McConnell did it to push through three Trump nominees to the supreme court to make it Trump’s Court, which is a threat to our democracy, our Bill of Rights, as well as life on Earth. Failing to pass the two federal voting rights bill will also threaten our democracy, progress on climate change, and pave the way for Trump or one of his surrogates to run for, and perhaps win, the presidency in ’24. And the only way to pass those bills is to carve out a way to hobble the GOP abuse of the filibuster. No amount of political donations will accomplish this. No amount of rhetoric will accomplish this. No amount of speechifying will accomplish this. No amount of street demonstrations will accomplish this. Only political arm twisting and jawboning and deal making and quid pro quo-ing, like Lyndon Johnson used to do, will accomplish that. Even Powder Milk Biscuits won’t accomplish that. Just good hard-nosed politicking is what’s needed and I just haven’t seen it among the current crop of politicians in Washington. Certainly the Republicans are lily-livered wusses. I’ve come to expect that among that sorrowful crew. But I expect more of the Dems.
I’ve known for years there’d be trouble between the moderates and the progressives. A progressive golf bud of mine told me in ’16 that he hadn’t voted for Clinton because Bernie wasn’t nominated, so he just didn’t vote. That was essentially a vote for Trump. I don’t play golf with that asshole anymore. With progressives it’s either their way or the highway, I’m sad to say. There’s no middle ground, as they are essentially a third political party: DINOs, or Democrats in Name Only. With their slogans of Defund the Police and Erase College Debt and Medicare for All, they are, to a large extent, responsible for the Democrats losing a number of key seats in the House of Representatives, giving them the very slim majority margin they currently have and putting the Dems in extreme danger of losing their House majority altogether in ’22.
The Dems also have another kind of DINO in the Senate. Manchin and Sinema. And because of their stubborn stances against the key policies of Joe Biden, they are actually shamelessly attracting substantial right wing money, which is despicable. Their motivation? Money, of course, but the power they think they’ll accumulate by playing to their supposed bases in Arizona and West Virginia. These two may do more harm to our country than those Trump hordes did on January 6. At least many of those were sent packing, prosecuted, and imprisoned. Sinema continues to flit around the Senate chambers pretending to be a righteous power broker. And Manchin prances around like a desert camel with his head up in the clouds somewhere, thinking he has to model the late Sen.Robert Byrd to impress his base back home. Just a couple more true Democratic senators hopefully added in 22, then those two will be permanently stalled at the end of the runway. But for now, they’re in the control tower.
So it’s time to show your cards, Joe. Time, that great taskmaster, is running out. Nineteen Republican-controlled state legislatures have stacked the deck with laws that will guarantee elections on all levels will go their way. You can’t play Democracy with a stacked deck, Joe. You gotta have at least two to tango for a Democracy to have any kind of validity and trustworthiness. Otherwise, people stop voting, permitting the fascists to fill the vacuum. That’s the Trump GOP plan. A bloodless coup that the people don’t realize happened until after the election. How’d they do that? the Dems will scream. That’s not fair, but when they go to court to make their challenges, the judges will hit the gavel, declaring the states have a right to set their election rules, and you had the right to challenge them before the election but didn’t. Rule for the Defendant. Case closed. Country screwed!
Think about it, dear readers. There’s still time to act. Call or email your Democratic senator to put pressure on Joe Biden to put pressure on Manchin and Sinema to change the filibuster rules to allow a majority vote on these voting rights bills, currently stalled by GOP obstructionists, which will essentially disempower those Jim Crow-like voting laws signed into law by key Republican states.
Our democracy, our country, our planet are on the line.
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Check out Sacajawea Press offerings in memoir, nature, self-development, and sports categories at www.stephenaltschuler.com.
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