The Senate must pass voting rights legislation. Now.
Republicans in the states already passed new laws severely limit the number of votes Democrats can get in future elections—including Electoral Votes in 2024—making it difficult if not impossible to get fair elections. It is likely that without a new federal law, Democrats will be permanently locked out of power. Given the fascist tendencies of the Republican Party, it’s hard to see how we will get democracy back. Ever.
There is one person who could change this right now, and that is Sen. Joe Manchin. He could do that by changing his position on the filibuster enough for a voting rights bill to pass the Senate. Once signed into law, that would restore much of the balance between the parties.
Time is long up for Sen. Manchin. Until substantive voting rights passes the Senate, I will continue my campaign to drive him out of the Democratic Party. I’m calling on you, and every other Democrat, to unfriend Joe Manchin.
Last week, I looked at where Joe Manchin gets his personal money. Every year he receives payment from Enersystems, which provides waste coal to be burned for electrical power. This is a particularly toxic byproduct from mining coal, which can contain far more mercury and other harmful substances than production coal.
Here’s my question to you: Is it appropriate for a coal baron to be a critical part of the Democratic Party?
Fire Up!
Republicans in the states have done just about everything in their power to rig future elections. So, let me motivate everyone to focus on voting rights. To the point, here is a summary of a discussion from Dateline White House on MSNBC, discussing the issue:
(paraphrasing)
Nicolle Wallace
Republicans and Democrats can’t come together. Their place of work was attacked with the mission statement of hanging Mike Pence. There’s a lingering threat of domestic violent extremism from the big lie. The right to vote is being rolled back in unprecedented ways predicated on something they know is a lie.
There’s something infuriating about watching Democrats refusal to use a tool [the filibuster] that Mitch McConnell used to appoint mid-level federal judges. He wiped out the filibuster for his pet project. … So, explain to me what’s going on behind closed doors among Democrats?
Alexi McCammond
[At a loss for words.] Uh. President Biden believed and said, during the presidential election, to anyone who would listen, that he thought with Donald Trump out of office the Republican Party would essentially snap back to what he knew the Republican Party to be—good-faith actors who were willing to come to the table. That has not happened at all. And now we’re seeing how the rest of his agenda is getting blocked, and those same Republicans he was hoping to work with are simply not working with him.
We’re having President Biden figuring out his own party—the Manchins, the Sinemas—but also the progressives, in order to try to figure out how to eliminate Republicans from the calculus. President Biden signaled eliminating the filibuster is on the table. That is remarkable.
Wallace
Steve, what is your advice to Democratic leaders today?
Steve Schmidt
Use the power you have immediately. Signal that within thirty days if there’s no agreement on a consensus around protecting rights from the hundreds of pieces of malice legislation that have been filled in the states [to block voting rights] that you’re going to strike the filibuster. There is no snap-back to the Republican Party. The Republican Party is gone. It’s dead. It’s gone forever.
The Republican Party is more extreme than it was on the date of the insurrection. It’s more hardened in its faith in delusions. We have a real-life, autocratic movement that is teaming with intimations of violence, an open coalition with extremists groups, heavily-armed groups, that routinely show out with semi-automatic rifles and all the implications of that. We have a political party [the Republican Party] that has become wholly nihilistic in its application of power.
We are in a grave moment in our politics. The big question on the ballot is going to be whether this Biden coalition can hold together and that there can be any kind of forward progress in governance in the country and to be able to hold back this autocratic movement from taking power. Because clearly it has made its ill-will toward democracy as clear as day. It can’t be any clearer about its communication around those issues.
Paraphrased from 6 October 2021. Emphasis mine. A transcription of this segment is at the end of this article.
Joe Biden Must Change
So, this week, I turn to another of Joe Manchin’s friends: Joe Biden.
What is President Biden willing to do to convince Manchin to allow voting rights to pass in the Senate?
This is a critical question, because Biden has been providing cover for Manchin for months. Biden ran on working with Republicans. But the Republican Party is not a legitimate political party. The Republican Party does not have the good of the country at heart. Working with Republicans, by its nature, harms the country.
Manchin must believe the filibuster is good for the country. He claims it helps attain bipartisanship. When Biden says he wants to work with Republicans, it provides cover for Manchin’s position on the filibuster. If it’s okay for Biden to work with Republicans, then why not Manchin?
The entire assumption is wrong. Bipartisanship with an evil party is evil. We are in trouble precisely because Democrats have “worked with” Republicans. Every time a Democratic candidate claims they want to work with Republicans it sends a message to the voters that the Republicans can be right on some issues. You only work with someone if you believe by helping them you are doing the right thing. That is entirely the wrong message. It tells voters it is permissible to vote for Republican candidates. But the Republican Party is the party of death and destruction.
The Republican Party wants to stop action on climate change, so more people will die. They want to take away healthcare from people, so more people will die. They want to continue racist policing, so more people will die. They want to stop any restrictions on fire arms, so more people will die. The Republican Party is literally in favor of the death penalty.
Stop helping get them elected!*
Call To Action
President Biden needs to make the following changes:
- Stop working with Republicans. Announce that they will no longer be invited to negotiations on legislation. Announce they will no longer be consulted on policy. Announce that any Republican officeholder who does not agree that the 2020 November elections fairly and honestly represent the will of the voters must resign their office.
- Announce support for the full repeal of the filibuster rule in the Senate. The Senate will never be democratic because it has equal votes for each state. But within the rules of the Senate, at lease a majority of Senators should rule.
- Set a deadline for the Senate to pass a substantive and effective voting rights act that can also pass the House and be signed into law. Make that deadline real and immediate.
- Review the policies within the Executive Branch to determine if they are being appropriately applied to West Virginia. The nation needs to cut carbon emissions. Is West Virginia doing its share to make that happen?
In other words, Mr. Biden, put some valid and effective pressure on Joe Manchin to do his part in getting voting rights through Congress. Because if you don’t, and democracy tanks, then you will be every bit as responsible as Manchin.
Democratic Party members can help by calling on President Biden to make these changes.
* If the Republican Party reformed, then we could work with them. But they’d have to make wholesale changes to align their goals with the good of the country. I will see that when I believe it.
Full transcript of this segment from Dateline White House on MSNBC, 6 October 2021:
Nicolle Wallace
These two sides can’t come together. Their place of work was attacked with the mission statement of hanging Mike Pence, and these two sides couldn’t come together to appoint an independent commission to investigate. These two sides can’t come together. There’s a lingering threat of domestic violent extremism from the big lie. And these two sides aren’t interested in protecting the right to vote, which is being rolled back in unprecedented way[s] predicated on something they know is a lie. These two sides can’t come together.
And there’s something infuriating about watching Democrats refusal to use a tool that Mitch McConnell used to appoint mid-level federal judges. He wiped out the filibuster for his pet project. … So, explain to me what’s going on behind closed doors among Democrats?
Alexi McCammond
Uh. We have a President Biden who, as you’ll remember well, during the presidential election believed and said to reporters and anyone who would listen at different points that he thought with Donald Trump out of office the Republican Party would essentially snap back to what he knew the Republican Party to be—good-faith actors who were willing to come to the table. That has not happened at all, whether it’s on police reform or immigration reform or something as bipartisan—historically bipartisan—as raising, voting to raise the debt ceiling. And now we’re seeing how the rest of his agenda is getting blocked when he’s having all these priorities that he has promised Americans get done, and those same Republicans he was hoping to work with are simply not working with him in the same way.
And I think that folks at home are not going to care so much about the procedural logistics about what got us here, and they’re going to think about which party’s in power and what’s not getting done. And so I think we’re having President Biden figuring out his own party—the Manchins, the Sinemas—but also the progressives in order to try to figure out how to eliminate Republicans from the calculus. Because, so far, they’ve been holding still, holding their own line, trying to bring him to their side, and he’s now just figuring out his own party so they can stand on their own. And, you know, today could be an interesting moment—whether or not they vote or not to eliminate the filibuster, which as you know, last night, President Biden signaled that’s on the table. That is remarkable. So, things are moving so that he doesn’t have to consider Republicans in the same way as he had before.
Wallace
Steve, take me through what your advice would be to Democratic leaders today.
Steve Schmidt
Use the power you have immediately, today. End the stand-off over the debt ceiling and signal that within thirty days if there’s no agreement on a consensus around protecting the rights in the country from the hundreds of pieces of malice legislation that have been filled in the states that you’re going to strike the filibuster to move forward on that, also. There is no snap-back to the Republican Party. It’s gone. It’s dead. It’s gone forever.
We are living in the fifth year, the first year of the Biden presidency, three years shy of the next presidential election, a year out from the mid-term election. The Republican Party is more extreme, more radical than it was on the date of the insurrection. It’s more hardened. It’s more hardened in its faith to delusions. We have a real-life, autocratic movement in this country that is teaming with intimations of violence, that is an open coalition with extremists groups, fascist groups, militia groups, heavily-armed groups that routinely show out to exercise their First Amendment rights with a long gun, a semi-automatic rifle and all the implications of that in a free and democratic society. We have a serious problem in this country. And we have a political party that has become wholly nihilistic in its application of power, it’s obstruction.
There are legitimate debates about spending and a range of issues between the parties. But a purposeful default on the debt, the purposeful weakening of the country, the signal that it sends to our adversaries and to our allies—there are no comparable acts of public irresponsibility in the history of the country. But let’s make it accessible for everybody, and just say, “in the post-World-War era”. We are in a grave moment in our politics. And the big question on the ballot for the majority of country is going to be around whether this Biden coalition can hold together and that there can be any kind of forward progress in governance in the country and to be able to hold back this autocratic movement from taking power. Because clearly it has made its ill-will toward democracy as clear as day. It can’t be any clearer about its communication around those issues.
This article is part of a series urging members of the Democratic Party to push Joe Manchin out of the party unless he takes the actions necessary for a substantive voting rights bill to pass Congress and get signed into law. Previous articles can be found here:
Part I: Explored why Manchin is wrong to oppose the reconciliation bill and announced the 15 September deadline for him to get voting rights passed. Poll shows the vast majority of voters on Daily Kos believe Manchin is helping the Republicans more than the Democrats.
Part II: Postponed the deadline until 22 September because Manchin reached agreement with Democratic leadership on a voting rights bill.
Part III: No voting rights bill passed. Urged Democrats in the West Virginia Senate to unfriend Manchin.
Part IV: No voting rights bill passed. Urged Democrats in the West Virginia House of Delegates to unfriend Manchin.
Part V: No voting rights bill passed. Looked at where Manchin gets his money—Enersystems, which provides waste coal to be burned for electrical power. Is it appropriate for a coal baron to be a critical part of the Democratic Party?
Next week, I plan to explore the role of other Democratic leaders in enabling Manchin’s quest to stamp out democracy.
There are many groups of people Sen. Manchin needs to consider. I’m going to go through these groups one at a time and urge them to unfriend Manchin until he has no friends left.
Or he gets voting rights through the Senate.