Republicans believe Democrats aren’t courageous enough to reclaim democracy. We must prove them wrong.

June 6, 2026

I will host my regular Saturday livestream at 9 a.m. Pacific / Noon Eastern on June 6, 2026. Submit questions here: Saturday livestream reader questions 6/6/26.

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Hello, from Edinburgh, Scotland! I am sending a short newsletter to touch base on Saturday, June 6. After 24 hours of travel and an eight-hour time change, today’s activities include midnight snacking, nap, eat, visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse, eat, nap, eat, nap, eat, and sleep. (If I am counting correctly, that is only four meals, so we will have to find time to fit in a fifth. We are apparently eating in two time zones separated by 5,000 miles.)

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Republicans believe Democrats aren’t courageous enough to reclaim democracy. We must prove them wrong.

Senate Republicans passed a supplemental appropriation for ICE and Border Patrol on Thursday. In doing so, they refused to tack on the voter suppression SAVE Act that Trump has been demanding since the first day he took office. Trump knows he faces a blue wave in November and is doing everything he can to tamp down voter turnout—including demanding onerous voter ID restrictions that will make it difficult for millions of Americans to exercise the foundational right of the Constitution.

The Senate Republicans’ refusal to pass the SAVE Act is freighted with meaning that is not immediately apparent from the simple facts surrounding the passage of the reconciliation bill and the decision to exclude the SAVE Act from it.

Here’s the bottom line:

Republicans did not include the SAVE Act because it was subject to the filibuster (60 votes to end debate and bring the bill to the floor for a vote).

Despite Trump’s urging, Senate Republicans refused to abolish (or carve out an exception to) the filibuster.

Republicans refused to abolish the filibuster because:

(1) They know that the ongoing, unfair minority rule enjoyed by the Republican Party depends on the continued existence of the filibuster in the Senate; and

(2) They believe Democrats don’t have the courage to abolish the filibuster when Democrats next take control of the Senate.

In short, Republicans said, “It’s okay for us to keep the filibuster because Democrats are too disorganized / weak / frightened / fractured to eliminate it when they control the Senate.”

We must prove them wrong.

When Democrats regain control of the Senate, they must pass the John Lewis Freedom to Vote Act and the Redistricting Reform Act. That will require Democrats to abolish the filibuster.

Together, those acts will eliminate gerrymandering—partisan and racial—thereby returning America to a situation in which the party with the most votes wins the largest proportional representation in state legislatures and congressional delegations.

Under that set of rules, Democrats will control Congress indefinitely, and the Republican Party will be relegated to its appropriate status as a minority movement dominated by fringe elements of the American political spectrum.

The filibuster is a rule that was meant to ease the path of legislation to the Senate floor for a final vote. Instead, it has become an obstructionist tool used by Senate Republicans to grant disproportionate power to small states. It is the equivalent of gerrymandering in the Senate.

Under the Senate filibuster, states representing only about 11% of the population can block a final vote on legislation. (There are several important exceptions, including budget reconciliation bills and judicial and executive branch nominations.) See Center on Representative Government, Why Reforming the Filibuster Matters. (“This means that 41 senators can block most legislation, so in theory, the senators coming from the 21 smallest states—who together represent less than 12 percent of the US population—can keep the nation’s agenda from moving forward.”)

Trump desperately wants Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE Act to prevent or diminish the coming blue wave. Senate Republicans calculated that preserving the filibuster, which grants them minority rule in the Senate, was more important to the GOP than saving Trump from a political wipeout in the November midterms.

But Republicans felt safe in declining to override the filibuster now because they do not believe Democrats will override the filibuster to end political and racial gerrymandering by passing the Freedom to Vote and National Redistricting Acts.

We must prove them wrong, not because we must reclaim political control of Congress. We must prove them wrong because ending gerrymandering is one of the crucial steps in reestablishing the democracy created by the Framers of the Constitution. Absent that step, all other reforms are meaningless.

Proportional representation and one-person-one-vote are key to our democracy. Republicans believe that we don’t have the guts to do what it takes to reclaim our democracy.

The test of courage and political will presented by the abolition of the filibuster is also embedded in the reform of the Supreme Court, which requires radical restructuring to return it to its constitutional moorings. If the voices of institutionalism and incrementalism prevail, then passing the Freedom to Vote and National Redistricting acts will be meaningless. We must do both to reclaim democracy—end gerrymandering and reform the Supreme Court. It is that simple and that hard.

The only real question is, “Are we courageous enough to defend our democracy?” On Thursday, Senate Republicans made a bet that the answer to that question is, “No.”

We must prove them wrong.

The future of our democracy depends on it.

Quick updates:

Aspiring Attorney General and modern-day Faustian fool Todd Blanche finally put in writing the DOJ’s commitment not to pursue the $1.8 billion thug fund that Trump proposed. See Huffpo, Trump’s DOJ Finally Confirms In Writing That Slush Fund Is Dead, and Defendant’s Response to App. for Temporary Restraining Order.

Still, Blanche’s nomination to be Attorney General may be in trouble. See CNN Politics, Thune: ‘Hard to say’ whether Blanche can win confirmation as attorney general.

Trump has indicated to aides that the purpose of appointing political hatchet man Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence is to act as a hatchet man in the intelligence community. See Wall Street Journal, Trump Urges ‘Less Shackled’ Pulte to Fire Intelligence-Community Employees. There are legitimate issues concerning the size and mission of the national intelligence community. Putting an investment fund manager in charge of reckless staff reductions is not the way to proceed with intelligence community reform.

Concluding Thoughts

Despite Republican doubts about Democrats, I think we are courageous enough to eliminate the filibuster, pass legislation to end gerrymandering, and reform the Supreme Court.

The real question is, what do you think?

To be clear, that’s a trick question. It is not even a question. It is a challenge, directed to each of us personally.

Will we lead by example to ensure that Democrats act courageously and decisively at the first possible moment to help restore democracy in America?

For an insight into the answer to that question, see “Pro-democracy protest photos,” below.

See you during the Saturday morning livestream, 9 a.m. Pacific / Noon Eastern.

Pro-democracy protest photos

Send to rbhubbell@gmail.com. Include city and state.

Boulder, CO

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Face Down Fascism, Berkeley, CA, June 5th 2026

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Gloucester MA, We have been standing out weekly since April 2025. A dedicated group full of good cheer.

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Engaged Defenders for Democracy weekly Friday Demonstration in downtown Cary, NC.

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Indivisible Worcester MD and the Democratic Women’s Club of Worcester County turned out again in West Ocean City, MD, on

Friday, June 5, to say YES to democracy and NO to MAGA.

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Gorman Road in Howard County, Maryland, over I-95. There were almost 40 of us on this hot day... but not all at the same time! 

Today’s theme was in harmony with the national effort - “Moms Demand Action” and “Everytown for Gun Safety” -and you will notice the “wear orange” colors among many of our participants. 

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De-Ice Citizens Bank, Arlington Heights, MA.   A small, persistent group of regulars elicit waves and honks from a huge proportion of passing vehicles.  Friday, June 5.

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Raleigh Bridge Brigade in Raleigh, NC

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