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Mitch McConnell is already freaking out about the possibility of Democrats getting rid of the filibuster: report
January 21, 2021
The filibuster isn't a sacred piece of law rooted in the U.S Constitution. It isn't even a long-standing law. It happened as an accident when lawmakers wanted a way to cut off debate. Now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is reportedly fearful that the Democrats will kill the procedure, reported The Intelligencer.
Since McConnell took over control in 2010, the Senate has crawled to a near-halt, passing only Republican legislation. McConnell even bragged about it, calling himself the "Grim Reaper" of government.
<p>With Democrats holding the Senate, House and White House, and a 7 million-vote mandate in the presidency, the party should be able to make good on its promises to voters. </p><p>"McConnell is so concerned that his own obstruction will drive Democrats to 'go nuclear,' he i<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/21/democrats-mcconnell-filibuster-460967" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">s threatening to paralyze the Senate</a> until Chuck Schumer agrees to take filibuster elimination off the table," The Intelligencer noted.</p><p>However, "multiple members of Chuck Schumer's caucus have said they are committed to preserving the Senate's de facto 60-vote requirement on major legislation," the report said, specifically citing conservative Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). </p><p>"I commit to you tonight, and I commit to all of your viewers and everyone else that's watching … I will not vote to end the filibuster," he said on Fox News. Other Democrats appear to be taking him at his words, the report said.</p><p>But Manchin might not be the influencer that he thinks he is. While he may think he's the new power-player in the Senate as the swing Democrat, there are Republicans that Democratic leadership could make deals with. Whatever Manchin demands could be offered to those like Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) or Ron Johnson (R-WI), both of whom are up for reelection in 2022. </p><p><em>The Intelligencer</em> explained, however, that they don't trust Manchin will make good on his pledge. </p><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/21/democrats-mcconnell-filibuster-460967" target="_blank">Politico reported that</a> Democrats aren't looking to take what they think is their biggest tool they have. The problem is that the belief that the filibuster gives them an edge isn't true. </p><p>In his book, former deputy chief of staff to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Adam Jentleson, explained that the filibuster is the reason the government is broken. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/12/955970922/kill-switch-examines-the-racist-history-of-the-senate-filibuster" target="_blank">Speaking to National Public Radio about his book,</a> he explained that most Democrats want to get rid of the rule. </p><p>"The actual number of things that would have been blocked by Democrats if the filibuster had been in place under Trump are actually relatively low," he explained. "Most of what Republicans wanted to do, they were able to do through end runs around the filibuster that already exist in the Senate rules. Many of those paths don't address liberal priorities in the same way because liberals tend to want to do bigger things with government. Liberals primarily benefit from passing big legislation, expanding the safety net, expanding civil rights and those sorts of things. Most of those actions are only capable of being done through legislation. So it's much easier to benefit from the ability to block things if you're a conservative."</p><p>Jentleson's book,<em> </em><em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Switch-Crippling-American-Democracy/dp/1631497774" target="_blank">Kill Switch: The Rise Of The Modern Senate And The Crippling Of American Democracy,</a></em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Switch-Crippling-American-Democracy/dp/1631497774">,</a> argues that the Senate rules requiring debate and discussion are what they should be. It might be annoying for politicians who want a government to work like a remote control, but the branch was never supposed to be like that. Every politician should be forced to stand before the American voter and justify their votes because that's the way the Constitution intended it. </p><p>"It may take some time to develop the political will to do it," he explained. "Right now, there are a number of Democratic senators who are somewhat reluctant, but there aren't that many of them. I look at that and I see only a few votes that need to be worked on. The history of reform is paved with senators who swore they would never do it and then come around. It's a question of posture for the Biden administration. And they can try their approach, and hopefully bipartisan cooperation will be forthcoming. But if it's not, I think there will be a question of whether Democrats are willing to pursue reform in order to deliver the solutions that this country desperately needs or whether they're willing to basically give up and accept that nothing's going to get done."</p><p>Another option that isn't talked about as much as complete abolition is the "Mr. Smith rule." The way it works now, any member can say that they intend to filibuster and legislation is held up until a 60-vote majority approves the vote. If the rule is changed that requires the member to actually filibuster, in the way Jimmy Stewart did in the Fank Capra classic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," it might help eliminate many of the filibusters. </p><p>Both solutions would require Senators to do what is intended, debate the legislation publicly and then vote on the legislation. </p><p><a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/01/democrats-senate-filibuster-power-sharing-agreement.html" target="_blank">Read the full piece at The Intelligencer.</a><br/></p>
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Black man fatally struck and dragged by truck-driving racist in Massachusetts road rage attack: police
January 21, 2021
A Black man was fatally struck by a white man driving a pickup truck in a racist road rage encounter, according to witnesses.
Dean Kapsalis was arrested Tuesday after killing Henry Tapias during an argument in the roadway in Belmont, Massachusetts, where witnesses said they heard the 54-year-old Kapsalis shout racial slurs before jumping into his truck, reported WBUR-FM.
<p>The 54-year-old Kapsalis struck the 35-year-old Tapias and dragged him a short distance with his truck before fleeing the scene, but he turned himself in to police about a half hour later.</p><p>"I just heard the commotion, heard my daughter scream, came to the window and I saw the gentleman on the ground with my daughter and son-in-law trying to help," <a href="https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/01/20/belmont-massachusetts-road-rage-death-upland-road-dean-kapsalis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">neighbor Brian Dawe told WBZ-TV</a>. "He was just in pain."</p><p>Tapias, a father of three, was taken to a nearby hospital but died from his injuries.</p><p>"Words can't describe the pain I'm feeling right now," said his brother, David Tapia. "I hope you get locked up for a long time, man."</p><p>Kapsalis, of Hudson, was charged with a civil rights violation causing injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and leaving the scene of a crash.</p><p>"These are the kinds of incidents of which we have sadly particularly over the last year, seen an increase across our country, across our nation and unfortunately even here in Middlesex County," said District Attorney Marian Ryan. "We cannot and will not tolerate behavior that is rooted in racial bias."</p><p class="media-headline">
<strong>Man Killed, Driver Charged In Apparent Road Rage Incident In Belmont</strong></p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-proxy-image">
<a href="https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/01/20/belmont-massachusetts-road-rage-death-upland-road-dean-kapsalis/" target="_blank"><img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f9674a6cba245164b682d9ca7ef05ad" id="b83e3" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkZzaXRlcyUyRjM4NTk5MDMlMkYyMDIxJTJGMDElMkZCRUxNT05ULTEuanBnJTNGdyUzRDEwMjQmaG89aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZib3N0b24uY2JzbG9jYWwuY29tJnM9NzI3Jmg9MTQ4Y2FhOWU1YzZhMGVhYjM3NTE2OTMxZDc3MTFlZmIyMzE0ZmVhZDZlZGMxZjE4ZGIyYTRjYjFiMWVhZDFkYSZzaXplPTk4MHgmYz0yODgwMzU3NzQ2IiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NzAyMDQ4OH0.WtfrM75OAvKpwjAsRTYYHJRZvD45r1DYXeL0AefBLNs/img.jpg"/></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Man Killed, Driver Charged In Apparent Road Rage Incident In Belmont</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://cbsloc.al/3o28dTt" target="_blank">cbsloc.al</a>
</small>
</p><p><br/></p><p class="media-body">
<em>A driver was killed in an apparent case of road rage on a Belmont street.</em>
</p>
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Dems blast Mitch McConnell for threatening to filibuster power sharing agreement – so GOP can block all Democratic votes
January 21, 2021
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is entering his new, less powerful role the same way he managed the Senate when he was Majority Leader, with one purpose in mind: block everything Democrats want.
Democratic Senators on Thursday blasted McConnell publicly after he threatened to filibuster the organizing agreement, which specifies how many Senators from each party sit on committees and who chairs them.
<p>CNN's Manu Raju <a href="https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1352276814056595466" rel="noopener" target="_blank">notes</a> if there is no power-sharing agreement, "the Senate will operate under the rules of the last Congress when the GOP controlled Senate majority and held committee chairs."</p><p>At the center of McConnell's obstruction: he's demanding Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) commit to keeping the filibuster – which would allow Republicans to block and jettison everything Democrats want. That means Republicans could block all of President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees, and all legislation Democrats want to pass, as Bloomberg's Steven Dennis reports:</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1352308215783026690" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1352308215783026690&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650058220%23publish&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 242px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Under the false cloak of "unity," McConnell is making "unprecedented, wacky, counterproductive" demands, according to at least one Democratic Senator, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), the Chief Deputy Whip. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1352309652235702273" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1352309652235702273&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650058220%23publish&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 257px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>In fact, McConnell claims Democrats should commit to handing Republicans full power to totally obstruct, under the guise of "unity."</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1352309019080331265" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1352309019080331265&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650058220%23publish&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 316px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <p>U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) slammed McConnell's hypocrisy:</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1352306911388045314" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1352306911388045314&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650058220%23publish&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 280px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Mother Jones's Ari Berman, one of the nation's top voting rights experts:</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1352310066393853953" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1352310066393853953&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650058220%23publish&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 257px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>New York Times' contributing opinion writer, attorney, and playwright Wajahat Ali suggests Democrats adopt more of a scorched earth strategy:</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1352311777007185921" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-5" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-5&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1352311777007185921&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650058220%23publish&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 392px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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