All eyes are on Georgia as the state will hold two runoff elections to determine the future of the Senate and the country. What’s more, Georgia is the last line of defense against a liberal majority in both chambers of Congress and a firewall against a potential Biden administration. While only legal Georgia voters will determine the outcome of this race, the impact will be far-reaching. The potential new powers in Washington will rig the Senate rules to advance their agenda by shredding the legislative filibuster.
What would fundamental changes to the Senate rules mean? Court packing, the Green New Deal, and huge increases in taxes could be just the start.
By now, most Americans have at least heard of court-packing. The left wing of the Democratic Party, enraged that the president and Mitch McConnell did their job and filled vacancies in the federal courts, are prepared to rig the courts in order to protect their unconstitutional policies. But before they can do that, they have to overturn a little-known law called the Judiciary Act of 1869.
If Democrats win the Senate runoff elections in Georgia, they might end up with the 51 votes they need to rig our courts, but the filibuster would still be standing in their way. And that’s why it’s so vital that Americans understand how the filibuster protects us from extremists and prepare to defend it. It’s no exaggeration to say the filibuster or its destruction could set the policy agenda for the next decade.
Since Vice President Aaron Burr (yes, that Burr) successfully pushed for the elimination of the rule that would have empowered a simple majority to cut off debate on bills and run roughshod over the minority, filibusters have become a fundamental fixture of congressional life and protection of the minority party. It currently takes the support of 60 senators to end debate on legislation. Ending debate and voting on a bill has therefore almost always required bipartisan agreement and has forced senators to compromise with the minority party.
But now, the Left is preparing to ditch the filibuster and give the green light to quickly pass radical legislation while trampling over the rights of the American people and their representatives.
The filibuster plays a critical role in supporting American democracy and opposing radical legislation. Ditching the filibuster would do a dangerous disservice to legislative debate and enable the worst impulses of the ruling political class.
If Democrats win these two Georgia Senate seats and destroy the filibuster, there’s nothing standing in their way of packing the Supreme Court. House and Senate Democrats can team up to upend our courts and add numerous extra left-wing Supreme Court justices — and the minority wouldn’t even have the chance to debate it.
That would take one of the most respected institutions in the nation, the Supreme Court, and transform it into a small, undemocratic extension of left-wing politicians. It would become a vehicle not for justice, but for upholding the far-left policies of politicians from New York and San Francisco.
The voice of the minority protected by the filibuster may be discarded permanently if radical opponents of the filibuster get their way. Heritage Action and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance are urging senators to carefully consider the harmful impact that one-party rule in the Senate would have on their constituents before doing away with the filibuster. The legislative filibuster is an essential part of ensuring a strong system of checks and balances. While we typically do not weigh in on congressional procedure, we believe elimination of the legislative filibuster could result in a slew of destructive policy changes.
Georgians have the opportunity to defend their state and our country from the most radical ideas of the left wing. The Left has targeted this state because they want to fundamentally alter our country, and the only thing standing in the way is the Senate. We cannot allow the Left the opportunity to destroy the last protections for those who might believe differently than them. A vote for the Democrats running for these two Senate seats would do just that. Rather, legal Georgia voters would be wise to realize their strength as a country rests on giving voice to all Americans, and they should vote to preserve that balance in Washington, D.C.
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ABOUT THE WRITERS
Jessica Anderson is the Executive Director of Heritage Action. David Williams is the President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
