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Mitch McConnell Threatened A ‘Scorched Earth’ Response If The Democrats Killed The Filibuster, And People Reminded Him He No Longer Has Real Power

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Ever since the Democrats took all three branches of government, their constituents have been begging to do something should have been done a long time ago: limit or destroy the filibuster. Once immortalized as a noble, if exhausting, procedure in the likes of Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, it has in recent decades been used as a mere tool for obstruction, often wielded by Republicans. And as talk has ramped up in the last months about eradicating it completely, there’s been one person who’s emerged as its biggest cheerleader: Senate norms lover Mitch McConnell.

On Tuesday, the former Senate Majority Leader ramped up his filibuster defense a notch or two. He took to the floor of the chamber to issue a thinly-veiled threat. “Everything that Democratic Senates did to Presidents Bush and Trump, everything the Republican Senate did to President Obama, would be child’s play compared to the disaster that Democrats would create for their own priorities if — if — they break the Senate.”

McConnell wasn’t done. “Let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues,” he added. “Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin — can even begin — to imagine what a completely scorched earth Senate would look like — none. None of us have served one minute in a Senate that was completely drained of comity, and this is an institution that requires unanimous consent to turn the lights on before noon.”

It remains to be seen if Senate and House Democrats will heed his warning — or if they’ll listen to much of social media, who called McConnell’s bluff and then some.

Some reminded them that McConnell and Senate Republicans lost power.

Others told them not to be scared.

And that the filibuster is the last bit of real power he has left.

In fact, he’s right to be scared.

Besides, some said, McConnell will screw them over anyway.

Some pointed out McConnell’s twisted logic.

Others pointed out that McConnell has temporarily killed the filibuster before.

Others pointed out that the place is already gridlocked anyway.

And some are just tired of Mitch.

(Via The New York Times)