{"id":367515,"date":"2021-04-01T10:15:32","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T14:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=367515"},"modified":"2021-04-01T10:15:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T14:15:42","slug":"these-12-democrats-defended-the-filibuster-in-2017-now-they-want-it-abolished-what-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-12-democrats-defended-the-filibuster-in-2017-now-they-want-it-abolished-what-changed\/","title":{"rendered":"These 12 Democrats Defended The Filibuster In 2017. Now, They Want It Abolished. What Changed?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthese-12-democrats-defended-the-filibuster-in-2017-now-they-want-it-abolished-what-changed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=367515&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-44.jpeg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>In 2017, multiple U.S. Senators signed onto a letter from Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Chris Coons, urging Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to leave the filibuster in place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><span>Democrats want the Senate to work, and we are willing to partner with our colleagues across the aisle if we can get things done for the American people,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.collins.senate.gov\/newsroom\/senators-collins-coons-lead-effort-preserve-60-vote-threshold-legislation\">said<\/a> Senator Coons.<span> \u201cWe have a long way to go to heal the wounds between our two parties, but this letter is a small first step towards that important goal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Senators Collins and Coons\u2019 letter was signed by the following Democratic Senators: Joe Manchin, Claire McCaskill, Patrick Leahy, Mark Warner, Michael Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, Bob Casey, Martin Heinrich, Jeanne Shaheen, Sherrod Brown, Dianne Feinstein, Kirsten Gillibrand, Brian Schaltz, Heidi Heitkamp, Cory Booker, Maria Cantwell, Mazie Hirono, Joe Donnelly, Jon Tester, Thomas Carper, Kamala Harris, Maggie Hassan, Bill Nelson, Tammy Duckworth, Tim Kaine, Jack Reed, Ed Markey, Debbie Stabenow, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Bob Menendez.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.collins.senate.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/Bipartisan%20Preserve%20Filibuster%20Letter.pdf\">letter<\/a> reads as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"22\">\n<p><i><span>\u201cDear Majority Leader McConnell and Democratic Leader Schumer:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We are writing to urge you to support our efforts to preserve existing rules, practices, and traditions as they pertain to the right of Members to engage in extended debate on legislation before the United States Senate. Senators have expressed a variety of opinions about the appropriateness of limiting debate when we are considering judicial and executive branch nominations. Regardless of our past disagreements on that issue, we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of Members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We are mindful of the unique role the Senate plays in the legislative process, and we are steadfastly committed to ensuring that this great American institution continues to serve as the world\u2019s greatest deliberative body. Therefore, we are asking you to join us in opposing any effort to curtail the existing rights and prerogatives of Senators to engage in full, robust, and extended debate as we consider legislation before this body in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>How times have changed. Here is what many of these same Democrats say today about the filibuster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Amy Klobuchar<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI would get rid of the filibuster. I have favored filibuster reform for a long time and now especially for this critical election bill.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2021\/03\/the-house-is-poised-to-pass-a-major-voting-rights-bill-and-create-a-helluva-battle-in-the-senate\/\"><span>March 2021<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI am supportive of getting rid of the filibuster. I mean you look at what we\u2019ve seen with these tragedies in <\/span><span>Boulder<\/span><span> and in <\/span><span>Atlanta<\/span><span> \u2014 <\/span><span>background checks are supported by 80, 90% of the American people<\/span><span>. And they are consistently blocked because you can\u2019t get 60 votes. And it\u2019s this archaic procedure that has been put in place actually during a time in our history to make it harder for people to vote. It\u2019s looked at as a relic of the Jim Crow laws and it\u2019s time for change. I would just get rid of it, period.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.klobuchar.senate.gov\/public\/index.cfm\/2021\/3\/for-the-people-act-is-one-reason-we-must-eliminate-the-filibuster-amy-klobuchar-says\"><i><span>March 24 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Dianne Feinstein<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBut if that [coming together in a bipartisan manner] proves impossible and Republicans continue to abuse the filibuster by requiring cloture votes, I\u2019m open to changing the way the Senate filibuster rules are used \u2026 <\/span><span>I don\u2019t want to turn away from Senate traditions, but I also don\u2019t believe one party should be able to prevent votes on important bills by abusing the filibuster.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/03\/20\/dianne-feinstein-senate-filibuster-477305\"><i><span>March 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Kirsten Gillibrand<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m of the view that we should eliminate the filibuster despite all the risks. \u2026 [W]e can have a period of time to see if they\u2019re willing to negotiate in good faith and willing to not hold common-sense things up and not have lots of party line votes. If that\u2019s possible, then maybe we can govern with the filibuster, but if they start jamming us on basic things like covid relief, then that may change Sen. Schumer\u2019s view.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesunion.com\/news\/article\/Tonko-calls-on-Democrats-to-end-filibuster-and-15998090.php\"><i><span>January 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Sherrod Brown<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019ve got to eliminate the filibuster.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2020\/10\/make-america-again\/615478\/\"><i><span>October 2020<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Bob Casey<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYes, absolutely. And look, major changes to the filibuster for someone like me would not have been on the agenda, even a few years ago. But the senate does not work like it used to.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/american-voices\/watch\/sen-casey-on-filibuster-the-senate-does-not-work-like-it-used-to-102245957656\"><i><span>March 7 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Martin Heinrich<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe sort of filibuster usage we see makes it impossible to do some very basic things that the American people demanded of us.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/541328-democrats-worry-senate-will-be-graveyard-for-biden-agenda\"><i><span>March 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Ed Markey<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe filibuster must go. It\u2019s something that\u2019s rooted in a racist past, and it\u2019s used today as a way of blocking the progressive agenda which President Biden is proposing \u2014 [including] environmental justice, racial justice, economic justice.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2021\/02\/03\/ed-markey-elizabeth-warren-filibuster-senate-debate\"><span>February 2021<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Michael Bennet<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf people continue for their own political reasons to make it impossible for the majority to exercise its will, filibuster reform may have to be on the table.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/senate-democrats-look-to-wound-filibuster-but-not-kill-it-11598965200\"><span>September 2020<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Cory Booker<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou have to understand that a lot of these that are talked about: If we do it when we have the control to do it, they can do it again. What we need to find is real solutions that are sustainable regardless of who is president. We should be careful about the traditions in this country and how we honor them.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2019\/03\/24\/cory-booker-2020-democrats-left-1232409\"><span>March 2019<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Tammy Duckworth<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m willing to work and compromise with my Republican colleagues. But at the end of the day, if they\u2019re going to be obstructionist and not allow us to get those priorities that I listed out the door to help the American people, then everything is on the table as far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d \u2014&nbsp;<\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ourquadcities.com\/news\/4-the-record\/duckworth-on-eliminating-filibuster-everythings-on-the-table\/\"><span>February 2021<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Tim Kaine<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m very open to it. Look, I was governor of a state with two legislatures and everything is operated by simple majority. It works fine.\u201d \u2014&nbsp;<\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/504806-filibuster-reform-gains-steam-with-democrats\"><span>June 2020<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Joe Manchin<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe Senate is the most unique \u2026 governing body in the world. It\u2019s deliberate. It\u2019s basically designed, Chuck, to make sure the minority has input. That\u2019s exactly our Founding Fathers. And now if you want to make it a little bit more painful, make him stand there and talk, I\u2019m willing to look at any way we can. But I\u2019m not willing to take away the involvement of the minority.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/meet-press-march-7-2021-n1259907\"><i><span>March 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ighaworth\"><i><span>@ighaworth<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2017, multiple U.S. Senators signed onto a letter from Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Chris Coons, urging Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311498,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-44.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"These 12 Democrats Defended The Filibuster In 2017. Now, They Want It Abolished. What Changed?","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-367515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-44.jpeg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"These 12 Democrats Defended The Filibuster In 2017. Now, They Want It Abolished. 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