FILIBUSTED? Senate Showdown Tonight

Today on Sekulow is the filibuster filibusted. We're looking at a showdown tonight in the US Senate. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever.

This is Sekulow. The majority of my of my colleagues in the caucus, Democratic caucus, they've changed. They've changed their mind. I respect that. You have a right to change your mind. I haven't.

I hope they respect that too. I've never changed my mind on the filibuster. We want to hear from you.

Share and post your comments. Recall 1-800-684-3110. If the Republicans block cloture on the legislation before us, I will put forward a proposal to change the rules to allow for a talking filibuster on this legislation, as recommended by a number of our colleagues who have been working on this reform for a long time.

And now your host, Jordan Sekulow. Here's the issue. That sound you heard Senator Manchin say, I'm not changing on this.

That was last night. So we've got two US Senators, both Democrats, who have committed up until this point into sticking with the 60 vote threshold. The traditional filibuster as we know it in the US Senate currently that requires getting to 60 votes to in debate on a piece of legislation and actually go to the majority vote on that legislation. By the way, neither one of these Senators has expressed, to my knowledge, real opposition to the actual vote, to the actual legislation here. They just don't believe in the nuclear option for a, basically a legislative nuclear option to end the filibuster for quote, important legislation. But I want to go right to Thanh, been in Washington DC, because Thanh, this is the day.

It's got a scheduled 6 30 p.m. Eastern Time. We know this is going to happen pretty quickly and we will know by then, tonight, if Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema stick to what they have been preaching the last couple of weeks. Yeah, if they don't stick to it, Jordan, it will be nothing but a hundred and eighty degree about this. It will mean they've been lying to the American people.

I don't think that's the truth, by the way, Jordan. I think this effort by Leader Schumer is destined to fail. I think he's going to push it over the cliff anyway.

I think he's doing it to pander, frankly, honestly, to the left side of his base in his caucus. But here's essentially what's going to happen. The vote on cloture, to wrap up debate on this bill that they just started debating yesterday, Jordan, is going to take place at 6 30. Republicans, if they wanted to, could push that tomorrow.

But Jordan, this is kind of evidence that they're not obstructing anything here. They're saying, look, if 60 senators agree to wrap up debate, we can wrap up debate. That vote will take place at 6 30. They need 60 votes to clear that hurdle. It will certainly fail, Jordan. I would expect Manchin and Sinema and all of the Democrats to vote in favor of it. So you might get to about 50 votes, but it won't get to the 60. That is when, Jordan, we expect Leader Schumer to try to nuke the filibuster.

We can talk about all of the specifics of this, but it really boils down to this. He wants to use a simple majority of the Senate to do away with the legislative filibuster and to force this legislation through. It is not expected that he is going to succeed.

He's going to fail. But Jordan, he's going to push the Senate to the brink anyway. My question for our audience, and if you want to talk to us on air, the 1-800-684-3110, do you believe it's just pressure from the left that Senator Schumer and these Democrats feel like they have to hold a vote that is almost certain to fail?

I don't like to claim victory on this until it's done. But they've been told for weeks that, hey, by these two Democrat senators, I don't want to vote the way you're asking me to vote. So is it liberal pressure?

Is it primary pressure, potentially from AOC? She's still got time to file to primary Chuck Schumer for the US Senate. Or is it just an out-of-touch liberal leaders on Capitol Hill? I want to hear from you 1-800-684-3110, because as you heard from Senator Schumer, he'll try to say, if Republicans block the legislation. It's not Republicans that are really standing in the way of this. Yes, it prevents them from getting to the 60-vote threshold. But if the party was so bought into this and they had done their job, then they would have gotten the two votes to switch the rules.

I mean, I don't think it's a good idea, but we've seen senators move different positions on that, especially when it comes to judicial nominees, not when it comes to legislation itself. We're going to get into this, but I want to hear from you 1-800-684-3110. It's like loss after loss after loss. You have to wonder if you're the Biden team, if you're President Biden. Yeah, you're getting pressure to hold this vote. You missed the MLK deadline. You missed all these key moments. Why still take another loss?

What is the point of just losing and losing with your own party? Give us a call. 1-800-684-3110 to talk to us on air.

1-800-684-3110. The challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack. It's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success.

But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work.

Become a member today. ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected, is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. All right, now I want to give you a grassroots job today. It's pretty simple. It's two phone calls.

It should be very quick. You call the Capitol switchboard if you're watching the broadcast right now and share it with your friends and family if you are, because I think this is important to do until 6 30 p.m. Eastern Time today. You give a call to the Capitol switchboard, 202-224-3121, so you make two separate calls. One, you're asked to speak to Senator Manchin's office, the second to Senator Sinema's office.

Both those times I want you just to be encouraging and support their position on the filibuster and retaining the legislative filibuster, to not cave to pressure, to stand up for what they believe in, and to thank them for continuing to do that in the vote later on today. Simple message, positive message, because then what we know is that when you have two senators like this and the vote is now scheduled, they are the two who are under the most tremendous, even Nick Saban, the Alabama coach. He's got a West Virginia connection. He's been a supporter of Joe Manchin before. Nick Saban is out there saying in the filibuster in a letter to Joe Manchin. I mean they are pulling out every possible stop to try and get a vote switch for Manchin and Sinema, so they've got to, they're going to be under tremendous pressure today, them and their staff. Yeah, I was going to mention the Nick Saban letter, Jordan.

I called him the greatest of all time. I still think that's true, but look, he's wading into politics in a big way today, and look, I think it's just an example of how much ire these two senators, and I would even say maybe Mark Kelly and Jon Tester, maybe a couple of others who don't have a public position on this, they're gonna be under intense pressure today, Jordan, and look, that's not entirely a bad thing. I mean you and I have advocated on this show time and time again that elected officials need to hear from the voters. They need to hear from the constituency, but here's what we know today. Literally the entire grassroots effort from the progressive left, and I would say even the radical left, I mean they are going to be focused on these senators today. So Jordan, those of us who think that they're doing the right thing, we need to weigh in as well, and like you said, it can be polite.

It can be supportive. Actually it should be. They're standing up against a lot of withering pressure, but it needs to not be one-sided in Washington DC right now. It is going to be deafening from the left and from the side that want to do away with Senate rules and Senate precedent to jam this through with only one party's votes and to really take control of elections, Jordan. So given the fact that we know it's going to be deafening from that side, those of us who think they're doing the right thing, they should hear from us as well today. The number to call Senator Sinema's office on Capitol Hill and Senator Manchin's office, it's the same number, just call it a couple of times. It's 202-224-3121. It's the Capitol switchboard, they'll connect you right away.

And listen, this is a positive phone call. You're thanking them for their stance on the filibuster and you're encouraging them to vote that way later on today, thanking them for that vote later on today to retain the legislative filibuster. Dan, I want to get some specifics here about what people, because this is something every, people that are really follow politics closely like our audience does, we know this is a, and we're going to get into some of the details more, what they're voting on is a federal takeover of the election process. I mean starting with making Merrick Garland the AG, the election czar, to having to pre-clear every kind of election rule change through the federal government regardless of what state you're in, regardless of the history of that state. I mean so the broadest federal takeover of the election process in history. But at the same time, and I think just for people to understand what is going on today, while that vote may occur and they might see a Sinema and Manchin vote yes on that, what's key is they will not get to the 60-vote threshold which then triggers the debate about the filibuster.

Yeah, really well put Jordan. I mean just to remind folks the way we got into this posture is Speaker Pelosi took a bill that was about NASA. It was HR 5746.

She took out all of the NASA language and she dumped in language from two separate bills. HR 4, which is most people are calling the John Lewis Voting Rights Act bill, and then also S 2747, the Freedom to Vote Act. Jordan, that was a bill that was actually originally sponsored by Amy Klobuchar, but when Manchin and Schumer were negotiating, he signed on as a co-sponsor and they're really giving him credit for that bill at this point. But let's just let's just call that bill what it is. It's essentially the For the People Act, HR 1 or S 1, and you're right Jordan, I mean you just think of any mechanism of a federal election that those right now belong to the states, you know, setting hours for voting, locations for voting, registration for voting, how to secure ballot boxes, whether or not you can have ballot harvesting, all of that stuff Jordan, even redistricting, all of that stuff that currently belongs to the states, would move to Washington DC and the federal government would take that over.

So on the substance of it, Jordan, I mean I really don't think this is hyperbole. This is this is a horribly dangerous bill if you believe in federalism, if you believe in state control of elections, and look I've got a very strong disagreement with Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin on the substance of that bill. They're both co-sponsors of it. Every Democrat in the United States Senate is a co-sponsor of it, Jordan, so I disagree with them on substance. The United States Senate is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body in the world.

You're supposed to be able to either come to consent or to have endless debate until the debate is up. That is what's under threat today. So you're gonna see Manchin and Sinema vote for cloture on the bill and then when it fails you're gonna see Leader Schumer try to get rid of that deliberative debate and get rid of the legislative filibuster and that's where Senator Sinema, Senator Manchin, and maybe Jordan, a couple of others, are expected to stand up for the institution of the Senate. How quickly will this all occur, Dan? So from 6 30 p.m. Eastern Time if Republicans, like you said, don't hold this over another day, is this occurring like within an hour or so?

Probably so, Jordan. What you would have is you'd have a roll call vote on that cloture vote and so you know roll call vote depending on how long it takes them to get there and right now during COVID sometimes that's taking a little bit longer. Let's say that takes an hour. That would mean at about 7 30 Leader Schumer would have the floor again and he would be able to make this appealing to the chair. Now there would be a few minutes of talk, Jordan, but technically that motion is not debatable so you would see them move if Leader Schumer insists on it and there's an appealing of the ruling of the chair. You would see them move to that vote really quickly. I think you could get there as soon as 7 30 and unless there's some sort of delay, which by the way, Jordan, Leader Schumer could initiate, but if he doesn't, I think no later than about 8 30 p.m. you'd move to a vote on this and I'll just say that's what we expect to happen. He does have a couple of parliamentary procedure options to change the posture of the Senate but some version of that vote, Jordan, is expected to come up sometime tonight. You know we got a couple questions came in I saw it I didn't see the name but said you know if I'm outside of West Virginia in Arizona can I still make this call?

I think so today. This is a national issue. This is not just a state issue specific to West Virginia, specific to Arizona. This is a national issue to abolish the legislative filibuster and to allow this voting law which is so divisive and Senator Manchin while he supports it has acknowledged that too is that they haven't gotten buy-in from any Republicans.

There's no bipartisan support for it. So again to to take this vote to an entirely partisan way I think make that encouraging phone call and then Diana asks what is the number? Diana asks here is the capital switchboard number that could connect you to Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin's office. It's 202-224-3121 and I want you to be kind. I want you to be polite. You are thanking them for their position and encouraging them to vote the way they have pledged to vote later on today to retain the legislative filibuster.

Simple message 202-224-3121. Now I want to go back to Than because we're gonna bring in the team to get into some of this and remind people about why we are so opposed to this legislation but then why Senator Schumer I mean I you know we brought up the AOC challenge potentially the pressure from the left but it seems like for Biden and the whole team going into midterms having another loss on the sheet is not helpful to the to the to the everyday voter when you take out your hard left base. Yeah you'd really think that Jordan I mean we we've said so many times on this broadcast you don't take a vote on the floor of the House or the Senate until you know you're gonna win it. You continue negotiating behind the scenes until you have the votes to actually get that across the floor of whatever chamber you're in. It sure looks like Leader Schumer is doing the exact opposite so I think your question is a good one Jordan.

I'm really left with just really two things. One, I do think he is fearful of a primary specifically from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. You talked about the dates for filing they're coming up this spring that primaries in June. I think he's legitimately politically fearful about that and I think he's trying to collect protect his left political flank. I don't think that's rhetoric Jordan I think that's actually reality on the ground. The second thing though is I think there's such a desperation for a win from the Biden administration that even a loss trying to do what they perceive their base wanting is is seen as a lesser of evils between just walking away and admitting defeat. You know I don't know if I agree with that rationale Jordan but I think that's what they've come to. They've lost on so many things in a row they don't want to walk away without trying so they're gonna take this vote but look I mean it's always about the numbers in Washington DC and if you're gonna alienate two more of your United States senators in a 50-50 caucus heading into a midterm election to me that's pretty short-sighted Jordan. Yeah I mean we'll tell this when we come back to the break too there's gonna be some discussion as part of this potentially where it sounds like Schumer is trying and I just want to get it all the table for people as they're gonna watch this later on this evening and where he looks like oh he is trying to preserve kind of parts of the filibuster talking filibuster and historically that was the filibuster matter but you know we get into that too we're gonna broaden out to get to some of the issues here but my basic question for everybody listening right now is do you think this has any chance of passing do you think the Democrats have any chance tonight of actually busting through and ending the filibuster when it comes to legislation they deem I guess important is how they would do it give us a call 1-800-684-3110 listen I never claim victory until this is over I would ask you to call Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema's office if I thought this was done but you know we know the pressure campaign is super intense on those two senators right now to change and then try to change it in a narrow way oh you're only doing it for this issue or that issue we'll take your calls are we get back only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive and that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life we've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn it's called mission life it will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support and the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists the ramifications of Roe v Wade 40 years later play on Parenthood's role in the abortion industry and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life request your free copy of mission life today online at aclj.org slash gift the challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values our freedoms our constitutional rights are under attack it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena and we have an exceptional track record of success but here's the bottom line we could not do our work without your support we remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms that remains our top priority especially now during these challenging times the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at aclj.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today aclj.org just a minute I want it they had to walk through one more part of what we might see tonight something I like to do on our broadcast it's different than a broadcast I like you to be as educated as possible before this so it's not just five minutes that you heard on cable news so you we've walked through for you the mechanisms of how they get to this vote they'll fail they will not get enough votes to get cloture on the issue and so then he will go to the parliamentarian for this rule change where the the votes will be on the line to you where you've got to have 51 and right now he's at 49 it looks like that could be worse for the Democrats there are a couple senators who just haven't spoken out on this yet senator Kelly from Arizona senator tester from Montana's not spoken out much about this so I think that once you know a couple of senators vote this way it might open the door for two or two more but we know the key senators mansion in cinema that's where the pressure is but then one thing to try and get their votes and try to also make sound like he's reasonable is that we're gonna hear tonight potentially about well we're gonna preserve a talking filibuster tell people about that yeah I think when he offers this motion Jordan he's gonna say we're still gonna allow a talking filibuster which will allow senators to a debate this as long as they want according to Senate rule 19 which says that senators can speak up to two times on the same legislative day to the same question and he's also gonna say Jordan it's only gonna apply to voting rights legislation and this gets a little technical but I want people to really understand this in a true talking filibuster Jordan any senator can offer a new amendment or a new motion or a new question and that resets the clock for senators to be able to come down and debate twice his talking syllabus filibuster senator Schumer's would eliminate that ability to offer new questions to the Senate so it would still Jordan guarantee that there will be an end to the debate and that end to the debate can it be accomplished with only 50 votes plus the tie-breaking vote of the vice President so it's it's really a ruse Jordan it's not the restoration of the talking filibuster it is just a distraction from the fact that he's lowering that threshold the other thing that I want to just quickly mention he says that it's only gonna be limited to voting rights legislation Jordan look there's been a lot of hypocrisy I would say on both sides of the aisle on the filibuster sometimes a senator's position depends on whether they're in the majority or the minority and whether or not they like the filibuster I personally do like it but here's what I would tell everybody out there regardless of how they feel about the filibuster there can only be one set of rules no matter who is in charge so leader Schumer can say look I'm only going to invoke it on this one measure Jordan it would be a dereliction of duty if an opposing party no matter who makes this change comes into office and subjects themselves to a set of rules that the other party does not abide by we can't have that in the United States Senate so if this seal is broken no matter what leader Schumer says the legislative filibuster Jordan it will be gone forever yeah I want to go right to the phones on this I'm gonna Bobby in New York online what if you want to talk to us on air what 800-684-3110 that's 1-800-683-110 hey Bobby hi Jordan hi guys I want to know if this bill goes through can it be by the way Niagara Falls New York can if this bill goes through can it be challenged at the Supreme Court level that's my question well it's I think we're at a point right now where we can defeat this if we keep the right kind of pressure on today if we keep if you call the Capitol switchboard you make that grassroots phone call to Senator Manchin to Senator Sinema because again we've got them on the record even as of this morning with Senator Manchin it would take both of them flippings on this issue so I you know I I don't want I will get there we're going to talk about your question but I don't want to act as if we can't stop this we right now have the winning hand now we've got to continue to have that throughout the day there's going to be tremendous pressure on these two senators today to switch their votes so we have to watch carefully if they make any public comments before the voting starts or any other statements but call their offices tell them that you support them 202-224-3121 to contact Senator Manchin to contact Senator Sinema's office and say I stand with them in supporting the filibuster and I encouraged by the vote they're going to take tonight thank them for that vote tonight but Andy the truth is if this legislation somehow ended up on President Biden's desk and was signed into law yeah I could see a lot of challenges to various pieces one of the pieces I think is the most outrageous it comes from the Freedom to Vote Act is that states cannot maintain fresh voter rolls which is something they do during every census where do you realize who's moved who's died who should be off the voter rolls and this makes it like a crime for states to to it to have up-to-date voter lists you know that's a good point Jordan it's unbelievable to me how any legislation could pass through the Congress that would hamper the states from keeping fresh voter lists at hand and purging voter lists of dead people are doing things that are just makes sense in terms of keeping the voter list fresh and the people who vote the appropriate persons and again and I think he had to the card to the caller's comment directly is it challengeable in the Supreme Court of the United States if it should become law if it should be signed by the President ultimately I doubt that will happen but if it does yes there are many grounds upon which it can be challenged in the Supreme Court of the United States one of which you mentioned based on the constitutional provision my view that gives states the rights to send set up the means manner and method of holding elections and this would again be a federal power grab that could be challenged in the Supreme Court yes indeed let me have the phones again Wendy in Oregon on live 3 hey Wendy welcome to secular you're on the air thank you I just wanted to reach out and encourage everyone to please call I just did it it was a new experience for me it takes 60 seconds and you just you know I left a message encouraging them not to be bullied by their you know fellow Democrats and I just want to encourage everyone to do it it's very simple very easy and it's very quick yeah I mean that's you say you call both and probably a couple of minutes or less that number is 202 to two four three one two one you're nice you're positive this is a positive idea there on your side right now and you want to say again exactly what we were talking about there is a simple message of support to do the right thing tonight we know that they're under pressure we know that you're being bullied by your party we support your position on the filibuster and we're encouraged by the vote you're going to take thank you for the vote that you will take later tonight to preserve that filibuster but you know Wes we get through into all of this again I am NOT someone I don't ever claim victory before this is not done yet we walk through all the mechanics of it with fan but I mean this is it is far from over when you've got the apparatus that the Democrats do and the pressure they've got I mean even they got college football coaches putting pressure on people like Joe bitch amazing isn't it it really is yeah you know they they are determined generally the Democrat Party they walk in lockstep with one another it's very unusual that cinema and mansion are holding out we again need to encourage them to do that I think for for Chuck Schumer that there is one motive in all of this and that is his own political survival they realize they're gonna lose probably both houses of Congress in the fall he realizes that when he comes up for re-election that the left is very unhappy with him AOC will probably try to primary him in New York she's very popular there this is about his own political survival he's willing to attack two of his colleagues in the Democrat Party and to put the Senate through this because he wants to be able to say to the people on the left in his home state look folks I tried I did my best my colleagues would not go along with this that to me is part of the most disingenuous part of this whole charade and that is the political motivations of Chuck Schumer all right our second half hour coming up we're gonna go through again what are they actually voting on tonight you know why is there this pressure campaign this federal takeover the elections you should be up to speed on that and I will remind you Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin they don't oppose that if they don't oppose the legislation they oppose the idea of turning the Senate into the House of Representatives where there's no a 60 vote threshold so there's no idea of consensus great building bipartisan support for major pieces of legislation second half hours coming up join us if you're watching the broadcast share it with your friends and family go to aclj.org support our work at aclj.org we'll be right back for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at aclj.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today aclj.org keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is secular and now your host Jordan secular I want to play this out this is a senator Chuck Grassley and he talked about the bigger issue here because I want to talk about that as well why are they making this push so aggressively I think some we talked about there's individual pressure on these senators that they're facing from the left of their own party potential primary challenges even to someone like Chuck Schumer AOC still has time to file the paperwork to challenge Chuck Schumer so he's got to look like he'll do anything possible even take a massive loss as a leader of the US Senate to try and appease the far left base now I will tell him as someone who works in the base of the right you almost you can't appease everyone all the time you know and when you try to do that typically you're just gonna weaken yourself when you're taking votes that you know are going to fail but I wonder what you listen to senator Grassley because he's someone who is about bipartisan compromise take a listen by 13 and so it is absurd to say only one party unilateral governments can save democracy but once an exception is made and they're talking about that exception just for this voting rights bill but once an exception is made to the right of all senators to debate and to amend legislation there seems to be no going back you learned that Democrats learned that in 2013 there you get talking about judicial nominees where they said we'll do it all the way up to the Supreme Court and when Republicans came in and said we're gonna let you filibuster Supreme Court nominees you you did it all the way up to Supreme Court nominees so we'll just do it for the Supreme Court too and that changed everything there but it hasn't ever to happen when it comes to legislation itself I won't go to Harry because Harry one of the things that senator Grassley has focused it on there is that bigger pressure campaign what are Joe Manchin and Kristin Sinema facing they're being told that without your vote here without changing the rules democracy is over racists have won radicals fascists have won and without so unless we change the rules and as Chuck Grassley said do the city unilateral one-party solution with this federal takeover the elections we've given up democracy as we know it certainly that is the claim and of course the claim is nonsensical imagine the President of the United States Joseph Biden claiming that if you don't support voting rights that you must take your place in history with John Calhoun and Bull Connor well what he forgot to mention of course is that both of those individuals were what Democrats and so what we have in front of the American people is simply a sham a masquerade a charade and it's all about power so essentially the Democrats have engaged in a deliberate effort to rig the election they are attacking a law in Georgia which provides greater voting access than is available for instance in Delaware and in many northern states they've attacked the attempts by Republicans to ensure voter integrity in Texas why because the Democrats they want to engage in vote harvesting and other malicious efforts designed to do what to subvert democracy so when they claim they are defending democracy in reality it's quite the opposite it's a shell game it's a sham and I hope the American people see through it yeah so folks we come back where you take more your phone calls 1-800-684-3110 if you've got question about the actual legislation what's in this that is being voted on tonight by the US Senate 6 30 p.m. Eastern Time if you got questions about this move to change the filibuster we were down to a couple of votes a couple of votes and a massive pressure campaign that continues as we speak on those two senators mansion and cinema right now give us a call 1-800-684-3110 so you can ask about a question about the filibuster got a question about what's actually in this legislation why we call it a federal takeover of the election process we'll walk through more of that too we come back from the break again 1-800-684-3110 to talk to us on air also if you call their offices you call the Capitol switchboard I'd love to hear from more of you who made that phone call encourage others to make that phone call give us a call at 1-800-684-3110 we'll be right back on secular the challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values our freedoms our constitutional rights are under attack it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena and we have an exceptional track record of success but here's the bottom line we could not do our work without your support we remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms that remains our top priority especially now during these challenging times the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today ACLJ.org only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive and that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life we've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn it's called Mission Life it will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support and the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists the ramifications of Roe v Wade 40 years later a play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life request your free copy of mission life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift yeah I mean one part about this that's why I want to give the specifics of the legislation why we oppose it is that it's pretty obvious I you know Mike Lee talked about this but why are Senator Schumer and Nancy Pelosi why they've gotten Joe Biden to come out now and change his position on the filibuster and say this is how you save democracy this is about the only way they think they can save themselves now it's not to say that I think that Nancy Pelosi's gonna lose her seat in San Francisco Chuck Schumer may or may not get a primary challenge but it's not really you know it's the idea is that they'll never be in leadership in the rest of their life this will be it the coming wave is happening they have 28 now members of the House Democrats who have retired or announced their resignation who are not even going to try they don't even want to try some of those are in deep blue districts who just don't want to be in the minority they say it's let someone younger come in and fight these battles I've been there before I don't want to go back to that so this is it's a last-ditch effort to try and put these really draconian laws on the States and I want to spend some time on that as well because what are they actually voting on tonight is important too so let me start with Scott's call from Tennessee on line one hey Scott welcome to secular you're on the air hey guys how y'all doing I'm calling it out article one section four where it says the Times place is a manner of holding the elections will be prescribed in the state legislatures but Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations does that mean that they could technically pass a voting rights bill and it would be constitutional they have before so the so they have before where the Supreme Court said for one part of that voting rights bill that was passed during the civil rights movement and it was the challenge of the court they said this has been in place long enough this needs to come to an end and a lot of this push was because of that move by the Supreme Court so Harry I mean yes we've seen time and timing I think you have to look at you go provision by provision and some would some would fall constitutionally some might not but it's up to whether or not it's good or bad policy we believe ultimately this is bad policy and that the right place for this to stand is in the States this is not about time place and manner this is about your voting roles this is about how long you've got to be open for it's about making the Attorney General the elections are the US Attorney General the elections are I the idea that every change to voter integrity laws would have to get pre-cleared by Congress and the federal government this is again it's a Democrat Party takeover the election system not a congressional one I think that's precisely correct and when you say it's a Democrat Party takeover it's important to keep in mind that what we are really talking about is a takeover by progressive elites who seek to ensure what tribalism and globalization as part of their approach to destroying essentially the idea of America so for instance if you actually look at the Constitution as the caller just dead article 1 section 4 gives the power to control voting to the states it's also clear that there are certain constitutional amendments that affect voting access such as the 15th amendment the 19th amendment and the 26th amendment which require that the voting rights of US citizens cannot be abridged on account of race color a previous condition of servitude sex or age but beyond those issues the states as a general rule are in charge but that's not what the Democrats are satisfied with they want progressive elites who generally went to Eastern elite institutions to control who has the right to vote so that progressive policies which largely consist of ideological abstractions that no rational person shares they want to make sure that those ideas are enforced so that they can push policies which are not in the interest of the American people they are clearly in the interest of China and other global powers here's where it gets really nutty is when they start invoking previously previous senators who are involved in some of the biggest hate groups in our country at the highest levels as reasons why oh they would support we're doing I mean really structure ridiculous despite historically changes to the Senate rules have been necessary to adapt to change circumstances even senator Byrd a traditionalist said just that traditionalist I mean here's the grand Cyclops I don't say that laugh the grand Cyclops of the KKK and remember President Biden's speech you would think that you don't invoke people like that because President by absent that speech you could have said are you senator Byrd or are you a dr. King just as easily by 26 how do you want to be remembered at consequential moments in history they present a choice do you want to be the sign the side of dr. King or George Wallace do you want to be in the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor do you want to be the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis this is the moment to decide to defend our elections to defend our democracy I mean and it's it's tough nope I mean no principles no moral qualms they will invoke senator Byrd on one day in a positive way on the next day they're comparing other Democrats like him which by the way I just reiterate to you know basically choose a side they're putting all Republicans and their two colleagues on the side of Jefferson Davis and George Wallace and but senator Byrd they could somehow rectify they can so they can reconcile the Ku Klux Klansmen Robert Byrd who's been who was in the Senate forever and ever from West Virginia and then he's okay there's nothing wrong with him he even saw the light but no one else does look this statement that the President made how do you want to be remembered consequential moments in history I think that is the most divisive historically incorrect but divisive statement that a President the United States has made in the in them in any memory that I have of Presidential statements and they claim that Donald Trump was divisive what is he saying he's saying you're either Martin Luther King or you're George Wallace you're either Bull Connor from Mississippi or you're John Lewis so you're either Abraham Lincoln or Jeff Davis what nonsense to draw those kinds of lines in the sand look this is a Democratic power grab people need to see it for that it's these are Democrats that he is invoking Robert Byrd was a Democrat as professor Hutchinson said John Calhoun was a Democrat Bull Connor was a Democrat they don't want to tell you about that they just want to say look we're gonna look at history as it is in our eyes in our viewpoint this is again a divisive man Joe Biden making a divisive speech not respecting the history of the country not really giving it its due Senator Byrd because who gave the glowing eulogy of this former leader of the KKK at Robert Byrd's funeral Joe Biden by senator from Delaware gave the eulogy at the afternoon so we can't do that what I think is just so rich and crazy about this and so pompous is that this is a policy disagreement whether or not you think the federal government should control the elections as opposed to your state it's a policy disagreement what the President did in Atlanta last week besides mischaracterize the Georgia law which obviously he has not read but he took half of America because about half of America disagrees with this law he took half of the United States of America and claimed that if you don't agree with me you are racist and like Jefferson Davis you are a traitor this makes Hillary Clinton's you know little quip about the basket of deplorables seemed pretty mild because I think she meant that there were a certain amount of people who were in this basket of deplorals it wasn't half the country but to Joe Biden if you don't agree with this policy you are a racist and a traitor and he's telling that to to half of the nation it's unbelievable fan you know I'm gonna go through some of these other provisions of the law we come back and we'll kind of talk we're talking about a little about Ukraine to again the pressure ramping up in the language from the White House pretty concerning they say you know it can be imminent could happen any time so we'll talk about that a little bit too and take your phone calls at 1-800-684-3110 but right now this is all set I mean things can change in the Senate but this is all set to happen between 6 30 p.m. tonight and you know 8 30 p.m. Eastern Time yeah after leader Schumer met with his conference last night Jordan he announced this the vote on cloture which again is ending debate on the bill is going to take place at 6 30 it's going to fail it will not get 60 votes it'll probably get 50 votes it'll probably get senator Manchin and senator Sinema but then that puts the Senate in a posture where if leader Schumer wants to he can try to nuke the legislative filibuster and he has said that he is going to he has said he is gonna ask Democrats even though he doesn't have enough votes to do this he doesn't have the 50 votes he needs plus the vice Presidents to get to 51 he is going to try to end the legislative filibuster for voting rights legislation and Jordan hit the expectation from both leader Schumer's words and what has been told to the rest of the Senate is that that's going to take place right after that 630 vote ends all right folks we're gonna take your calls final segment coming up 1-800-684-3110 get your comments to on Facebook Periscope wherever you're watching the broadcast right now I encourage you to share it with your friends and family and we'll also give you that grassroots push there is something you can do today to help defeat this legislation and defeat this attempt to take out the legislative filibuster so we'll talk about that as well support the work of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org, we'll be right back, we'll be right back only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive and that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life we've created a free powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn it's called Mission Life it will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support and the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists the ramifications of Roe v Wade 40 years later a play on Parenthood's role in the abortion industry and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift the challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values our freedoms our constitutional rights are under attack it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena and we have an exceptional track record of success but here's the bottom line we could not do our work without your support we remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms that remains our top priority especially now during these challenging times the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today ACLJ.org we'll get right back into the voting rights and the vote tonight and the filibuster and what you can do also grassroots to to make a difference here to let your voice be heard in just a second I do want to update because I know I was on the broadcast yesterday but we were updating you on what was happening in Ukraine and some pretty troubling language came out of Jensaki just to give you a sense of where the White House is thinking this stands as of right now take a listen I think as I noted a few minutes ago we believe we're now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack on Ukraine I would say that's more stark than we have been so there you go more stark that happened after we on the show yesterday could happen at any time and West we also know our Secretary of State has extended his visit to try and meet with the Russian foreign minister one more time tomorrow in Switzerland yeah and this is a critical moment and by the way you know incidentally it's no coincidence that yesterday Russia announced that they were doing going to do joint military exercises with China and Iran but here's the thing Vladimir Putin is waging a geopolitical war on Europe not just Ukraine like Hitler was in the ramp up to World War two he's intent on re rewriting national boundaries he's already invaded Georgia and Crimea he has now sent troops into Belarus into Kazakhstan you know and all indications are Jensaki's right that then an invasion is imminent he they launched a cyber attack last week which was to test Ukraine's abilities to defend their infrastructure and their communications the u.s. intelligence is reporting that they have now planted operatives Russia has in eastern Ukraine that can execute a false flag in other words attack their own troops and blame it on Ukraine giving him the pretext to invade talks between us and Russia collapsed last week there are a hundred thousand troops on Ukraine's border to the east but also on the south in Crimea Putin has more troops to invade from that vantage point in the south of Ukraine and now thousands of Russian troops are in Belarus and being sent there for alleged war games with Belarus but it also gives him a northern point to launch an attack into Ukraine as well all all indicators are that that this invasion is imminent and in addition to combat troops what we now know also is that Putin has already started sending what are called combat support troops to the border you with Ukraine these are hospital units fuel food those kinds of things you only do that if you're planning on an extracted combat operation you know it folks let me just we're gonna stay on this of course we've got team like Mike Pompeo Rick Rinnell to keep you updated on through the week and watch very carefully if anything occurs it's something we care about deep on the broadcast because again it's another u.s. failure that's not good for our country I don't like that the idea I guess you could rack it up in the vital list of failures this idea that we're just not feared by the world that we're not the world is not concerned about where we are the issues let me switch gears no fan one thing we've asked people do is to call the Capitol switchboard today and encourage Senator Sinema and Manchin both to remain strong on their pledge to vote to uphold the legislative filibuster people still got time until 6 30 p.m. Eastern Time today to make that phone call they sure do Jordan and they're gonna be getting lots of phone calls from those who actually want them to switch positions on this and I'm with you I mean I've just seen Pete senators change their minds too often just just maybe I'll refresh people's memory he said he Senator Manchin said he would never be for the for the people act he actually wrote an op-ed in a West Virginia newspaper about it and then he changed his mind about a week later Jordan so look I these are gonna be positive phone calls that we're putting into these senators offices right now but I tell that story just to reiterate it's not just some abstract senators that changed his mind on this issue very recently it was actually Senator Manchin so let's reiterate to him that we stand with his position on this and Jordan just just one point I would make on the substance the substance of this is really so bad you can you can listen to the rhetoric they say look we want to make it easy for people to vote look I agree with that I don't think it should be difficult to vote but here's the definition of it being difficult to vote if a state says you have to have a photo ID to prove who you are and by the way we'll give you that photo ID Jordan that is deemed to be making it difficult to vote that can't possibly be the case if we want to have secure elections in the United States of America so the substance on this one is very very bad as well absolutely in fact if you wanted to make that legal change you would then have to get pre-clearance from the federal bureaucracy Harry absolutely so what we are dealing with is something that I would call a requiem for reality in other words the left is driven by a an ideological cesspool called the land of make-believe so what they are doing is that they are treating steps taken by states to improve election integrity which are non discriminatory and then claiming that the states are doing this to discriminate on the basis of race sex or some other immutable characteristic I think the American people can see through this I think the real question though is whether the progressive elites particularly the ones who are called senators can actually look at the evidence right in front of their eyes and I think it's important to keep in mind what Christopher Hitchens said a disbeliever in God he said that if I saw evidence of healing right in front of my own eyes I would disbelieve my own eyes and I think that's precisely the the case for many of the senators particularly the Democrat senators in Washington they disbelieve the evidence right in front of their eyes and so Georgia grants greater voting access than the state of Delaware they can't see it same thing is true of Texas and other states and so they prefer to live in the land of make-believe unfortunately I always I come back to this provision cuz it's in both bills that they combined here anytime they don't want the voter rolls to be up-to-date it's like it just screams out because we want to engage in fraud what would you be concerned about there they're not trying to dis take off people who are who are who might still be on there in fact they're very careful about that it's only people definitely died or definitely moved it's a lot of times you've had to give notice to the state for them even to remove you and yet that alone has to go through preclearance has to get proved by the federal bureaucracy because they want bad voter rolls yeah they do they want they want those dead Democrats to keep voting and that's exactly what this is all about it is an attempt if you look at it nationwide to keep the Democratic Party in power well through whatever mechanism you do it the Robert Byrd type Strom Thurmond type Democratic Party keep them in power and if it means violating the Constitution if it means abrogating what the constitutional provision says with regard to the rights of states in doing these salutary things keeping the voter rolls intact early voting as they have ridiculously attacked the law in Georgia which they have never read I doubt President Biden has even read an executive synopsis of the law to see that it is better in terms of voter integrity than his own state of Delaware that it says that you have to ask for a ballot before you can just get it that we stop this idea of wholesale ballot harvesting and all these things but because Georgia enacted it it's got to be somehow fundamentally systemically racist nonsense final question to you today is you know we've got this scheduled for 6 30 p.m. do you see the potential for any moving around here they pretty much said in this vote I think leader Schumer is committed to taking this vote Jordan I could see maybe some adjustment in the posture that he would do or maybe how he would describe the talking filibuster but at this point I think he's committed to doing it I think he's gonna make his senators walk that political plank I mean Jordan I it's it's shocking to me because a leader of your party is supposed to sort of protect your own members he's not doing that here but Jordan I do not think he's walking away folks we know that at 6 30 p.m. Eastern time today you know tune in watch the news stay up to speed with us at a CLJ dot org and of course on tomorrow's broadcast we'll explain a breakdown to everything that happened you still got time to reach out to senator cinema reach out to center mansion call 202 2 2 4 3 1 2 1 we will talk to you tomorrow on secular for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at a CLJ dot org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today a CLJ dot org