Mike Lee wants to fix the Senate in order to break democracy - MS NOW

There’s a bit of dark symmetry taking place in Washington. Four years ago, Democrats held a trifecta ahead of a critical midterm election with their party’s fate uncertain and hoping to pass a sweeping federal election bill. Their Republican counterparts are now engaged in a similar legislative dance. All that stands in the way is the filibuster in the Senate — and it’s there the steps begin to become less familiar.

Even in the absence of evidence that the mass voter fraud that President Donald Trump has claimed is taking place, congressional Republicans are facing pressure from him to put their stamp on federal elections. The House passed the SAVE America Act earlier this month, a bill that threatens to raise the threshold for participating in elections for millions of Americans.

Here’s how NBC News described the GOP’s bill:

The 32-page

[legislation]would require states to obtain documentary proof-of-citizenship “in person,” such as an American passport or birth certificate, from someone in order to register them to vote in a federal election.

The bill, which was revised from an earlier version to include new demands from Trump, also requires voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot in person. And it slaps new rules for mail-in ballots, requiring voters to submit a copy of an eligible ID when requesting and casting an absentee ballot.

At least 50 Republican senators now back the bill — but that’s not enough to get past the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold. And so, in a major reversal, hardline Republicans are now the ones pushing for the current filibuster’s demise — or at least, reform — after years of defending it. Specifically, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the chief sponsor of the bill, and his allies are hoping to revive the so-called “talking filibuster” in an effort to weaken the procedural stalling tactic and push past Democrats.

As the name suggests, a “talking filibuster” requires that a bill’s opponents actively hold control of the Senate floor, continually making speeches to block bills from proceeding to a final vote. It’s what most people picture thanks to depictions in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” or “The West Wing.” But under current Senate rules, without unanimous consent from all senators present, it’s assumed that a cloture vote needs to pass before moving forward on any substantive matters.

Lee’s push for the talking filibuster’s return has support among some of the most conservative members of the Senate including Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas. When confronted with the same hurdles four years ago as they attempted to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act in early 2022, progressive Democrats mounted an unsuccessful effort to amend or abolish the filibuster in its entirety.