Republicans unanimously blocked the Senate from beginning debate on elections and voting rights reforms Tuesday afternoon, on S. 1, the For the People Act. Vice President Kamala Harris was presiding over the chamber, but wasn't given the opportunity to break a tie because this was a procedural vote—cloture, which means closing "debate" time and moving the bill to the floor for further debate, amendments, and possible passage. Because of arcane, Jim Crow-era rules in the Senate, these votes are subject to the filibuster. To proceed, the majority has to get 60 votes on cloture. Alternatively, someone in the majority could point out that this rule is kind of bullshit, that rules in the Senate are just that—rules, not laws—and maybe this could be challenged. More on how that could work in a bit.
First, let's look at the Democrats who are opposed to ending the filibuster, and one of the Republicans these Democrats always point to when they laud "bipartisanship." That's Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, who is "working" with pro-filibuster Democrat Joe Manchin on voting rights, specifically on a bipartisan reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Murkowski talked about that on the floor Tuesday. She emphasized that "there are certain aspects of S. 1 that I absolutely do support." She also said "I recognize that we are at a place in a time when credibility and faith in our institutions is at a really weak moment and that "one of those fundamental" issues that is in question "is the fairness of our elections." She then proceeded to list a number of picayune objections to provisions in the bill, under the heading of "federal takeover of elections," the Mitch McConnell-approved talking point.
Each of the examples Murkowski brought up are things that a Republican really committed to bipartisan elections reform and voting rights would welcome the opportunity to work on with Democrats. She wouldn't even consider that. She wouldn't even go so far as to show Manchin that she is working in good faith with him on the more limited VRA reauthorization (which passed on a unanimous vote back in 2006 and which McConnell has already announced his opposition to). So for all the Democrats who think maybe there's a chance that there are "good" Republicans who are going to help save democracy? Dream on. You can't even get Murkowski to agree to debate it.
If you can't get Murkowski that far into the process, you sure as hell aren't going to get nine more Republicans to suddenly see the light on making sure everyone has free and fair access to the ballot box. That means you, Joe Manchin. And you, Kyrsten Sinema. And you, Chris Coons. And especially you, Dianne Feinstein.
That means the John Lewis Voting Rights Act reauthorization bill, which has been declared "unnecessary" by McConnell, is not going to get 10 Republican votes to pass, even if there are currently 10 Republicans who were there for the unanimous reauthorization of the bill 15 years ago. (Before the Robert Supreme Court gutted it in 2013, giving Republicans yet another electoral advantage in making voter suppression legal again.)
The Atlantic's Russell Berman asked and "could find no Republican senators willing to join Murkowski in committing their support to a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act." Susan Collins said she wasn't ready to talk about it. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana wouldn't answer. Retiring Richard Shelby of Alabama said he's "skeptical" that Democrats are trying to "overrule" the Supreme Court. There is no path for voting rights restoration in this Senate, with the filibuster. Period. Bernie Sanders gets it:
Where does that leave the Democrats? For one thing, it leaves them needing their president to use his bully pulpit. He's thus far not doing that. One White House official told AP that "in private, White House advisers see infrastructure as the bigger political winner for Biden because it's widely popular among voters of both parties." They believe that passing infrastructure "as going further towards helping Democrats win in the 2022 midterms and beyond than taking on massive voting overhaul that had a slim chance of passage without a debate over filibuster rules, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal talks."
What they seem to be missing is the fact that at least 14 states have already enacted 22 new laws suppressing the vote. That's as of the end of May. Plenty of state legislatures are still in session and working on it. "Indeed, at least 61 bills with restrictive provisions are moving through 18 state legislatures. More specifically, 31 have passed at least one chamber, while another 30 have had some sort of committee action (e.g., a hearing, an amendment, or a committee vote)," the Brennan Center reports.
However much voters might love the infrastructure bill is moot if they can't cast a ballot.
That's what Biden and his advisers need to understand, embrace and act upon. They need to look at the 50-50 Senate and the very slim majority Democrats have in the House. They need to see redistricting—and gerrymandering—getting underway right now in states, and fully grasp the fact that Republicans could very well control the 2022 midterm elections. Without Congress, nothing Biden proposes in the last two years of this term will happen. Republicans have already promised that. Sen. John Barrasso promised GOP donors Republicans will "make Joe Biden a one-half-term president." That's after McConnell announced his intention to prevent Biden from having a Supreme Court appointment in those last two years of his term, should Republicans get the Senate back.
Biden's entire agenda—not to mention the foundations of our democracy—is in grave jeopardy. He needs to see that. Everyone around him needs to see that. They need to see that restoring free and fair elections is as existential for the nation as COVID-19 relief was. They need to make filibuster reform a top priority.
First, let's look at the Democrats who are opposed to ending the filibuster, and one of the Republicans these Democrats always point to when they laud "bipartisanship." That's Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, who is "working" with pro-filibuster Democrat Joe Manchin on voting rights, specifically on a bipartisan reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Murkowski talked about that on the floor Tuesday. She emphasized that "there are certain aspects of S. 1 that I absolutely do support." She also said "I recognize that we are at a place in a time when credibility and faith in our institutions is at a really weak moment and that "one of those fundamental" issues that is in question "is the fairness of our elections." She then proceeded to list a number of picayune objections to provisions in the bill, under the heading of "federal takeover of elections," the Mitch McConnell-approved talking point.
Each of the examples Murkowski brought up are things that a Republican really committed to bipartisan elections reform and voting rights would welcome the opportunity to work on with Democrats. She wouldn't even consider that. She wouldn't even go so far as to show Manchin that she is working in good faith with him on the more limited VRA reauthorization (which passed on a unanimous vote back in 2006 and which McConnell has already announced his opposition to). So for all the Democrats who think maybe there's a chance that there are "good" Republicans who are going to help save democracy? Dream on. You can't even get Murkowski to agree to debate it.
If you can't get Murkowski that far into the process, you sure as hell aren't going to get nine more Republicans to suddenly see the light on making sure everyone has free and fair access to the ballot box. That means you, Joe Manchin. And you, Kyrsten Sinema. And you, Chris Coons. And especially you, Dianne Feinstein.
That means the John Lewis Voting Rights Act reauthorization bill, which has been declared "unnecessary" by McConnell, is not going to get 10 Republican votes to pass, even if there are currently 10 Republicans who were there for the unanimous reauthorization of the bill 15 years ago. (Before the Robert Supreme Court gutted it in 2013, giving Republicans yet another electoral advantage in making voter suppression legal again.)
The Atlantic's Russell Berman asked and "could find no Republican senators willing to join Murkowski in committing their support to a reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act." Susan Collins said she wasn't ready to talk about it. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana wouldn't answer. Retiring Richard Shelby of Alabama said he's "skeptical" that Democrats are trying to "overrule" the Supreme Court. There is no path for voting rights restoration in this Senate, with the filibuster. Period. Bernie Sanders gets it:
Where does that leave the Democrats? For one thing, it leaves them needing their president to use his bully pulpit. He's thus far not doing that. One White House official told AP that "in private, White House advisers see infrastructure as the bigger political winner for Biden because it's widely popular among voters of both parties." They believe that passing infrastructure "as going further towards helping Democrats win in the 2022 midterms and beyond than taking on massive voting overhaul that had a slim chance of passage without a debate over filibuster rules, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal talks."
What they seem to be missing is the fact that at least 14 states have already enacted 22 new laws suppressing the vote. That's as of the end of May. Plenty of state legislatures are still in session and working on it. "Indeed, at least 61 bills with restrictive provisions are moving through 18 state legislatures. More specifically, 31 have passed at least one chamber, while another 30 have had some sort of committee action (e.g., a hearing, an amendment, or a committee vote)," the Brennan Center reports.
However much voters might love the infrastructure bill is moot if they can't cast a ballot.
That's what Biden and his advisers need to understand, embrace and act upon. They need to look at the 50-50 Senate and the very slim majority Democrats have in the House. They need to see redistricting—and gerrymandering—getting underway right now in states, and fully grasp the fact that Republicans could very well control the 2022 midterm elections. Without Congress, nothing Biden proposes in the last two years of this term will happen. Republicans have already promised that. Sen. John Barrasso promised GOP donors Republicans will "make Joe Biden a one-half-term president." That's after McConnell announced his intention to prevent Biden from having a Supreme Court appointment in those last two years of his term, should Republicans get the Senate back.
Biden's entire agenda—not to mention the foundations of our democracy—is in grave jeopardy. He needs to see that. Everyone around him needs to see that. They need to see that restoring free and fair elections is as existential for the nation as COVID-19 relief was. They need to make filibuster reform a top priority.