Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) single-handedly raised the stakes of the 2024 elections on Tuesday, revealing he’d consider carving out rare exceptions to allow votes on protecting voting and abortion rights.
Schumer’s plan would move the Senate closer to getting rid of the filibuster, a longtime rule that requires 60 votes instead of a simple 50 vote majority to advance legislation.
He can’t, as this is an ideological split between the parties and would need to go through the house as well, where it would fail. Bringing this up now helps inform voters of an issue that could be resolved if Democrats turn out and take control of the house while retaining control of the Senate and executive branch.
It’s more about getting the republicans on record with a vote on a clean bill. Hard to campaign when you voted no on voting rights.
Especially if it forces GOPers to vote against rape, viability and incest exceptions. Getting those fucks on record about that would be awesome.
I’m highly skeptical that anyone in the GOP would a) have trouble crafting a campaign message that trashes an ostensibly “clean” bill or b) lose any support over a vote either way. Anyone who cares about abortion or voting rights is already voting blue, and anyone who’s voting red at this point won’t care about this procedural tactic. We’ve been hammering Dems to get GOP votes “on the record” for decades, and it hasn’t really been the factor that moved the needle in any meaningful way.