And while it may be difficult for the “Senator President” to leave a position he held for four decades, Democrats told us it was a politi...
And while it may be difficult for the “Senator President” to leave a position he held for four decades, Democrats told us it was a political necessity:
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“He has vast power in the areas of regulation, law enforcement and foreign policy,” said Paul Begala, a Democratic consultant. “He can do a lot without Congress.”
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“Biden needs to take control of the conversation by making full use of the latent powers of the executive,” said Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project.
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“He’s a creature of the Senate and he has to leave the Senate,” said John Morgan, a Florida litigator and one of Biden’s top donors. “He should never go back.”
Abortion rights groups change course on filibuster
In June, Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona released an editorial in the Washington Post arguing that it would be a mistake for Democrats to abandon the filibuster. What if, she asked, Republicans canceled funding for “women’s reproductive health services”—for example, Planned Parenthood—once they took over the Senate?
At the time, Sinema was speaking on behalf of many members of the abortion rights community, which discreetly opposed eliminating a tool that could prevent federal abortion-restricting laws from passing 51-vote majorities.
This week, in a stark change, several powerful abortion rights groups loudly rejected Sinema’s argument. To varying degrees, Emily’s List, NARAL, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights have all said they support amending the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.
Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University who studies women’s movements, described the shift in stance as a recognition that these groups now see “abortion rights and the scaffolding of democracy as being intertwined”. It’s no coincidence, she said, that “the states that have been the most aggressive in limiting the right to vote are the same states that have the most aggressive abortion laws.”
The Democrats run on their own
Progressives in the House and Senate have long railed against Sinema and fellow pro-buccaneer Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia. What’s new is that Democratic candidates in red states are following suit.
A recent fundraising email from Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democratic Senate candidate from Ohio, read that “Joe Manchin killed Build Back Better” and blamed Sinema’s vote against filibuster reform. for “killing our chance of getting the right to vote”. And then he asked for campaign contributions to expand the Democratic majority.
“Tim has always been clear that he will work with anyone and stand up to anyone – including members of his own party – to make our government work better for working people here in Ohio. “Ryan’s spokesperson, Izzi Levy, told us.
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