Will Social Conservatives Finally Kill the Filibuster?

Jonathan Chait: “When Republicans gain control of government, they use their power to deliver victories for their economic constituents. This has held true for decades and has not changed. Even after Donald Trump’s supposedly populist takeover, the party’s priorities in 2017 and 2018 revolved around a tax cut for business owners and heirs to large estates, and an attempt to scale back health-care coverage for people with low incomes or preexisting conditions. The agenda was hardly any different than it would have been if Paul Ryan were president.”

“Social conservatives don’t generally get legislation. They get judges. One reason for this is that Senate rules force social legislation to get 60 votes to pass but allows fiscal legislation to pass with a majority. These rules mean that, unless they can win a supermajority, the Republican social agenda is automatically dead on arrival, and the party’s money wing has priority by default…”

“Now the judges the social conservatives got for their patience are finally about to deliver the big prize. The Court is prepared to strike down the right to abortion, and the next Republican-controlled government will have the constitutional ability to ban a procedure they deem to be murder and that will otherwise remain legal in vast swaths of the country.

“The one thing that might stand in their way, presuming they don’t control 60 votes, will be the filibuster. McConnell is going to want to preserve it. The question is whether they will go along.”