This week, the Senate will vote on whether to reform the filibuster in order to pass a bill protecting voting rights. The bill is the Freedom to Vote Act, which is supported by all Democrats and would, among other things: expand early and absentee voting, ban partisan gerrymandering, restore formerly incarcerated people's right to vote, make automatic voter registration the national standard, reform campaign finance, and make Election Day a national holiday. This comes at a crucial time, as Republican-controlled state legislatures have been passing record numbers of voting restrictions and gerrymandering to the extreme (for example, North Carolina's new congressional map would give Republicans at least 71% of the seats, although Trump won the state with only 49.9% of the vote). This could cost Democrats the Congress as well as the Presidency in the next elections.
However, Senators Manchin and Sinema (2 crucial votes out of the 50 Democrats needed) are opposed to changing the Senate's rules to weaken the filibuster, because they argue that the filibuster promotes bipartisanship. As for what this change would actually be, Democrats are discussing options such as an exception for this bill, an exception for bills designed to protect democracy, or a talking filibuster.
Senate Majority Leader Schumer: "Over the coming weeks, the Senate will once again consider how to perfect this union and confront the historic challenges facing our democracy. We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us. But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules... to protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections."
Minority Leader McConnell: "If Senate Democratic leaders are trying to use the big lie to bully and berate their own members into breaking the Senate, we're going to spend all week sounding the alarm on the radical takeover that some Democrats want to pull off."
According to Ari Berman of Mother Jones, Republicans are rigging the 2024 election with their anti-democratic voting restrictions and gerrymandering, and are violating the principle of majority rule in order to wield power. Tom Sullivan (Digby's Hullabaloo) has a similar view of the Republicans, calling their actions un-American and a betrayal to the country. He points out that Manchin is getting too much attention, as any of the Republicans could vote to reform the filibuster, and they are the ones who should be being condemned.
Questions:
- Many Democrats are making voting rights a top priority. Do you agree with this? How big of a threat are gerrymandering and voting restriction laws?
- Is the filibuster democratic? Do you support reforming it?
- How much hate/attention does Manchin deserve for resisting the Democrats' agenda?
- Considering everything that's happened since January 6, 2021, to what extent do you consider Senate Republicans to be "anti-democratic" and/or "un-American"?
Sources:
- https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-vote-changing-rules-if-republicans-obstruct-voting-rights-law-schumer-2022-01-03/
- https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/freedom-vote-act
- https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/11/republicans-are-rigging-elections-for-the-next-decade/
- https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/01/its-now-or-never-for-democrats-to-protect-voting-rights/
- https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/02/politics/joe-manchin-voting-rights-filibuster/index.html
- https://digbysblog.net/2022/01/08/the-autocracy-caucus/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/03/voting-rights-bill-senate-to-consider-filibuster-rule-changes.html
- https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/03/politics/schumer-filibuster-rules-manchin-sinema/index.html
2 comments:
I think the intense (almost panicked) focus on voting rights is pretty revealing of the Democratic party's true goals. I personally feel like the main focus of the government should be on rebuilding America's economy after COVID or targeting issues of racial/social justice. By avidly pursuing reforms in the Congress, it shows how politically-oriented the parties are (not just Democrats) when they really should be focusing on improving life for the citizens. Regaining control over Congress might be part of a long-term plan of the Democratic party to ensure that the other areas are taken care of later. However, it makes it seem like their only goal is to maintain power, although, I'm sure the Republican party would do the exact same thing in their situation.
As mentioned in the blog post, gerrymandering and voting restriction laws are definitely not "balanced" the way they are. I don't think anyone is arguing (except maybe Republicans) that allowing the minority party to cheat their way into gaining the majority of seats in Congress is blatantly wrong. Similarly, restricting the ability to vote from potential Democratic voters, such as former convicts, is corrupt.
I don't think the filibuster is democratic at all. The idea itself is democratic but the reality is that the minority party can and usually abuses it like there's no tomorrow. Rather than using it to stall and argue for a policy in hopes to convince a majority to support their view, representatives usually just use it to stall a vote when they know that loss is imminent.
I agree with the points you made regarding gerrymandering, voting restriction laws, and the filibuster. However, I believe that the Democrats' focus on voting rights is not completely self-serving and power-hungry, and that it should be a top priority. While I agree that COVID and racial justice should be the main focus of government, I believe that voting rights are a key part of the fight for racial and social justice. According to the ACLU, voter suppression laws and gerrymandering mainly target and affect people of color, systemically diminishing their power and voice in government. As we've learned, Black people are more likely to vote Democratic, so this would definitely hurt the Democratic Party. So the question is, are the Democrats trying to protect the Black vote for the sake of democracy and racial equality, or to get themselves elected? I believe it is impossible to separate these motives. The Democratic Party has shown that it is much more focused on pursuing racial equality than the Republicans, meaning that more Democrats in power theoretically benefit Black people just as Black peoples' votes benefit Democrats.
I don't think voting rights should be a political issue. Everyone deserving equal representation and say in government should be a nonpartisan ideal. But the actions of Republicans in suppressing the vote and gerrymandering show that it has unfortunately become a partisan issue. I believe that voting rights do improve the lives of citizens, as it allows people to have a say in a president and legislature that they think will best serve their needs and improve their life. It does seem like Democrats are only focused on maintaining power. But voting rights really are, at their core, a nonpartisan issue, and they only appear political because Republicans have made them political. The real power grab here is gerrymandering and voter suppression on the part of the Republicans. Democrats are only trying to ensure equal representation, and if that means they stay in power because they are fairly voted into it, that's how it should be.
https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights (the "Current Issues" section talks about how racial justice relates to gerrymandering, voter suppression, etc)
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