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    robert byrd

    Manchin's Filibuster Defense Betrays the Senate Legacy He Claims to Protect

    Manchin's Filibuster Defense Betrays the Senate Legacy He Claims to Protect

    The senator from West Virginia says he sees himself as a defender of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd. If we review Byrd's legacy, however, it's clear Manchin is not doing that.

    Fred Wertheimer
    Apr 12, 2021

    Joe Manchin of West Virginia is the Democrats' pivotal 50th vote in the Senate--the key to passing bills with a simple majority. (With the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.) He is also pivotal for changing the filibuster rule.

    His vote is pursued as decisive for President Joe Biden's infrastructure proposals and for passing S. 1, the For the People Act, to protect the right to vote and repair the corrupting campaign finance system.

    Keep ReadingShow Less
    Opinion

    Book Excerpt: The Assault on Reason

    Not long before our nation launched the invasion of Iraq, our longest-serving Senator, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood on the Senate floor and said: "This chamber is, for the most part, silent--ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing. We stand passively mute in the United States Senate."

    Why was the Senate silent?

    Al Gore
    May 17, 2007

    Not long before our nation launched the invasion of Iraq, our longest-serving Senator, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood on the Senate floor and said: "This chamber is, for the most part, silent--ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing. We stand passively mute in the United States Senate."

    Why was the Senate silent?

    Keep ReadingShow Less
    Opinion

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