On Tuesday Senate Republicans used the filibuster to block debate on the Democrat’s recent “voter reform” bill, S.1, previously known as H.R.1.
The bill in question, known as the “For The People Act”, essentially federalizes elections, eliminates various security measures, and largely prohibits states from enacting any kind of voting integrity measures of their own.
Measures of the bill include automatic voter registration for 16-year-olds, ending voter ID requirements, forced legalization of ballot harvesting nationwide, and a provision that allows the Justice Department to remove social media posts.
Many of the progressive left are fuming about the failure of the bill to pass, with some even claiming that Joe Biden did not do enough for its promotion.
“He’s not absent, but he needs to be a lot more vocal and a lot more out front. The president supports H.R.1, the American people support H.R. 1 overwhelmingly. The president needs to lead out front and be very vocal on this issue.” Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., told CNN Tuesday of the president’s involvement on election reform.
Bowman, one of the newest elected members of the left-wing “Squad,” said both Biden and Kamala Harris should be leveraging relationships they developed during their time in the Senate to push others into voting the legislation into law.
“The same conversations need to happen when it comes to S.1,” Bowman told CNN. “The same relationships need to be used that the president has built over the course of his career to make sure we pass S.1.”
“Call me radical, but I do not believe a minority of Senators should be able to block voting rights for millions of people,” New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another member of the “Squad” said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. also expressed frustrations with the bill, equating its opposition with racist senators during the civil rights era.
“Every single Senate Republican just voted against starting debate – starting debate – on legislation to protect Americans’ voting rights,” Schumer said. “The Republican leader uses the language and the logic of the Southern Senators of the 1960s who defended states’ rights, and it is an indefensible position for any senator – any senator, let alone the minority leader – to hold… That is both ridiculous and awful.”
The comparison is a real head-scratcher, as it is unclear to many how the refusal of holding insecure nationalized elections is racist. Should Schumer or others in the Democrat Party clarify this, we will be sure to report on it.
