by Arthur Schaper
Late last year, the U.S. Senate Democrat minority launched a quixotic 40-plus-day shutdown, showing their true colors of America Last and power for progressive communists first. They were willing to sacrifice all the business of the country just to stop the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws. The calls in response to these retaliatory efforts were loud and swift, demanding that the U.S. Senate GOP majority kill the filibuster for everything and just run all the good legislation through to President Trump’s desk.
At that time, I shared grave trepidations about nuking the filibuster. Do we want to open up a can of worms that will never let them squiggle back? Is this country prepared for an aggressive expansion of little-d democracy, with all its mob-like implications? Former senator Kyrsten Sinema explained her resistance to ending the filibuster with one simple quip: “As soon as we go out of power, the Republicans can undo everything we put in place with a simple majority.”
The Democrats could do the same to Republicans.
Or could they? Perhaps we should risk that possibility and take advantage of much richer opportunities. Imagine Republican senators (real MAGA Republicans, mind you) with a set of votes shutting down the Department of Education, Commerce, Labor, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development. Imagine the full repeal of Obamacare! Imagine national firearms reciprocity, all signed into law by President Trump.
With the current electoral map, Democrats are in no position to take back the upper chamber. If Republicans keep major promises and pass election integrity reforms, they can hold onto this majority for the long term. Why give the anti-constitutional Democrats the chance to do their worst in a few election cycles?
Of course, these kinds of Machiavellian machinations have trade-offs. Voters in Democrat states can start pressuring their state legislatures to reassert their Tenth Amendment authorities, doing everything in their power not to comply with Republican reforms. Imagine Illinois completely gutting the Second Amendment. California would run roughshod over the First Amendment. Then again, the federal courts would step in and thwart them. Besides, these blue states are losing population faster than U.S. Senator Mike Lee is losing his hair, so perhaps there’s nothing to worry about in the long term on that front.
In the face of yet another Democrat shutdown (against DHS funding), and with a do-or-die opportunity for Republicans to shore up and protect our elections, I am in favor of a move against the filibuster.
Or, at least move against the silent-treatment filibuster.
For now, one could argue, there is no need for the Republican majority to blow up the rules for good. Instead, the Senate GOP caucus needs to enforce the rules they already have. They should dare the Democrat minority, with Cryin’ Chuck Schumer screaming all the way: “You want to hijack the legislative process? You need to show up and talk yourself down to the floor!”
That’s what a filibuster is supposed to be: hijacking the legislative process with endless debate. Stand and deliver, Democrats!
They would have to read up on racist U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond and the rest of his Dixiecrat posse, who went full marathon in their attempts to stop the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Democrats will have to invest in cough medicine, warm beds, lots of caffeine, and a sauna to dry out all the moisture in their urinary system. Thurmond gave the longest filibuster in history because he didn’t have to eat, and he didn’t have to use the restroom!
Republicans should make them defend the indefensible:
- Not securing our elections, i.e., allowing illegal aliens to cheat the vote.
- Protecting illegal aliens ahead of American citizens.
- Doing nothing to secure and safeguard women and girls in their sports, spaces, and very selves.
- Ramping up the waste, fraud, and incompetence of the federal government.
- Stymie our military and National Guard forces, undermining national security and domestic tranquility.
Over the next eight months, Republicans could blast the Democrats’ insane filibuster speeches all over the country and sink their election chances for 2026, 2028, and beyond.
Trump is leveraging this opportunity like no dealmaker ever could. Trump is using his power to force a vote on the SAVE Act. He is enticing some movement on the legislation by dangling his coveted endorsement in the U.S. Senate race for Texas. He should think about this technique for taking on Jon Ossoff of Georgia and replacing the Democrat U.S. Senator in New Hampshire, too!
John Cornyn, the Texas RINO incumbent, recently released an op-ed signaling his support for changing or ending the filibuster to move the bill to a final vote and to the president’s desk. Of course, as soon as NBC reporters pressed him on his change of heart, he backtracked to the cozy word “reform” to outline his long-term plans.
Cornyn is dancing between two parties at this point: he needs the MAGA grassroots to win his runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. At the same time, he can’t set off his establishment peers, who may just as well pull the rug out from under him if he pushes Senate Majority Leader John Thune in the wrong direction. He’s afraid. He doesn’t want to seem desperate, but he has to give just enough. And that “give” is just what we are looking for.
But what is really at stake here?
Why does the U.S. Senate have a filibuster rule in the first place?
There’s a great deal of talk about nuking the filibuster. There is also a more profound discussion about enforcing the filibuster.
The whole notion of this major dilatory tactic was to force consideration of impulsive measures. The House will pass the most populist pieces of legislation, with short-term feel-good opportunities and long-term harm. The U.S. Senate, which the Framers designed to represent the states, would serve as a massive check against this popular sentiment. The U.S. Senate must serve as a major check on democrat forces.
Yet with all the clamoring about the need for secure elections, the need to restore constitutional norms, and the need for normalcy in our country, the checks and balances won’t exist if Democrats get the upper hand once again. Republicans cannot afford to play Queensbury Rules when Democrats are willing to bring broken bottles, knives, and guns into the boxing ring.
How did this mess even get so bad? Progressives turned the aristocratic upper chamber into another popular clubhouse with the direct election of senators. The U.S. Senate devolved into a mere promotion for incumbent House Representatives, instead of an outpost to represent the interests of the states against the people and the federal government. Granted, a larger discussion about repealing the Seventeenth Amendment is very much in order. But that’s a longer discussion for another day.
Right now, Republicans have a republic to save. They need to enforce the filibuster: for the Democrats to talk to death every bill they hate, or force them to sit down and let the chamber have a final vote. If Democrats and a few Republicans don’t want to play ball, then the MAGA Majority needs to cut the rope, pull the plug, and end the filibuster once and for all.
– – –
Arthur Schaper is a contributor to American Greatness.
