California Democrats call on an end to the automatic filibuster
by David Atkins
I've taken a lot of heat for being involved in the institutional Democratic Party, but I've also noted before that the Democratic infrastructure in California is different from that of much of the rest of the country--partly due to the tireless activism of progressives who have worked to change it from the inside. Case in point: the California Democratic Party sent this press release today:
At no point has the need to end the Senate’s absurd 60-vote requirement been made clearer than yesterday. A measure to require more gun buyers to go through background checks garnered 54 votes - more than a majority - but failed to clear the 60 vote threshold that has become a baseline to move any business forward in the Senate.
Incredulous Americans today woke up to the news that even in the wake of the tragedies in Aurora, Colorado, Oak Creek, Wisconsin and Newtown, Connecticut, the Senate can’t pass sensible gun legislation to make these mass shootings less common or more difficult to carry out.
The Senate is broken. Its procedures are arcane and indefensible.
It is time to end the 60-vote requirement. The victims of tragedies past, and the victims of tragedies that are likely to come without action, demand no less.
Now, the CDP isn't going to officially come out and directly call out Senator Feinstein for her part in this. But they don't need to. The point is clear enough.
The governance of the country is broken, and the Democratic Party in the largest state in the country is demanding an end to one of the rules that is most responsible for the dysfunction. We'll win eventually. It's just a matter of time. The more progressives gain influence in their own state parties, the faster we'll win.
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