It’s Going to Be a Long, Hot, Summer in the U.S. Senate

I fear for the future of democracy in the United States, especially with a news ecosystem sickened by giving legitimacy to what normal people in past years would have called ‘crazy shit.’ 

West Virginia SenatorJoe Manchin has now made his stance on the Democratic agenda clear -- there won’t be one. 

According to an op ed penned by Manchin, the filibuster is sacrosanct and a voting rights bill needs to be opposed in the name of ‘democracy.’ Without his vote, no significant legislation can pass.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s promise (once again) to obstruct everything that comes his way via the filibuster and Republicans in Congress unable to agree on anything resembling a domestic agenda means the legislative branch of government will all-but-grind to a halt with respect to non-budgetary matters.

Let me be clear. This means no voting rights legislation of any kind (Manchin’s smoking crack if he thinks ten Republicans will vote for anything with John Lewis’ name on it.) It means no immigration reform. It means no Medicare expansion. It means no steps towards oversight of the domestic arms industry. It means no steps to rein in corporate criminality…. You get the picture...

Mind you, there are at least elements of all these things that are way popular with the general population. Forced to confront this reality, Republican politicians are resorting to fear mongering and name calling. 

Antifa isn’t coming for your grandmother. Joe Biden isn’t beholden to a mythical cabal of communists hiding behind Kamala Harris’ skirt. Transgender youth and critical race theory are not the problem. And there are no 5G chips embedded in vaccines. 

The Senate will pass resolutions shaking a theoretical finger at foreign powers considered to be hostile, and the House will rename a few post offices. Since nobody wants to be accused of shutting down the government going into an election year, a few crumbs on infrastructure may slip through in budget/ debt ceiling negotiations. Oh, and the Pentagon will get funded. They always get their money.

As was true during the Obama years, the executive branch will issue various orders, most of which will then be tied up in court.

The ultimate goal for Republicans, whether they are in or out of power, is to prove that the government doesn’t work, so you can rest assured that talk of bipartisanship is window dressing.

As this stalemate plays out in Washington there are frantic efforts by the right at the state level to introduce and enact new voting restrictions in the name of election integrity.

This isn’t about “differences” in how to accomplish governance. The minority party does not have legislation on anything that will get even close to a majority vote in either chamber, including members of their own caucus, much less any conservative Democrats.

The Republican side wants to smash the state as it currently exists and use the ensuing vacuum to install an autocracy. The “moderates” in the GOP are willing to diddle-daddle around until circumstances cause a crisis, and the “young guns” in the party are encouraging an accelerationist approach. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer thinks he can break the logjam through a series of votes in the coming weeks on a series of measures popular with voters that Republicans oppose. Look for gun safety and equal pay legislation to rise and fall to the wayside.

At the end of the month we’ll see the big showdown. 

Progressive activists have invested time and energy in support of the For The People Act (SB1), a broad based bill aiming at overall election reform. Poll after poll has shown overwhelming public support for this legislation, including its provisions on campaign finance and voter registration. One recent survey found 67% of Americans in favor, including 56% of Republicans and 68% of independents.

The Third Way types in Washington insist that the more narrowly focused John Lewis Voting Rights Act (SB4) could get bipartisan support. It would resurrect Department of Justice oversight of voting laws in states with a history of racial discrimination or voter suppression.

I’ll go against most of the conventional wisdom in DC and say that neither bill will pass the Senate. This really, really sucks.

Also coming in July --or so they say in the sewers of social media-- will be MAGA Insurrection V. 2.0. As the Former Guy emerges from his New Jersey resort for more rallies, look for stochastic acts of violence based on the Big Lie. 

After all, he’s telling people he’ll return to power in August. (I don’t know who would want to go to DC in August--it’s mad dog level hot and humid.) So look for some theater aimed at raising his rapidly sinking profile.

In a perfect world, I could be holding out hope that the wheels of justice would slowly grind these scumbags into dust. Alas, I fear we'll see lots of inaction on that front. Counting on The Big Bad Guy Roundup has proved to be a waste of time.

So, what are we going to do about all this (predicted) bad fortune?

Unfortunately, the best course involves letting it play out for a bit. Please do call your Congresscritters, etc., etc. if that floats your boat. Who knows? I could be wrong. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

Come the fall, with the return of Congress and (I’m presuming) somewhat of a return to normality, it will be time to start lining up the consequences for the fuddie duddies. Street actions, new faces emerging for 2022’s elections, and one last stand for a united front against reactionaries will be in order.

I know that’s vague, but there are simply too many unpredictables to get more specific for now.

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Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com

Lead photo by Ian Hutchinson via Unsplash