In the GOP lexicon bipartisanship is non-existent, but filibuster is a watchword they swear by.
The nation got an example of both the other day when Senate Republicans voted against a voting rights bill that would have offset or totally thwarted the wave of restricted voting laws surfacing across the nation.
In effect, the vote on the procedural move was, as expected, along party lines with a 50-50 outcome. On this measure Vice President Harris’ vote was not in play since a majority was necessary, i.e., at least 60 votes to bring the bill to debate and overturn the filibuster.
For the moment, the “For The People Act” is dead on arrival and democracy itself is imperiled in a way America has not witnessed in years. What this signifies is that from state to state we may find voter suppression measures that will effectively minimize, if not completely vanquish, the franchise supposedly guaranteeing Black and Brown citizens.
Sen. Chuck Schumer put the matter into perfect historical context when he compared it to the 1960s when senators then opposed federal legislation to protect civil rights. “The Republican leader [Sen. Mitch McConnell] flatly stated that no matter what the states do to undermine our democracy, voter suppression laws, phony audits, partisan takeovers of local election boards, the Senate should not act,” he said.
However, the GOP senators are acting, but in a way consistent with the false, nefarious notion left in the wake of Trump’s deplorable lie. Their resistance to democratic procedures concludes that Trump was right and the election was stolen.
There is no use listing the number of changes that are so vitally necessary to stop the retrenchment now sweeping the land, but the Electoral College and the filibuster are two vestiges of a Jim Crow past we need to consign to the dustbin of history.
There are several senators who should also be banished to an unforgiving purgatory, and punished eternally for their sins of civic neglect.
During an appearance on MSNBC, commentator and activist Mark Thompson took Schumer’s comments a step further noting that: “This is a holdover, really, from the time of enslavement. Many of these senators represent places that don’t have the same population while the majority of people support this legislation. This is not a democracy. This is a minority that is controlling this, and, you know, at the risk of making a controversial metaphor, I mean. We know what minority rule is, and there’s a term for minority rule and that’s called apartheid. We fought against that as well.”
Thompson also announced that his bus, a veritable vehicle for justice, will be making a stop in North Carolina to continue the fight against voter suppression. This is fine, but Mark we need a convoy of busses and thousands of foot soldiers to stop this tide of white supremacy and the destruction of democracy.