It’s already the weekend for Congress, never mind that they have a whole load of days not at work in the Capitol ahead of them. Senate has just two short work weeks before heading out on August recess—which shouldn’t be happening anyway—and the House will be out for the whole of August up through the week of Labor Day. They also have a whole lot to do between now and Sept. 30, when everything turns into a pumpkin.
By everything, we mean the government runs out of funding and the ability of Senate Democrats to pass what’s left of the Build Back Better with 50 votes expires. It’s also the last chance to get the smart legislation onto the floor that will put the Republicans in a reelection bind. To wit, all those important bills the House has passed to guarantee our basic rights to our private lives: who we marry, who we love, planning our futures and our families. It doesn’t get more basic than that.
Putting all those protections into law is important. It’s also tying Republicans in the Senate in knots, particularly those running for reelection this year. For example, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, who is among the party’s most reliable reactionary wing-nuts. On Thursday, Johnson said that he would likely vote for the House bill codifying marriage equality. He said he thought the bill is “unnecessary,” but that he sees “no reason to oppose it.”
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