As he continues to obstruct major portions of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is now lying about the history of the Senate filibuster in a desperate attempt to make it appear that he’s on the side of the angels.
According to Chad Pergram of Fox News, Manchin had this to say Monday when asked about whether or not he would support changes in the filibuster rule so that voting rights legislation could be passed:
“The tradition of the Senate here in 232 years now..we need to be very cautious what we do..That’s what we’ve always had for 232 years. That’s what makes us different than any place else in the world.”
But that’s simply not true, according to attorney Max Kennerly:
“232 years ago, in 1790, a simple majority could end any debate. The current form of filibuster that Manchin is protecting—in which votes can’t happen until 60 Senators agree—didn’t exist until 1975. Hundreds of exceptions have been made to it, including one last month.”
Kennerly then added this painful reminder about the filibuster:
Jonathan Chait of New York Magazine also weighed in, noting:
“The Founders considered, and rejected, a routine supermajority requirement.
“The filibuster is actually not in the Constitution.”
And Mehdi Hasan of MSNBC branded Manchin’s comments a “Trumpian lie.”
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich also called Manchin out on Twitter:
Joe Manchin needs to be forced to explain why he wants to allow Republicans to keep people of color from voting. And he also needs to be called out for his endless lies.
