Rashida Tlaib: Filibuster a ‘Kill Switch That Perpetuates White Supremacy’

Rashida Tlaib
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

The filibuster is a kill switch that “perpetuates white supremacy,” radical far-left Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said Monday, calling for its abolishment.

Characterizing the filibuster as a conduit for racism is a popular talking point among members of the radical left. On Monday, Tlaib renewed her position.

“The filibuster is a kill switch that perpetuates white supremacy. It has a long history of being used to block civil rights legislation. It is still used to block economic and racial justice. Abolish it,” she wrote:

This is hardly a new position, as Democrats have long used these tactics in attempts to call for the end of the filibuster. In March 2021, for instance, Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) described the filibuster as something that is upholding and protecting white supremacy. She also included Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and private prisons on the list:

However, she was not alone, as Democrat calls to end the filibuster piled up.

“The filibuster is still making a mockery of American democracy,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said at the time. “The filibuster is still being misused by some senators to block legislation urgently needed and supported by a strong majority of the American people.”

Ironically, however, Democrats used the so-called Jim Crow relic 327 times in 2020, for example, when Republicans used it once:

“If it’s a tool of racism, why did they use it so much when they were in the minority?” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked in April 2021, as Democrat calls to end the filibuster were rising.

“Why did they use it to stop [Sen.] Tim Scott’s ability to have a discussion about police reform? This is hypocrisy and it’s not going to work,” he added. 

Notably, the threat of a filibuster resulted in a Republican victory last week, as the media cartel bill, the JCPA, was stripped from the text of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as was the military vaccine mandate.

As Breitbart News explained:

One of the key details several sources with knowledge of the matter told Breitbart News happened was at a policy lunch for Senate Republicans on Tuesday several GOP Senators got up and raised concerns with what was going on. This came more than a full day into the barrage of backlash Republicans were getting for caving to the Democrats on this, and it became clear to GOP Senate leaders–especially McConnell–that the threat Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) made on Fox News earlier that morning that Republicans would filibuster the NDAA if the JCPA and the other unrelated leftist measures were in it was real.

So, McConnell called Pelosi later in the afternoon on Tuesday per several sources familiar with the matter and told her straight up: Either cut the unrelated items like JCPA from the NDAA or the GOP will filibuster the defense bill. Pelosi caved, and cut the nonsense out. Bill text was published later on Tuesday evening demonstrating the GOP victory.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is also among those who have highlighted the hypocritical position of Democrats in regard to the filibuster.

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