Democrats will use abortion as a ‘wedge’ issue to nuke the filibuster, allowing them to enact many other bad policies.
What does abortion have to do with the future of fracking in the United States? Much more than one might expect.
Kamala Harris’ announcement that she supports an “exception” to the filibuster underscores the stakes in November’s election. If Democrats gain unified control of both houses of Congress and the White House in January, Harris’ statement makes clear that they would undoubtedly use their power to pass radical legislation — not just on abortion but on energy and many other topics.
Democrats Would ‘Nuke’ the Filibuster
At the risk of mixing metaphors during a discussion of abortion policy, one cannot be half-pregnant when it comes to the Senate filibuster. Harris’ talk of an “exception” masks what is ultimately a binary choice: You either support the legislative filibuster or you don’t.
Consider that in 2013, Senate Democrats abolished the filibuster rule for presidential nominees — both executive branch officials and lower court judges — while retaining a carveout that still required 60 votes to confirm Supreme Court justices. That 60-vote requirement for Supreme Court justices lasted until … the next vacancy on the Supreme Court, whereupon Republicans, who by then had retaken the Senate, abolished the Senate filibuster for presidential nominees entirely.
To use Harris’ own phraseology, hear her when she says, “We should eliminate the filibuster.” She doesn’t just mean “for [codifying] Roe [v. Wade],” she means for anything that gets in Democrats’ way