Media top headlines January 11
In media news today, ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ gets worried Madison Cawthorn might ask to come on the show, an LA Times columnist says publicly mocking deaths of anti-vaxxers is ‘necessary’ to create ‘teachable moments,’ and ‘The View’ host Sunny Hostin says she no longer trusts CDC guidelines.
The Washington Post continued a media pattern of fretting over moderate Democrats who won't abandon the filibuster, writing in a news report that one is "stubbornly opposed" to getting rid of it.
Only two Senate Democrats, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have resisted efforts to scrap the rule, which would lead to the ability to pass legislation with a simple majority, but have faced intense pressure to cave to the demands of the left flank of their own party.
In a piece published Tuesday, Post reporter Seung Min Kim described Sinema's position as remaining "stubbornly opposed" to its scrapping.
Former President Donald Trump prepares to speak at the Rally To Protect Our Elections conference on July 24, 2021, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATES PUT CHANGING THE FILIBUSTER FRONT AND CENTER
"But to pass either of those measures, Democrats must persuade two members of their own caucus who have long resisted fundamental changes to how the Senate operates," she wrote, referring to the ability of Democrats to pass expected legislation addressing voting laws.
"Even if Democrats were able to persuade Manchin, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) also remains stubbornly opposed to getting rid of the 60-vote threshold. She reiterated her opposition in a virtual lunch last week with other Democratic senators, according to a person familiar with her comments, urging other senators to contact her if they wanted to discuss the issue further," Kim added.
The Post's reporting on the filibuster comes amid a new push by members of the party to end the rule following President Biden's inability to pass his Build Back Better agenda in December.
(Getty Images/Reuters)
MANCHIN PRESSURED TO BACK FILIBUSTER CHANGES BY CLINTON, OBAMA, OPRAH
The coverage that has fixated on moderates who are thwarting Biden's progressive agenda by remaining committed to the filibuster seemed to differ from Kim's past writing on the topic.
"The 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation in the Senate has been a long-simmering frustration for [President] Trump, who has repeatedly tweeted demands to gut the filibuster, even as most senators, careful to protect an institution that prizes minority rights, have resisted," she wrote in June 2018 following efforts by Trump to end the filibuster in order to pass his legislative agenda.
Democrats at the time, including Biden, stood firm in their position that the rule should remain intact, but have changed their stance after winning the White House and a narrow Senate majority in 2020.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., admitted last week that ending the filibuster will continue to be an uphill climb amid renewed talks with Manchin and Sinema.
Schumer argued passionately against eliminating the filibuster while in the minority party in 2005.
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"We are on the precipice of a crisis. A constitutional crisis. The checks and balances which have been at the core of this republic are about to be evaporated by the nuclear option," Schumer said, referencing an option to eliminate the filibuster, during a 2005 speech. "The checks and balances which say that if you get 51% of the vote, you don’t get your way 100% of the time."
Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.