What comes next? Republicans teamed up with two faithless Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, to deliver a body blow to President Joe Biden, democracy, and their own institution Jan. 19. Republicans once again showed, unanimously, that they’ve embraced Jim Crow 2.0. Manchin and Sinema jumped aboard that team.
Congressional action won’t do the trick, so it’s going to have to be executive action and a Department of Justice (DOJ) in overdrive to use what tools are left to protect voters, while at the same time stamping out the Big Lie. The immediate fight for voting rights has to localize to combat the wave of voter suppression on steroids we’re seeing from red states. Grassroots pressure, money, and action are going to have to transfer to the states to give local groups every tool available to overcome the barriers Republicans are throwing up.
Perhaps the most important thing Wednesday’s debacle provides is clarity. A coalition of leading civil rights groups emphasized that in a statement after the failed votes. This wasn’t a “defeat,” they said, it was a bright light shone upon anti-American senators.
“In choosing yet again to block a vote on the bill—supported by more than three in five Americans—these Senators have revealed their contempt for the will of the people,” the group, which includes but is not limited to National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial; NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson; National Action Network President and National Council of Negro Women Executive Director Janice L. Mathis; and Founder Reverend Al Sharpton, said in a statement.
They added: “Democracy’s foes have not had the last word. As civil rights leaders and as patriotic Americans we will never stop fighting to preserve and defend the rights for which our predecessors bled and died.”
“We don’t have the luxury to stop fighting with our rights continuously under attack,” Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr. Chairperson of the African American Christian Clergy Coalition said in a separate statement. “Voting rights are the heart and soul of US democracy, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that they are secure and expanded.”
Martin Luther King III called out Manchin and Sinema in particular, saying they “let down” the country and “sided with a Jim Crow relic over the voting rights of Black and brown communities,” but that this is not over. “We have set extraordinary groundwork for change and the country will not let this fight end,” King said. “Ending the filibuster is part of the national conversation in a way it’s never been before — people now know the filibuster is not etched in the Constitution, but rather a tool of suppression, and the voting rights secured by my father are under attack.”
This fight did create momentum and did unite 48 Democratic senators—several of whom had been pretty darned squishy in the lead-up — that the filibuster has to be changed. That’s a solid outcome and one that can be built upon. That’s what Majority Leader Chuck Schumer leaned on in his remarks following the votes.
“While tonight’s vote was disappointing, it will not deter Senate Democrats from continuing our fight against voter suppression, dark money, and partisan gerrymandering,” he said. “With no support from Senate Republicans, many of whom deny the very existence of voter suppression, we faced an uphill battle. But because of this fight, and the fact that each Senator had to show where they stand, we are closer to achieving our goal of passing vital voter protection legislation.”
That’s the message for Manchin and Sinema—the mask is off now.
“Now that every Senator has gone on record, the American people have seen who’s on the side of protecting voting rights and it will only strengthen our resolve as we work to ensure that our democracy does not backslide,” Schumer continued. “The Democratic Caucus pledges to keep working until voting rights are protected for every American.”
Legislatively, supposedly the “bipartisan” attempt to do something to tighten up the Electoral Count Act is moving forward, showing Manchin’s utter gullibility, or perhaps perfidy. The potential reform of the ECA surfaced as a diversion among Republicans last month, when the potential for Manchin and possibly Sinema to sign on to Democrats’ voting rights efforts seemed real. Mitch McConnell dangled this potential “bipartisan” fix, through his trusty deputy Susan Collins, and Manchin bit. Just as McConnell intended.
The effort has expanded a bit among Republicans. Politico reports that Sen. Mitt Romney said Wednesday night “10 to 12 senators were involved in talks, and each of them has put together a list of priorities for the legislation.” Independent Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats and is sort of a Manchin whisperer, has been in touch with Romney. That’s good news. King is absolutely clear-eyed about the situation, as his strong statements on the floor Jan. 19 demonstrated.
The ECA reform is necessary. It would make the kind of challenge Trump tried with Republican members of Congress in the 2020 election all but impossible. It would guarantee that the electoral vote was counted as cast. The problem is in who does the counting at the state level, and whose votes get to be counted. ECA reform is not nearly enough to ensure that every eligible voter has the access and ability to cast their vote, and that the people counting and reporting those votes will do so honestly. It’s not enough to secure a free and fair election in every state.
Every Democrat but Manchin gets that, and at this point, it looks like King and potentially others will try to use this effort to add some key voter protection provisions in the event the thing moves. That will probably fail, because once equal access to the ballot for people of color creeps in, Republicans will squash it. Again. Maybe this time Manchin will clue into the fact that he’s become McConnell’s tool. But probably not.
Joan McCarter is senior political writer for Daily Kos, where this appeared. See the linked version at <https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/20/2075785/-Civil-rights-leaders-Democrats-who-aren-t-Manchin-and-Sinema-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-democracy>
From The Progressive Populist, February 15, 2022
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