We've all heard the story of a girl who starts to descend a staircase. She is often in the dark and unsure what she will find. This is an old horror story that relied on suspense. There were other elements to it. Monsters were understood generally as something to avoid. The characters had to flee from danger, and the audience supported them.However, genres can change. Horror is different these days. It involves (for instance) watching peoplespecifically Democratic politiciansmarch slowly and knowingly into civic annihilation.AdvertisementThey are playing the trumpet while wearing hi-vis vests at bottom of stairs. Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema march down the staircase.There is no mystery. There is no suspense. If the filibuster continues, it is obvious what will happen: Voting rights legislation won't be passed. Republicans have been openly vocal about their opposition. Instead, they've introduced over 300 bills to make it difficult or impossible for Americans who don't believe they deserve to be eligible to vote. One kind of Democrat loves to respond to such threats by saying that constituents simply need to vote. We learned something in the last election: Getting more votes won't suffice. Joe Biden won an unprecedented 7,000,000 votes. Many Republicans refuse to acknowledge that he won.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis last bitRepublicans continue to believe in conspiracy theories about election results. That should be a dead giveaway that there isn't any bipartisan possibility. It was impossible to be more clear from Republican politicians. I have to give them credit. They have turned on all the lights in the basement and put signs up that read, "Here is what we are going to do to you," at the bottom of each step. Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema and others are still marching down the staircase. They are not only watching, they are also dragging us down that staircase with them.This is a comfort: They are elegantly dressed.AdvertisementHorror should not be boring. But it is extremely boring to see yet another example of Democrats failing to meet their moment. Especially since the time that matters is rapidly running out. This is due to the repetition and the fact that incapacity is no longer an excuse. Democrats could legislate right now. Manchin and Sinema want to preserve the American tradition of the filibuster, rather than securing the right vote.The filibuster. This is the thing Americans worship every Fourth of July. This is the most beloved organ of democracy. This procedural fillip has been the subject of a million headlines. Despite media attention, many Americans are unable to explain why they would prefer a 51-vote simple majority and to keep the filibuster. (The filibuster stops a 51 vote simple majority). Americans don't care about the filibuster. In this sense, it is a placeholder. It is the latest issue to organize Republican solidarity. Ryan Cooper tweeted: "If it had been repealed two months back, the public would have moved onto new outrages by now." No matter how serious a political grievance may be, it can only stay in the forefront of your mind for so many months. The Republicans' decision to fill the Supreme Court with a supermajority was a resounding victory. However, it has been largely metabolized. It is not being viewed by Democratic voters as the devastating, decades-long transformation of America's political landscape it clearly is.AdvertisementAdvertisementThey might not be able to. They aren't designed to live in constant panic. Some may even find comfort in the fact the court this term was moderate. This is because it didn't completely blow up everything, but it was not actually moderate at all. It's as if Supreme Court justicessomeof the most canniest operators anywhere on the planet might not be thinking strategically about how they can reassure a panicked public until a Republican majority has been secured. Even optimists should be shaken by Thursday's Supreme Court decision on the Voting rights Act. This moderate decision by Justice Samuel Alito, which, to quote Mark Joseph Stern, dismantled the Voting Right Act, all but making it possible for eligible voters to vote. It's about who counts the vote and whether you get your vote counted. House leaders responded to this devastating decision by saying that they are working on an updated John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Senate will not repeal the filibuster unless it is.AdvertisementAdvertisementGiven their job, one might expect politicians would be better political scorekeepers. Despite their pledges to bipartisanship, the Democratic senators are acting as blank slates. They barely seem to recall Jan. 6, let alone the Republican takeover at the Supreme Court.That's exactly what the Manchin/Sinema position is in the end. It's a convincing exercise in denial. The filibuster can be defended by insisting that politics have not changed despite several Republicans making common cause with Jan. 6 extremists who attacked Capitol while refusing honor its defenders. In other words, the Capitol Police are escalating hostilities because they lost an election. They are not trying win back the moderates they lost, but they are trying to radicalize further and establish minoritarian rule. This code red is for anyone who cares about the health and well-being of democracy. This is the Manchin-Sinema response. It has been unilateral disarmament, in the nameofofall thingsmoderation. Manchin argued that a bipartisan approach to American elections is the best way to restore faith. He meant responding to extremism by compromising. It is easy to see how this movie will end.AdvertisementAdvertisementSinema and Manchin, unlike the girl at the bottom, are not only well-informed about the situation down there, but they also have the ability to stop it. The twist is that they have decided to not use it. The horror movie contains a funny bit in it, where we, the viewers, are the punchline. We were unaware of the joke and treated these two people as if they were undecided, even though they had made clear their decision. They value the filibuster. This is bipartisanship. However, this means that they will compromise with an increasingly extreme GOP, which is currently hell bent on disenfranchisement. This is more important to them than voting rights, the freedom to legislate or the future American democracy.AdvertisementAfter Trump's revelations about what Republicans would do, you can't return to normal.It is a natural impulse. It may even be politically smart for their constituents. Many Americans who are tired of Trump's cruelty and lack of principle want to see a return of some shared vision for a country that they once considered functionally or institutionally sound. Filibuster is a rule. Many people find the Trump administration's lawlessness and norm-shredding alarming. It makes sense to preserve rules. Bipartisanship is a good code word for moderates who believe that truth or the right course of action lies somewhere between two equally dishonest parties. It gestures at a longing to normalcy, good faith, and cooperation, even though it is hesitant; it sounds reasonable and practical, moderate, and practical.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt's not. After Trump made it clear that he would not go along with the Republicans, you can't return to normal. It might feel normal to pretend it didn't happen or that it is better now that Trump has left, but it isn't. This is how a state dies. This is the future. Republicans aren't slowing down. Curiously, neither is the belief that Republicans will suddenly become political partners despite all evidence. Respect for the opposing party seems to be more of a core value than an empirical analysis. On Twitter, Michael Hobbes suggested that Republicans pretending to be reasonable with Democrats is key to their sense of self. They understand intellectually that Republicans will not compromise and Democrats must win elections but they don't want to believe that. This changes their perception of themselves. They act as if it isn't true.AdvertisementIt's okay. We were stuck in the theatre, and hope was the fetid atmosphere we breathe. Perhaps the famous infrastructure bill will satisfy Sinemas's need for bipartisanship, and allow them to take urgently needed action, partisan or otherwise. This could be a story of conversion, as some people think. It stars a West Virginia woman and an Arizona man, rather than the horror movie we were all trapped in. We read the tea leaves, because we can't choose but to do so. Ooh! Manchin indicated that he would support reconciliation for the infrastructure bill, even though it has only Democratic support. Is this a sign that he has softened his stance regarding bipartisanship? Breaking: Manchin will vote for the deliberation of a bill regarding voting rights that he helped negotiate. The crowd gasps! It will not pass because of the filibuster.AdvertisementAdvertisementManchin's private conversations with wealthy pro-filibuster donors are more important than his public statements. What he said in both situations is that he wants the filibuster to be saved. In a candid conversation with wealthy pro-filibuster donors, Manchin was quite explicit. He stated that his best chance at protecting the filibuster was to get some Republicans on board for Jan. 6's commission. None of them joined. He hasn't changed his stance despite some jokes.It would be amazing if this boring, boring, high stakes film switched genres. It would be incredible if the Manchin/Sinema Redemption Story: The Story of How They Changed their Minds and Saved Democracy was made. We were getting tired of the movie and wanted to be in. We are bored to death by the suspense, but it is also boring so many people are turning off. There is nothing else to do but keep going down the steps.
