Schumer threatens to end filibuster unless Repubs surrender and support federal takeover of elections, no photo ID

Chuck Schumer is a demagogue.  A tyrant.  An utter POS.  Exhibit 1: Today he wrote a letter threatening to vote to end the filibuster--which he led Democrats in using 317 times during Trump's first term--unless Republicans caved and supported the Dems' H.R.4 bill.

Wait, have you even heard a word about that ghastly POS bill?  Oh, you've heard about it?  You're up to speed?  Okay, tell us: when did the Dems introduce it, and what changes would it make federal LAW?

It essentially prevents majority-Republican states from purging voter registration rolls of dead persons, or those who've moved out of the precinct, or re-drawing congressional districts, without permission from a federal judge  It also requires judges to grant "injunctive relief" when voting practice are "challenged," meaning that if a state wanted to, for example, require witness signatures with addresses on mail-in ballots to prevent fraud, a federal judge would have to bar such a change, possibly for years as the challenge wound its way through the legal system.  All provisions work to the advantage of Democrats--which is no surprise since they drafted and introduced the bill.

So herewith, a few paragraphs from Schumer's threat:

As we all are witnessing, the attacks on our democracy have not ceased. In fact, they have only accelerated. Much like the violent insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol nearly one year ago, Republican officials in states across the country have seized on the former president’s Big Lie about widespread voter fraud to enact anti-democratic legislation and seize control of typically non-partisan election administration functions. While these actions all proceed under the guise of so-called “election integrity”, the true aim couldn’t be more clear. They want to unwind the progress of our Union, restrict access to the ballot, silence the voices of millions of voters, and undermine free and fair elections. They wish to propagate the Big Lie perpetuated by the former president that our elections are not on the level.

Of course this is projection: the Democrats stole the election, and are seeking to pass a law that will enable them to do so with impunity forever.  The Republicans want FAIR elections, the Dems don't.  It's that simple.  But Chuckie turns truth on its head, accusing the Republicans of doing what the Dems have already done.

Let me be clear: January 6th was a symptom of a broader illness - an effort to delegitimize our election process, and the Senate must advance systemic democracy reforms to repair our republic...

What Chuck actually means is that he and the members of his party want to end the filibuster.  Keep in mind that in 2005 Chuck himself said ending the filibuster would end democracy, and that he led his party in using it 317 times during Trump's first term.  But now, when his party wants to ram through a law that will take over eletions forever, he doesn't want the Repubss to use the same tool he and his party have used so frequently and so recently. [Click link above for video]

More from Chuckie's letter:

Senate Democrats must urge the public...to impress upon their Senators the importance of acting and reforming the Senate rules, if that becomes a perquisite for action to save our democracy.

When a Democrat seeks to ram through a rule change to benefit his party, it's ALWAYS described as "reform."  And notice the "flag phrase" after that: "...to save our democracy."  So when Chuckie and his party used the filibuster 317 times, was that a threat to our democracy?  Nah, cuz...reasons.  But NOW that the Repubs are using the very same process, suddenly the filibuster is a threat to our democracy?  Wow, double-standard much, Chuck?  You asshole.

In June, August, October, and once more in November, Republicans weaponized arcane Senate rules to prevent even a simple debate on how to protect our democracy.

This is REALLY over the top:  First, "arcane senate rules"?  "Arcane" means known or understood by very few; mysterious; secret; obscure; esoteric.  Of course the rules are very well known and understood by every member of the senate, and are actually understandable by a reasonably competent 15-year-old.  But Chuck wants the public to think the Republicans are seeking to use some sort of trickery rarely invoked by honest people.  Of course nothing could be further from the truth..

And the topper is the phrase in yellow: The procedure to END a filibuster--calling for a vote of "cloture," is described as ending debate on an issue to bring it to a vote. 

The Senate was designed to protect the political rights of the minority in the chamber, through the promise of debate and the opportunity to amend. But over the years, those rights have been warped and contorted to obstruct and embarrass the will of majority – something our Founders explicitly opposed.

Heaven forbid that the majority suffer embarrassment!  And Chuckie implies that the filibuster was "something our Founders explicitly opposed."  But Chuck was happy to use it 317 times against the majority when Trump was president, eh?  But NOW...you get it.

The weaponization of rules once meant to short-circuit obstruction have been hijacked to guarantee obstruction.

Tell us, oh lying piece of shit, exactly when you claim the rules you so eagery used against the Republicans were "hijacked."  Then tell us HOW you claim that happened.  We want a day and time, or a bill, and names of the sponsors.  You can't, because you're a brazen liar, cunningly grabbing for eternal power.

We must ask ourselves: if the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscience allow for a situation in which the Republican Party can debate and pass voter suppression laws at the State level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same?

Again, for the nth time, you were happy to use this familiar tool 317 times against Trump.  It was perfectly allowable for YOU to use, but mysteriously NOW it's somehow the most awful thing since the stolen election.  How convenient for you.

The Senate must evolve, like it has many times before. The Senate was designed to evolve and has evolved many times in our history. As former Senator Robert Byrd famously said, Senate rules “must be changed to reflect changed circumstances.” “Congress is not obliged to be bound by the dead hand of the past.”

How amusing--that's exactly what your party says about the Constitution when you don't like something it bans or commands, but lack the votes to change.  How...interesting..

The fight for the ballot is as old as the Republic. Over the coming weeks, the Senate will once again consider how to perfect this union and confront the historic challenges facing our democracy. We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us. But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17... to protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections.

You're not fighting for "the ballot," you're fighting to allow massive vote fraud to go unchecked, but cunningly disguising your bill as for democracy and "fair elections."  But is it fair if people vote twice, or vote if they're not eligible, or submit mail-in ballots pretending to be someone else, who later shows up to vote in person only to be told they've "already voted"?  

You're a brazen liar, Chuck.  What you're pushing will kill this nation as surely as open borders and hyperinflation, and you know it.  May you burn in hell, and may your name be forever damned by future generations.