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The Magic Number is 270 [1]

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Date: 2022-07-08

The title of this post isn’t referring to the number of Electoral College votes required to win the presidency, although that’s a really important number, too.

This is about how many people are needed to push a Democratic agenda forward in this country. The number of people necessary to counter an obstructionist Republican Party and a corrupt U.S. Supreme Court that appears set to roll over our rights and make this as “Christian” a nation as it possibly can.

The magic number is 270:

*218 members of the House of Representatives who can come to an agreement on a series of bills to send to the Senate

*50 members of the Senate willing to get rid of the filibuster so various pieces of proposed legislation can be voted on without the required 60-vote threshold to bring them to a vote

*1 vice president willing to break tie votes in the Senate in favor of the Democrats

*1 president willing to sign these bills into law

This is the minimum number needed. Of course, Democrats will probably need more members in both chambers of Congress to counter those in their party who might balk at some ideas or, in the case of the Senate, not agree to get rid of the filibuster.

We can see that now. Democrats, with the help of two independents who caucus and usually vote with them, can’t get much done because at least two of their members won’t go along with nuking the filibuster.

That’s why it just kills me when I hear Democrats say, “We need 52 senators to get things done.”

No, you need as many as you can get. To think there can’t be a few others besides media darlings Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema who won’t be willing to end the filibuster is amazingly short-sighted.

News stories/hit pieces have been coming out saying that some Democrats are questioning the leadership of President Joe Biden. They want him to be stronger and tougher speaking out against the seemingly endless series of problems hitting our country. They want him to do more, even though he doesn’t have the votes to do anything legislatively at this time.

These people need to shut up.

When I hear people say, in essence, that it’s not enough that Biden is calling for Democrats to vote this fall so their party can retain control of all three branches of government, I just shake my head. Not enough? It’s all there is.

I don’t know the chances of the Democrats achieving these numbers. But, even if they do, the party’s general disfunction could make it all for naught.

Will the various factions of the party be able to comprise to get important pieces of legislation passed? This is something they should figure out before they get rid of the filibuster. The Democrats will make complete fools of themselves if they nix it and then accomplish next to nothing.

I know the argument that if the Democrats end the filibuster the next time Republicans are in charge they’ll only need 51 votes to wipe out all that they’ve accomplished and replace it with legislation that fits the GOP’s pro-rich, anti-poor-and-middle-class, anti-environment agenda.

Yeah, that could happen. But there’s nothing from preventing scum ball Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell from eliminating the filibuster no matter what the Democrats do.

And, as been written here before, eliminating the filibuster would be like the Democrats betting on themselves. Wagering that their plans will benefit the country to the extent that Republicans will be scared to get rid of them in fear of incurring the wrath of the voters.

Our country is at a crossroads. We literally have a Republican Party that is so corrupt it supported and has been trying to hinder the investigation into the insurrectionist attack on our Capitol, is trying to lay the groundwork to steal the 2024 presidential election, and has offered zero ideas to solve the various problems facing our country today.

In other words, it may be time to put aside Senate niceties and take what some may see as drastic measures to get us back on the right track.

Biden was elected president of this country by winning by large margins in the primary and general elections. He remains the right man for the job of guiding us out of the various crises caused by the previous administration, restoring some degree of competence in our government, and trying to bring back together a country torn apart by GOP-supported culture and race wars.

Democrats need to stop the public criticism and focus on one thing: winning elections.

It remains the only message that makes sense, no matter what the president’s critics try to tell you.

***

Thank you for reading my post. You can see my other writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/8/2109135/-The-Magic-Number-is-270

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