CHARLESTON — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., on Thursday reiterated her opposition to ending the filibuster.
Capito said during a virtual press briefing the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote majority to end a debate on a bill before it goes to a vote, has been in effect for more than 200 hundred years.
“What it does is slow things down in a good way,” she said. “It promotes bipartisanship.”
Democrats are trying to end the filibuster or at least dismantle it to the point legislation can pass without requiring the 60-vote majority to end debate and go to a vote.
Currently, the Senate is split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaker, so without the filibuster Democrats can bring totally partisan legislation to a vote and pass it.
But Capito said the filibuster is necessary to give the minority party some leverage and force the parties to work together.
“Right now, in the name of voting rights, the Democrats … are trying to run over a long-held tradition,” she said, a tradition that was strongly supported by the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Capito said it was important to Byrd to keep the filibuster in place so minority voices can be heard,
“I am very much opposed to that kind of weakening of the filibuster,” she said of the Democrats’ plan.
Democrats are also being short-sighted, she added, because the GOP could take over during the next election cycle and it can swing one way or the other.
“We could have a way to do things without the Democrats,” she said.
However, Capito may not have to be concerned about ending the filibuster.
Her colleague, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has always made it clear he wants to keep it.
On Thursday, he again issued a statement in support of protecting the filibuster
“The filibuster plays an important role in protecting our democracy from the transitory passions of the majority and respecting the input of the minority in the Senate,” he said. “Contrary to what some have said – protecting the role of the minority, Democrat or Republican, has protected us from the volatile political swings we have endured over the last 233 years. The role of the minority is what ensures the policies of our nation have input from all corners of the country. We must never forget that the Senate governs for all 50 states, not just red or blue states.”
Manchin, who was appointed to fill Byrd’s seat when he died, also referenced his mentor. quoting him from testimony Byrd gave regarding the filibuster before the Senate Rules Committee in 2010.
‘We must never, ever, ever, ever tear down the only wall, the necessary fence, that this nation has against the excesses of the executive branch and the resultant haste and tyranny of the majority,” Byrd said.
“Senator Byrd’s insight helped explain why at no time in the history of the United States has the Senate been able to end debate on legislation with a simple majority,” Manchin said. “To be clear, prior to 1917, there was no mechanism for ending debate in the Senate. Even after the cloture rule came into effect 105 years ago, it has never provided that debate on legislation could be ended by a simple majority vote. This has been the case even as the nation has faced a multitude of national crises, including depression and war.”
Manchin said allowing one party to exert complete control in the Senate with only a simple majority will “pour fuel onto the fire of political whiplash and dysfunction that is tearing this nation apart – especially when one party controls both Congress and the White House. As such, and as I have said many times before, I will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster.”
Sen. Krysten Sinema, D-Ari., also says she will not vote to end the filibuster.
The catalyst for the Democrats has been to push through a voting rights act, which would in essence establish some basic rules for states to follow to “protect” voting rights.
But all Republicans are opposed to it, including Capito.
On Thursday, Capito said it is already illegal to discriminate against anybody to vote and it should be left up to the states to establish their own voting procedures.
“All of our county clerks (in West Virginia) are opposed to this,” she said of the act. “Our state does a great job.”
Capito said she would consider taking a bipartisan look at clearing up some “grey areas” in the voting process, clarifying, for example, how electoral votes are counted.
She also said no unduly restrictive laws on voting have been passed in any state.