As I write this, Texas Democratic state legislatures are attempting to flee from the state to prevent the passage of a racist voter suppression bill. And, unfortunately, the GOP is pushing hundreds of similar bills in state legislatures across the country. It’s time for Democrats to take a stand at the national level.
Democrats rely on minority votes to get elected. So, naturally, Republicans are trying to do everything they can to suppress the minority votes in the states they control. Republicans are pushing bills that make it harder to vote. In addition, in the fall, the GOP will gerrymander Congressional districts to ensure a GOP House majority in 2022.
A recent Supreme Court ruling has cleared the way for these actions to occur without consequence. Because of this, The Justice Department may have little success challenging these laws in court.
If the GOP tactics are successful, Democrats could be heading for minority status in the House for the next decade. A GOP House majority, after the 2022 election, along with the Filibuster, would end the Biden agenda. Biden would be a lame duck for the rest of his term(s) like Obama was after the 2010 election.
Currently, two bills have passed the House. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act and The For the People Act. Both are stalled in the Senate. There will not be any GOP votes for these two bills. So the only way to pass these bills is to first make an exception to the Filibuster rule for Voting Rights. And then pass the bills with only Democratic votes.
Yet, Democrats in Congress do not seem to understand the urgency of this situation. Instead, they have focused right now on 2 Infrastructure bills. An alarm needs to be raised.
My suggestion. The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) should refuse to pass the infrastructure bill until voting rights legislation is passed. The CPC and CBC have the most to lose if the GOP is successful. Therefore, they should be the ones to raise the alarm.
It’s time to take a stand. Infrastructure can wait a few months. Voting rights cannot!