It has been obvious for the better part of a year that the Democratic leadership didn’t have the votes to jettison the filibuster and get an ambitious voting rights bill through the Senate. And yet, they went through the motions, and failed. Why?
For three reasons:
- The party–not just the left or the leadership–genuinely and passionately believes that the GOP vote suppression bills in various states are a threat to liberal democracy. It had to take a stand, even if it failed.
- There was some lingering hope that peer pressure would force Manchin and Sinema to change their position when push came to shove.
- The party’s activists would be demoralized if they didn’t try, and would at least give them credit for making the attempt.
The first proposition was debatable; the second was obviously wishful thinking; and the third was wrong. To the left, which always had ridiculously high expectations for the current regime, this is just another example of its fecklessness.