Our democracy will end if the Democrats don’t use the filibuster for voting rights bills. Why? The Republican legislatures want to nullify entire elections, according to the Associated Press (AP).Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) was eloquent in his condemnation of the GOP.
The Democratic-led House has passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act (HR 1). The two bills would make certain that all voters were protected against voter suppression. But last night, the Republican minority filibustered the Democrats even bringing the bill to the floor, The New York Times reported:
‘Republicans on Wednesday blocked action for the third time this year on legislation to bolster voting rights, leaving Democrats few options to advance the bill outside of changing the Senate filibuster rule and passing it over G.O.P. opposition.’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said voting rights was “protecting our democracy:”
‘These laws will make it harder for millions of Americans to participate in their government. If there is anything worthy of the Senate’s attention, if there’s any issue that merits debate on this floor, it is protecting our democracy from the forces that are trying to unravel it from the inside out.’
Schiff urged President Joe Biden’s administration to make voting right an “immediate priority,” The Atlantic Magazine reported last summer:
‘I think the Biden administration’s more immediate priority is these infrastructure bills. And I really think that [voting rights] need to be pursued with equal vigor.’
Last July the Supreme Court ripped the middle out of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in a six to three vote. Another one of The Atlantic Magazine journalists Ronald Brownstein warned then:
‘[O]nly one way was left to protect the right to cast a ballot in America: through national legislation.’
Both bills have lain “dormant,” The Atlantic Magazine reported:
‘But both of these important measures lay dormant in a Senate controlled by Republicans.’
‘Enacting these two bills would ensure that all eligible voters are able to vote seamlessly and restrict state and local jurisdictions from disenfranchising voters in such minority communities as Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta — three of the most prominent places where Donald Trump focuses his ire and his baseless allegations after the election.’
The House Intelligence Committee chair and member of the January 6 Select Committee Representative Schiff said that “Republicans know that when people vote — they (Republicans) lose:”
‘Today Senate Republicans blocked a bill to expand the right to vote, end partisan gerrymandering, and expose dark money in politics. They wouldn’t even allow debate. Why? Because Republicans know that when people vote — they lose. It’s as simple as that.’
The voting rights bills seemed like such obvious choices to make it through Congress. But now we know that the Republican legislators place jobs over America.
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