The filibuster fight is over in the Senate. But not on the Democratic campaign trail
“When you look at why we can’t do it, it’s because of the filibuster,” Godlewski said in an interview.
Godlewski, who also serves as state treasurer, doesn’t lead with filibuster reform on the campaign trail because, she said, Wisconsinites “don’t care about the sausage making.” But she knows how vital the issue has become in her party.
“I think it is hard to be a Democrat running and not be for getting rid of the filibuster,” she said.
A fast turnaround
Across the country, Democratic Senate candidates like Godlewski have doubled down on their support for scrapping or reforming the filibuster to advance legislation that is overwhelmingly popular with party voters. A recent explosion in campaign messaging tied to the issue shows it has become a potent tool for candidates courting both big and small donors.
“They’re over it. They’re frustrated”
Frustrations over these Senate maneuvers are playing out for many Democrats on the campaign trail.
The people of the United States elected Chuck Schumer to be majority leader. But by default, you have [Senate GOP leader] Mitch McConnell as the shadow leader because they’re stopping our agenda wholesale because of the filibuster. People understand that,” Fetterman told CNN. “They may not be able to give you an in-depth history across the decades of it, but they understand that it is the one thing that is stopping us getting things done.”
Even Rep. Conor Lamb, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has compiled a moderate voting record in Congress and is also running for Senate, has joined the anti-filibuster chorus.
“Republicans are abusing it to block voting rights and endanger our democracy … to block health care and child care and union protections,” he said in a video earlier this year.
Ohio Democratic Senate hopeful Morgan Harper said voters there have become savvy in their understanding of Senate procedure. The constant national news coverage of Democrats’ slim majority in the upper chamber and how dependent it is on Manchin and Sinema has heightened awareness of the process, she said.
“There’s a high level of voter frustration around this,” Harper said in an interview. “They’re over it. They’re frustrated. They showed up. They voted for change, for results.”
That dynamic might well flip the next time Republicans achieve a governing trifecta, but for this campaign season at least, the incentive for Democrats trying to juice up a beaten-down base is clear.
“What we’re actually talking about is clearing the path for legislation that’s going to support the needs of working people throughout our country,” Harper said. “And the filibuster is a roadblock to doing that.”
Subtle differences
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee does not have an official position on the issue, and Manchin and Sinema, for all the furor over their votes against changing Senate rules, are not on the ballot again until 2024.
DSCC Chair Gary Peters, a second-term senator from Michigan, downplayed disputes within his party’s narrow majority, saying recently: “I just continually tell our friends we need to stay focused on the next few months. There’s just so much at stake going forward, with the Biden administration and things we care deeply about.”
McConnell did hold firm in refusing to eliminate the legislative filibuster in 2017 and 2018 when Republicans had full control of Washington, despite intense pressure from Trump to do so.
Still, Democrats like Fetterman say that if — and when — the shoe is on the other foot and a potential GOP majority needs to remove the barrier to achieve a legislative goal, Republicans will change their tune.
The filibuster “is gonna be the first thing to go if they’re in a position to run the table,” Fetterman said. “We will have allowed them to get there by not passing these kind of reforms that are so necessary right now.”
The long game
Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, told CNN his group began to see a groundswell forming that year. Concerns over the future of democracy were stoked by Trump’s presidency, he said, and soon became the top issue for local chapters.
“It was above climate and above health care, above immigration,” Levin said. “They cared about all those things, but their top issue was democracy itself.”
Indivisible leaders — with their intimate knowledge of congressional wonkery and the institution’s inner workings — set about connecting that desire to the practical matter of the filibuster and the power it imbues to the minority party to block popular legislation.
“I would be shocked if a Democrat wins a primary in North Carolina or…
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