Tag: GOP War on Voting

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Elections GOP Voting Rights

Mitch McConnell Gets Cold Busted For Offering A ‘Poison Pill’ That Would Kill Voting Reform

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said something very surprising last week, suggesting that he was willing to discuss reforming the Electoral Count Act, the federal law that governs the way Congress certifies presidential elections:

“Aside from all the other things they are discussing, this is something that’s worth discussing,” McConnell said on Wednesday. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, echoed that view to NBC News. There may even be enough support across the aisle to overcome a filibuster in the closely divided Senate.

But as Hayes Brown notes in an op-ed he wrote for MSNBC, Democrats would be foolish to fall for McConnell’s bait and switch:

While changes to the law’s vague, easily twisted language are important to prevent another round of the chaos that former President Donald Trump inspired last year, McConnell knows better than anyone that reforming the Electoral Count Act absent “all the other things” Democrats want in terms of voting rights would be a new coat of paint on a house that’s about to collapse.

While McConnell wants us to believe he’s interested in election reform, the truth is very different from the words he speaks in front of the cameras:

In June, he even said that voting rights is “not a federal issue.” Case in point: The Democrats’ other main voting rights bill, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, would reinstate the provisions the Supreme Court has decimated. The bill has the support of only one Republican in the Senate — and it isn’t McConnell.

The good news is that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has made it clear he’s not going to fall for McConnell’s trick:

He’s promised to “debate and consider changes to the rules” by Jan. 17 if Republicans continue to stand in the way of the two voting rights bills.

But McConnell isn’t likely to budge anytime soon. And he knows that all he needs is one — one Democrat to remain willing to put his promise of “bipartisanship” ahead of voting rights. It’s up to Schumer to make sure that nobody breaks ranks in the name of a short-term victory

McConnell doesn’t want people to vote unless they happen to be guaranteed votes for Republicans. That means he wants every white person (especially conservatives) to get out and vote in every election while at the same time he and other members of the GOP work behind the scenes to make it more difficult for people of color and the poor to cast a ballot. They know that expanding the voting franchise and making it easier to vote would relegate their party to permanent minority status.

Nice try, Mitch, but we’re not falling for your lies.

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Donald Trump Jr. Elections Social Media Voting Rights

Don Jr. Gets Slapped Silly For Making A Tasteless Joke About Black Women Not Being Able To Vote

On Thursday, there were protests in defense of voting rights on Capitol Hill, one of which was led by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Beatty and other black women were arrested for their protests, which they knew they likely would be. But they had brought attention to the need for voting rights legislation and made their point.

Afterwards, posted a strong, defiant message on Twitter to let the world know she and her fellow protesters won’t be silenced and won’t stop protesting until Congress passes comprehensive legislation to address the wave of voting restrictions being passed by GOP-controlled states across the country:

Beatty also shared photos of her and her fellow protesters before they were arrested:

For some reason known only to him, Donald Trump Jr. decided he’d comment on Congresswoman Beatty’s tweets, but he did it in a way that’s typical for him: Like a moronic asshole:

Yes, black women can indeed vote. But it seems Republicans consider them to be a threat to their electoral future, so they want to make it as difficult as possible for people of color to vote. Make no mistake: Voting restrictions are about suppressing the voices of black and brown Americans. They’re a modern-day form of Jim Crow.

Rep. Beatty, however, got the last word on the matter:

Others also joined the parade, verbally slapping Junior down:

https://twitter.com/JudyLaTorre6/status/1416041278199017473?s=20
 

Categories
Elections Justice Department Voting Rights

DOJ Preparing To Take Action Against Georgia For Their Voter Suppression Law

Now that we once again have a U.S. Attorney General who believes in protecting the Constitution and the rights of all Americans, the Department of Justice is once again working to make sure that all of us have an equal voice in deciding who represents us and makes the laws that govern our nation.

According to multiple reports, the DOJ under AG Merrick Garland is giving serious considering to suing the state of Georgia for the package of voter suppression restrictions that were signed into law Thursday evening by Governor Brian Kemp (R).

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz reports that President Joe Biden was asked about whether or not the DOJ would indeed challenge voting restrictions in the Peach State:

That’s not all the president had to say on the matter, according to the New York Daily News:

President Biden took blistering aim Friday at Georgia Republicans and suggested they could face Justice Department scrutiny for enacting an ‘outrageous’ law that places ‘Jim Crow’-like restrictions on voting in the critical swing state.

“Biden also told reporters later in the day that Justice Department intervention could be warranted.

“’We don’t know quite exactly what we can do at this point. The Justice Department’s taking a look as well,’ he said.”

A lawsuit has already been filed in Georgia by several civil rights groups. The Justice Department could either join that action or file its own lawsuit to block implementation of the voting restrictions and eventually have them ruled unconstitutional and therefore illegal.

The Biden administration also continues to push for passage of the For the People Act in the U.S. Senate. While Republicans are expected to try and delay a vote on the bill by using the filibuster, it increasingly looks like Senate Democrats will overhaul the filibuster rules so that the voting rights bill can reach the Senate floor for a vote. With the Senate currently divided 50-50 among the two parties, a tie vote would allow Vice President Kamala Harris to cast the deciding vote that would make the For the People Act the law of the land.

The DOJ needs to fight the Georgia voting restrictions and get them overturned. If Republicans cannot win elections without cheating, then they should disband their party and admit they’re bereft of any real ideology other than repression.