2 Democrats Say ‘No’ to Changing Filibuster. Our Republic Is Working

Since the Biden administration began its power grab last Nov. 3, many of us have been praying for God to move miraculously to save our Republic. But I must say, I’ve never expected Him to use a couple of Democrats to do that; and from two less consequential states to boot.

Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) stood their ground Wednesday night as Chuck Schumer and most of the Democrats tried to ram through the changing of the filibuster rule. They fell short 52-48. Manchin and Sinema stood with the 50 Republicans. Had the vote gone the other way, it would have allowed the Senate to pass any legislation with a simple majority of 51, which could include VP Harris’ tie-breaking vote.

I don’t know if any of us fully realize how throwing out the filibuster in this radical administration would have fundamentally changed the United States of America forever. Biden and all his minions would have been like kids locked in an FAO Schwarz toy store all night. Pack the court with far-left radicals, fix all future elections to cheat, Green New Deal in its entirety (eliminating farting cows and all), confiscate all guns (except their security details) and, eventually, their ultimate goal … complete authoritarianism.

From the Coal Mines to the Desert

Our Republic is working. This is exactly what our founding fathers envisioned; the “little guys” in the less consequential states being represented in our government. West Virginia could only contain the largest county in Texas by four-fold and the state’s total population is roughly the same as San Antonio. And yet Manchin’s vote, in essence, saved our Republic. The same could be said of Sinema’s. The coal miners in West Virginia and our citizens living in the desert, 2,200 miles from DC—including 400,000 Native Americans—having the final say in the direction of our country. Not the politicians and bureaucrats in DC and New York.

My Brand New 50-Cent Baseball Glove

God loves using the little things. He fed 5,000 (and that was only the men … the total would have likely filled up an NBA coliseum) with only five loaves and two fish (Matt. 14:17). He fed 4,000 with just seven loaves and a few little fishes (Matt. 15:34). “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, Than great treasure with trouble” (Prov. 15:16, NKJV). And “He [God] chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame” (1 Cor. 1:27, CEV).

When I was a young boy playing Little League baseball, as a fundraiser they had all of the players sell baseball stickers for $1 each. As an incentive, the player who sold the most stickers on each team got a new baseball glove. I worked at it, trying hard to win that new glove. I walked around the town square, asking everyone who passed by if they would like to buy a sticker. Many folks bought one, some bought several and I think one man even bought five stickers.

One afternoon, I asked an elderly gentleman if he would like to buy a sticker. He just smiled and as he reached into his pocket, he said, “I’ll tell you what. I don’t want to buy a sticker but I would like to donate fifty cents to your league.” I thanked him and dropped the two quarters into my bag, but I thought to myself, “That tightwad!”

Then the day of reckoning came. Our coach gathered us together to see who had won the new glove. He asked us who had sold more than ten stickers, then twenty and so on until there were only two arms that were raised. One of those arms was mine. He then asked both of us how many stickers we had sold, only to find out that we had tied. As I looked down to the ground in despair—in a flash—I remembered that fifty-cent donation and said to my coach, “Hey, there’s a fifty-cent donation in there. Does that count?” He said, “Of course it does! You win the glove!”

Those two quarters seemed so insignificant, and yet they got the final say and produced a huge reward (huge for a 9- or 10-year-old kid). I feel like Joe Manchin’s and Kyrsten Sinema’s votes to block a change in the filibuster rule served much like those two quarters did for me back in Little League. The citizens of West Virginia and Arizona sent them to Washington to represent them and they both had the integrity to do just that.

The “USS Keep America Free”

In James chapter 3, the rudder of a ship is used to illustrate the tongue. We can still relate to a ship today. Additionally, nowadays, we can think in terms of an airplane, which also has a rudder that works much like that of a ship. Verse 4 says, “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.” Notice that he said “very small” rudder and that the winds were “fierce.” Furthermore, notice that the effect of that very small rudder in the fierce winds is that it turns “wherever the pilot desires.” As a retired airline pilot, it never ceased to amaze me how such little movement of such a little rudder has such a big effect on such a big airplane. The tongue is also quite small relative to the overall size of the human body. Ironically, it’s about the same proportion as that of a rudder to a ship or an airplane.

Whether or not they were inspired by James 3, it seems to me our founders had a similar design in mind for our Republic. One in which a very small voice (in the big scope of things) could have a very large impact on the direction of our Republic. We have seen that play out with Manchin and Sinema. They said “No!” And their tongues have acted like small rudders, keeping this big ship on the right course.

I’m sure I would disagree with Manchin and Sinema on many issues but today, I consider both of them true American heroes. Manchin said on the Senate floor, “Allowing one party to exert complete control in the Senate with only a simple majority will only pour fuel on the fire of political whiplash and dysfunction that is tearing this nation apart.” Sinema said in a statement, “Actions that would deepen our divisions and risk repeated radical reversals in federal policy, cementing uncertainty and further eroding confidence in our government.”

Hats off to these two American patriots, who had the courage to vote by their consciences instead of partisan politics. They have literally saved our Republic from going the way of tyrannical rule. For now. {eoa}

Nolan Lewallen, a retired pilot of a major airline, lives near Stephenville, Texas. Nolan’s two greatest passions are the Bible and politics. His new book, The Integration of Church & State: How We Transform “In God We Trust” From Motto to Reality brings the two together.

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