It’s tempting to tune out Ted Cruz.
The senator from Texas has a well-earned reputation for eschewing actual legislating so he could focus on attention-getting bloviating. But every once in a while, and usually by accident, Cruz offers up something useful. He did just that on Tuesday, when the Senate Rules Committee was conducting a markup of the For the People Act, the Democrats’ election reform bill. In a column for The Washington Post, Paul Waldman noted that Cruz delivered a rather obvious message about Republicans’ legislative intentions that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin should pay attention to.
During a back and forth over some of the roughly 150 amendments Republicans are introducing as a way to roadblock and dilute the bill, Maine Senator Angus King asked Cruz this question: “I don’t like negotiating with myself, and my question is: If this amendment and others that you suggest are accepted, would you vote for the bill?”
Here is how Cruz responded.
“To be candid, it is difficult to imagine a set of amendments being adopted that would cause me to vote for this bill — it would have to be a fundamentally different bill.”
That certainly sounds like a no, doesn’t it? It was an unusual moment of directness from a senator infamous for his disingenuous behavior. But anyone paying attention today and to the actions of GOP-run legislatures around the country got the message from Cruz’s admission. And that message is: There is zero chance of bipartisan legislation when it comes to voting rights.
Cruz said the quiet part out loud today in response to King’s question. The GOP’s sole platform right now is making it as difficult as possible for as many people as possible to vote in future elections. That is why hundreds of voter-restriction bills are being pushed through state houses. And that is why no amount of democratic concessions on amendments to H.R. 1 (Cruz himself brought nearly 50 to the table) will lead to bipartisanship. As Waldman points out in his column, the bill would lead to more people registering to vote, would make voting easier, would reduce gerrymandering and limit voter purges — all things Republicans feel would help Democrats win elections, making them therefore unacceptable.
Cruz showed little interest in legislating during Tuesday’s Senate Rules Committee meeting, instead wanting to test out new talking points that could earn him some points with the Hannity audience. When he falsely claimed the Democrats’ election reform bill is just a power grab, Senator Amy Klobuchar called him on it.
What does this have to do with Joe Manchin?
He’s been adamantly against reforming the filibuster because he believes it’s essential to restoring the Senate’s bipartisan work. Manchin has repeatedly said he would not vote to abolish or weaken the filibuster, but by all accounts, the West Virginia senator is a practical man. And for all practical purposes, Ted Cruz today essentially said there will be no attempts by the GOP to work with Democrats on a voting reform bill. Manchin must see by now there is no chance of getting 10 Republican senators to join Democrats on passing any version of the For The People Act.
Even something that has bipartisan support among voters like the Infrastructure bill would seem to be a long shot, but a bill that makes it easier to vote? Forget it. Voter restriction is too important to Republicans’ plans for 2022 and 2024.
Will that be enough to convince Manchin to give up on the fantasy that the present-day Republican Party has any interest in working across the aisle on meaningful legislation? We’ll soon see.
