On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Cuomo Primetime,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) discussed the filibuster and stated that “it’s not a hard call for me, if I have to choose between meeting promises and doing what Americans want versus upholding arcane Senate rules that can easily be changed.”
Kaine said, “[M]y constituents, Chris, in Virginia, they don’t ask me about Senate rules. They say, can you raise the minimum wage for gosh sake? … Can you do something about gun safety? Can you do immigration reform? … And my goal is, I promised folks that if we got a Democratic majority, we would get results for them and I’m not going to let form be elevated over substance. So, we’re going to do the substance. We’re going to try to get Republicans on board. We’re going to listen to them and incorporate their ideas. They’re going to make their own strategic call. But I’m not personally going to elevate arcane Senate rules over meeting promises.”
He added, “I think you’re right, we’re probably going to get to a D-Day down the road, could be in a month or it could be in four months, where we’re going to put something like voting rights reform or minimum wage increase on the table and we’re going to try to get Republicans to help us and we’re going to see whether they’ll meet their constituents’ needs or not. And if at that point, they don’t, it’s not a hard call for me, if I have to choose between meeting promises and doing what Americans want versus upholding arcane Senate rules that can easily be changed. But we’re not there yet. Tonight, we’re about getting COVID relief and we’re going to get it.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett