Democrats Invoke Tool 'Overwhelmingly Used by Racists' to Stop Bill to Sanction Russian Pipeline
As the leaders of the Democratic Party set their sights on nominally moderate Senators for refusing to abolish the Senate’s filibuster rule, the party itself used it to stop a sanctions measure targeting Russia earlier this month.
Senate Democrats shot down a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz that would sanction European officials and business leaders involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline flowing from Russia to Germany.
The bipartisan proposal received the support of 55 Senators. The senate’s filibuster rule requires a majority of 60 votes to pass legislation.
Progressive activists and establishment Democrats have increasingly attacked the filibuster rule as “racist,” citing the party’s inability to ram through new laws that would federalize state elections and enshrine the party’s political agenda.
The filibuster was implemented in varying forms throughout American history as a means to prevent one-party rule of Congress’ upper chamber.
Progressives have even taken to describing the historical filibuster rule as a relic of Jim Crow segregation.
President Biden himself painted the filibuster rule as a tool of segregationists in a January speech, likening its supporters to “domestic enemies” akin to the Confederates of the Civil War.
Critics of Cruz’s legislation claimed that the measure would alienate NATO allies, such as Germany, which are largely dependent on Russian fossil fuels for their energy needs.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed the German government for enabling the pipeline in a floor speech supporting Cruz’s sanctions.
“We can send a strong warning to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that he won’t be allowed to use energy as a weapon,” said McConnell in remarks on the Senate floor on January 13th. “The German government should have shelved this project itself long ago. Berlin can still make the right call.”
Democrats such as Mark Kelly and Raphael Warnock supported Cruz’s sanction legislation.
Democrats’ support or opposition for the filibuster rule has consistently shifted with the party’s political prospects, with Democrats fighting to abolish the measure when they secure a Senate majority and urging for its preservation with they assume the minority.
Leading Democrats have targeted Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for refusing to surpass the filibuster, with both of the more centrist senators citing the possible consequences of establishing a bare majority as the threshold to pass legislation.
Progressives have touted a legislative attempt to federalize elections, with Republicans blocking its passage.
With a razor-thin majority of 50 votes in the Senate plus Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats have proven largely ineffective at advancing Joe Biden’s policy agenda.
The Democratic Party became consumed with obsessive conspiracy theories regarding Russia during the presidency of Donald Trump, accusing Trump of orchestrating a plot in which Vladimir Putin “interfered” in the 2016 election.
In yet another display of blind partisanship, the party suddenly rediscovered skepticism towards saber-rattling with Russia following Joe Biden’s election, with the new president thus far resisting calls to sanction the country even further for belligerence towards Ukraine.
Should Republicans recover the Senate majority in the 2022 midterms, it’s all but assured the Democratic opposition to the filibuster will fade away as the tool becomes useful once more for the left.
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