Is this really necessary?
On Monday, Politico Playbook started coverage of the first anniversary of the January 6th Capitol riot, with an intensely grim perspective.
In Politico’s daily briefing report, the news outlet referred to the Capitol riot as “one of the darkest days in American history,” before revealing how Democrats would use the occasion to overhaul legislation.
The report, co-written by Rachel Bade and Ryan Lizza, emphasized that this week would be “an emotional week for a lot of people on Capitol Hill.” The report continued by conveying the activities planned to commemorate what it called “one of the darkest days in American history,” saying lawmakers would “have the opportunity” to relay “what it was like to hide from angry rioters.”
Politico’s report details how Democrats would likely use the anniversary to propel their election legislation. The report describes sources saying the anniversary may be used to “supercharge the party’s long-stalled voting legislation,” adding that there’s a possibility the anniversary could be used to get Senator Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to embrace rule changes that would eliminate the filibuster.
The report by Politico came hours before Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the Senate would debate changes to the filibuster before January 17th, using the anniversary as a backdrop to push a vote in the Senate.
In his statements, Schumer questioned why Republican states could debate and vote on legislation with a simple majority, but the Senate could not, before saying it was time to adapt.
He would go on to say that January 6th “was a symptom of a broader illness –– an effort to delegitimize our election,” before saying that the “urgency of the situation” required Senate Democrats to “urge the public” to demand Senators act and reform Senate rules “to save our democracy.”
