Seven Things Democrats Need To Do After They Win

There are a lot of things that need to be done in this country to solve its problems - things that have been blocked by Republicans for many years. Ryan Teague Beckwith (at MSNBC) gives us seven things Democrats need to do after they win this November.

Here are seven simple things that Democrats should do:

End the filibuster. If Democrats maintain control of the Senate, the first thing they need to do is end the absurd 60-vote threshold to pass laws. They already did away with the filibuster for confirming most federal judges in 2013, and Republicans followed suit in 2017 for Supreme Court justices. It doesn't make sense that passing a law would take more votes than giving someone a lifetime appointment to a job that they can then use to undermine those laws.

End the debt ceiling. Even if Democrats win big in November, the odds are high that Republicans will win back a congressional chamber in two years. We've all seen what happens next: Republicans refuse to vote for a routine raising of the debt ceiling, leading to a needless legislative standoff that threatens the world economy. It's long past time to scrap this arbitrary limit, which has just encouraged hostage-taking and pointless brinkmanship.

Automatically raise the minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is set by Congress, which only gets around to increasing it every few years. Lawmakers last raised it in 2009, which means it's actually been decreasing in value as inflation has eaten away at it, especially since the pandemic. Social Security benefits are automatically increased each year based on the cost of living. The minimum wage should be as well.

Repeal the Comstock Act. This 1873 anti-obscenity law hasn’t been enforced in decades, but recently some conservative activists have sought to revive it to restrict access to abortion medication or even emergency contraception. While this idea hasn’t been tested in courts and certainly won’t be attempted by a Democratic White House, lawmakers should repeal this antiquated law and take that option off the table for good.

Limit temporary Cabinet appointments. As president, Donald Trump took advantage of the process for naming acting Cabinet secretaries to circumvent Congress' constitutional role to "advise and consent" on appointments. Some of these appointees would not have been confirmed if they had been put up for a vote. Others clearly viewed the temporary appointment as an audition, making them much less likely to stand up to the president. Congress should reform the Vacancies Act.

Protect civil servants. Trump also sought new ways to fire people in his administration, signing an executive order in 2020 that would have allowed him to dismiss tens of thousands of federal workers and replace them with loyalists. (One former Republican staffer memorably called those potential replacements “an army of suck-ups.") President Joe Biden repealed that order and sought to add new protections for civil servants, but Congress should pass a law definitively putting this idea to rest.

Limit national emergencies. The law allowing presidents to declare national emergencies is in need of updating. Already poorly drafted, it has been reinterpreted and limited by court rulings that allow emergencies to be endlessly renewed. (One issued during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 is still in place.) Lawmakers from both parties are interested in giving Congress more power to end a national emergency.

The list doesn't end here, of course. Congress will also need to consider more serious reforms, including updating voting rights laws, continuing to fight climate change and codifying abortion rights, to mention a few big-ticket items. Those efforts will require serious debate about the best approach and will likely take time and political will to muscle them through.