, who was once a staunch defender of the procedure that Senate Republicans are using to block legislation in the closely divided chamber.

Biden made the comments at a CNN town hall Wednesday night after host Anderson Cooper asked what Biden thought about Democrats who wanted to see the filibuster eliminated — specifically for voting rights, which are currently under attack by GOP-controlled legislatures across the country.

Senate Republicans had just one day used the filibuster to block a voting rights bill that would have put an end to many of the Republican-passed voter suppression laws. The bill, named the Freedom to Vote act, aimed to make it easier to register to vote and easier to vote early, expand access to voting by mail, and make Election Day a national holiday, among other provisions.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

https://americanindependent.com/president-joe-biden-filibuster-cnn-townhall-anderson-cooper/

[Tetrachloride]

1. I don't believe he was outright against the idea.

He decided to let the RW do their stuff first.

The Bannon, Budget , Climate and Voting votes of the RW have shown their colors past all tolerance.

[lagomorph777]

2. About damned time.

Now, we have to put together a suitable pork/bribe/Kompromat package to get SineManchin out of the damned way.

[Elessar Zappa]

6. I wish a Dem billionaire

would pay them a hefty sum (under the table, of course) to get them completely on board with the Biden agenda. I know it’s scummy and probably illegal but these are desperate times.

[Hortensis]

3. It's headlines in a bunch of papers this morning. Good! But not without

complications and consequences.

Axios:

What he's saying: "I think we're going to have to move to the point where we fundamentally alter the filibuster," Biden said, emphasizing the importance of voting rights.

"If I get myself into at this moment the debate on the filibuster, I lose at least three votes right now to get what I have to get done on the economic side of the equation, foreign policy side of the equation," he noted.

"The idea that, for example, my Republican friends say that we're going to default on the national debt because they're going to filibuster that and we need ten Republicans to support us is the most bizarre thing," he said.

"It remains to be seen exactly what that means in terms of fundamentally altering it, whether or not we just end the filibuster straight up," Biden said.

https://www.axios.com/biden-filibuster-voting-rights-bill-b4001936-ca4a-4765-9776-8127c917b05e.html

Asked by the moderator Anderson Cooper whether he would consider ending the filibuster on the issue of voting rights alone, Biden replied: “And maybe more.”

[TheBlackAdder]

4. If that happens Manchin & Sinema will lose their power -- That's why they will be against it.

[shrike3]

5. Do it, guys.

[jcgoldie]

7. unfortunately...

I don't think he has much say in the matter.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Aim this squarely at obstructionism

Level the playing field. Mitch arguably stole 2 SCOTUS seats and state GOP bills are stealing democracy.

Throw in a GOP bone if you have to, with voter and signature ID for first time voters or people who have moved, but get this done.

[aocommunalpunch]

9. LMAO

Pretty sure that’s not happening.