Washington, D.C. – When it’s time to take a stand and make a tough decision, Arizonans can always count on Mark Kelly to take the coward’s way out. For nearly two years when publicly asked whether or not he would abolish the filibuster, Mark Kelly has refused to share his stance.
Since June 2020, Mark Kelly and his staff have dodged questions on the filibuster thirteen times, including nine times as a sitting Senator:
- June 28, 2020: “‘When he’s elected, Mark will consider how any changes to the way the Senate does business could help improve the lives of Arizonans,’ campaign spokesman Jacob Peters said.”
- August 19, 2020: “I’ll study the [filibuster] issue, clearly. It’s a big decision, I think everybody recognizes it as a big decision. It’s not in the Constitution, it’s been used stop progress by both parties. So, it’s something that I will take very seriously, and I’ll look at both sides.”
- September 22, 2020: “It’s now been well over a month since Kelly’s non-answer to The Republic’s reporters [about the filibuster]. So, I called his campaign spokesman on Tuesday, pressing for an answer to a perfectly legitimate question. Here’s what I got: ‘I don’t think I’ll have much to expand beyond that answer,’ spokesman Jacob Peters told me, referring to Kelly’s Gaggle interview. “‘But I’ll circle back around to you.’”
- September 23, 2020: “I mean, [the filibuster] really shouldn’t be part of the discussion. It’s also very hypothetical and it’s kind of more of the same stuff from a broken Washington.”
- October 6, 2020: “Hey, if this comes up as a discussion if I’m elected to the United States Senate, I will give it thoughtful consideration and I’m going to do what is in the best interest of Arizonans and the country. Not what is in the best interest of one political party or the other.”
- January 29, 2021: “Well, like I said, you know, bipartisanship is really important to me. I think it’s important to Arizonans too. We just want to make the place work.”
- March 17, 2021: “Sen. Mark Kelly, whose office did not respond to request for comment, has only vaguely said he supports ‘bipartisanship’ when asked about eliminating the procedure.”
- March 23, 2021: “Sen. Mark Kelly said he would weigh any changes to the Senate rules against ‘how this affects my constituents in Arizona and is this good for our country or not.’”
- April 1, 2021: “Well, when we get to the point where we’re going to have, you know, a serious discussion about this, I’ll make a decision based on what’s in the best interest of Arizona and the country.”
- June 8, 2021: “Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat up for reelection next year, indicated he hasn’t decided if he backs lowering the 60-vote requirement or if his position is in line with Sinema’s opposition to changing the rules. While Kelly said Tuesday, he is ‘generally a believer in change,’ the freshman Democrat said: ‘I’ll evaluate any change to our rules, regardless of what they are, based on what’s in the best interest of Arizona, and the best interest of our country.’”
- June 23, 2021: “Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who is up for reelection next year, declined to take a position on the filibuster Tuesday. ‘Like any changes to the rules, when it comes up, I’ll take a close look at it,’ Kelly told reporters.”
- January 4, 2022: “Kelly’s spokesman declined to comment on Tuesday about where the senator stands.”
- January 10, 2022: “Kelly said Monday he is still undecided just days before he may have to vote on proposals to weaken the filibuster. ‘I’ve never been part of an organization where it’s really, really hard to do things. So, if there’s a real proposal, I’ll take a look at it and evaluate it […]’”
With all of these non-answers, it’s curious why the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is so confident in Mark Kelly. Has Mark Kelly secretly pledged to progressives that he will abolish the filibuster in order to pass their radical agenda? Or maybe he just realizes that Mark Kelly will always vote how Chuck Schumer and liberal special interest groups want him to.
Statement from NRSC Spokeswoman Katharine Cooksey: “With a filibuster vote on the horizon, Mark Kelly is shaking in his space boots because he will finally have to come clean about his support for abolishing the filibuster. Kelly is a coward who’s hid behind his colleagues for far too long. Now he has to tell Arizona voters what he really thinks, and they won’t like what he tells them.”
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