\u00ab\u00a0We’re going to have to move to the point where we fundamentally alter the filibuster,\u00a0\u00bb said the president.<\/b>
\nRights advocates are applauding President Joe Biden\u2019s \u201clong overdue\u201d remarks at a Thursday CNN town hall signaling that he would support significant reforms to the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation and potentially other key pieces of his agenda. The president told Anderson Cooper he\u2019d be open to returning to the talking filibuster, which requires senators to speak on the floor of the Senate, to replace the current rules which allow the minority party to block legislation that fails to garner 60 votes rather than enabling the passage of bills with a simple majority. Biden also said the talking filibuster should end after two senators have delivered their speeches. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to move to the point where we fundamentally alter the filibuster,\u201d said the president of the procedural rule which this week stood in the way of the passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and which advocates say could stop the Democratic Party from passing legislation to protect women\u2019s healthcare, among other agenda items. When Cooper asked the president to clarify whether he would support reforming the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation amid the GOP\u2019s widespread voter suppression efforts, Biden replied, \u201cAnd maybe more\u201d \u2014 suggesting he may support the procedural change to ensure his party can raise the federal debt ceiling and pass far-reaching climate legislation, an immigrants\u2019 rights package, and other bills. The Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said the president\u2019s statement represented \u201cgood news\u201d for voting rights and other pro-democracy initiatives. \u201cAs long as this racist relic of the Senate stays in place it will prevent legislation that advances racial justice, both now and in the future,\u201d said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the organization. \u201cIt\u2019s a simple choice between a free America or one chained by the past. Our democracy hangs in the balance.\u201d Stand Up America, which has long called for filibuster reform, called the president\u2019s comments \u201ca huge step in the right direction,\u201d but emphasized, \u201cIt\u2019s not enough.\u201d \u201cNow we need action,\u201d said Sean Eldridge, founder and president of the group. \u201cEvery week that goes by we\u2019re seeing more rampant Republican voter suppression in the states, more partisan gerrymandering, and more attempts to sabotage and subvert the will of the American people. President Biden must meet this moment and offer his full-throated support for ending the Jim Crow filibuster. We\u2019ll keep up the pressure until he does and the Senate acts to protect our freedom to vote.\u201d The president\u2019s remarks came a day after the Republicans voted against bringing to the Senate floor the Freedom to Vote Act, a compromise voting rights package which would prohibit partisan gerrymandering, enact a national automatic voter registration system, and make Election Day a national holiday. \u201cTime [is] seriously running out to save democracy and reverse extreme gerrymandering and voter suppression,\u201d said Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot, who said the president\u2019s remarks were \u201clong overdue.\u201d Failing to reform or abolish the filibuster, said Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout on Friday, would be akin to giving up on \u201cabsolutely essential voting rights protections\u201d to preserve Senate tradition. \u201cAre we going with, \u2018The filibuster is more important than democracy?\u2019 Is that the plan?\u201d Teachout asked. At the CNN town hall, Biden said pro-democracy advocates \u201cmake a very good point\u201d regarding ending the filibuster. If the Republicans again use the filibuster to block key Democratic legislation, said the president, \u201cI think you\u2019re going to see an awful lot of Democrats being ready to say, \u2018Not me, I\u2019m not doing that again, we\u2019re going to end the filibuster.’\u201d Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n