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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJoyce Vance: Democracy is dying a slow death in America. At least we have the filibuster!
As of this month, 19 states have passed 33 new laws since the 2020 election that will make it harder for Americans to vote. Using false allegations of voter fraud like a monster beneath the bed, Republican state legislatures have passed laws that make it harder to register to vote, stay registered, cast a ballot and have it counted. Were already entering the next wave of voting rights violations, as data from the 2020 census is stretched and pulled into politically gerrymandered districts that will be with us for the decade.
Using false allegations of voter fraud like a monster beneath the bed, Republican state legislatures have passed laws that make it harder to register to vote, cast a ballot and have it counted.
These laws will make it much more difficult for some voters and especially for people of color, people with disabilities, and people of lower economic status to exercise their rights. Some of the statutes veer perilously close to enabling future candidates to do what former President Donald Trump and his allies attempted in 2020: cancel just enough votes to win.
Democrats have passed legislation in the House of Representatives that would provide a fix. But its come to a standstill in the Senate. Thats true even though Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., morphed the Houses Help America Vote Act into the less beefy but still important Freedom to Vote Act. He thought, unlike anyone whos been paying attention to Congress over the last few years, that he could attract Republican votes. Whether Republicans are afraid of their partys de facto leader or afraid of their own political prospects if all of their constituents are free to vote, the Senate floor vote last week made the state of play clear. We are losing ground, and dangerously so, in the fight to ensure American voters can exercise their most essential right in our democracy. But thats OK! Because well have something much more important, at least according to the Republicans and to Sens. Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona the filibuster.
In 2024, your state legislature may decide that because your majority-Black county voted Democratic in the presidential election, there must have been fraud involved. They may remove your local election officials and replace them with their own handpicked people who will find enough votes to fix the outcome of the election for the Republican all legal because the Senate failed to pass the law that would have prevented states from doing this. When your vote isnt counted, you can console yourself with the knowledge that the filibuster is still there for you.
...
We all instinctively understand the appeal of compromise. And in a perfect world, where the Republican Party was interested in bipartisanship, it's a great goal. But it takes two to tango, and the Republicans are no longer interested in dancing. So with Manchin and Sinema still firmly on record as saying they wont accept any filibuster carve-out, even one that would just protect voting, the prognosis is bleak. The two senators havent even agreed to a more moderate approach: the restoration of the standing filibuster. Thats the traditional process that requires legislators to actually take the floor of the Senate to filibuster as Wendy Davis famously did in Texas in 2013 instead of sleeping comfortably in their own beds while democracy dies.
Ultimately voting, not the filibuster, is whats most essential to democracy. The filibuster is a vestigial appendix. No amount of concessions or compromises by Democrats trying to negotiate with themselves to demonstrate their commitment to fair play will change the Republican Partys goals right now. The best Democrats can do is preserve the Republic for the day when the GOP either moves on from its cult of Trumpian devotion or is tossed into the dustbin of history. The worst thing Democrats can do right now is prioritize decorum and outmoded tradition over the right to vote. But that's precisely what's happening. Long live the filibuster.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/democracy-dying-slow-death-america-least-we-have-filibuster-n1282545
RVN VET71
(2,690 posts)And they are already dancing on it.
gab13by13
(21,319 posts)the filibuster will be gone.
Nikki28
(557 posts)I just did a post about this. How could we lose Virginia when we delivered it to show 10 points ahead of Trump. Their seems to be more enthusiasm in the terrorist party. Where is all our people who live there? Looks like Trump is winning in and out of office and we can do nothing about it. I wish Biden would have not left until this deal and voting bill was done. After 22, we will be done as the US.I am sure trump will rename the US. where the hec is our people? Did they decide they were done with us because we got nothing passed? I am so worried.Stacy Abraham should be in charge us this, but she can't do it alone. Everyday the raciest party is getting bolder and they are trying to arm and start a civil war. We need some young people like we have in the BLM protest.This is scary,
durablend
(7,460 posts)Can't be mean or anything!
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)Many on this very board dont get that you cant fight these terrorists with typical maneuvers. When democracy is a distant memory, I wonder if their decorum will help them sleep at night?
LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,583 posts)and that the Founding Fathers actually intended for government by the minority. They will also praise Manchin and Sinema as true patriots who stood up to protect America against radical socialism. The Repugs have already taken steps in that direction.
In the frequently recounted story, Franklin was walking out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when someone shouted out, Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?
To which Franklin supposedly responded, with a rejoinder at once witty and ominous: A republic, if you can keep it.
It appears the GQP and Manchin have chosen Option B.
Simple solution Gain at least 2 Senate seats, block out Manchin and Simmy, dump the filibuster, pass the bills, and go to it.
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)Wish it were that simple, but I dont see that happening. I sincerely hope Im wrong.
Maybe...still a year away, things can change on a dime. Build Back Better will get passed in a few days or so, and once things get out in the open, things will improve in the presidents favor.....
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)I sincerely do.
Crunchy Frog
(26,579 posts)Once they've regained power.