Eli Zupnick of Fix Our Senate: “We agree...that failure isn’t an option when it comes to voting rights and that protecting our democracy must take priority over an outdated and abused filibuster rule.”
WASHINGTON, DC — A new letter from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reiterates Democrats’ commitment to pass voting and democracy legislation despite Republicans’ continued abuse of the filibuster. In the “Dear Colleague” letter addressed to his fellow Democratic Senators, Senator Schumer recaps how Republicans have used the filibuster to block deliberation of voting rights and democracy bills and states:
“But just because Republicans will not join us doesn’t mean Democrats should stop fighting. This is too important. Even if it means going at it alone, we will continue to fight for voting rights and work to find an alternative path forward to defend the most fundamental liberty we have as citizens. To that end, a number of our colleagues – with my full support - have been discussing ideas for how to restore the Senate to protect our democracy. Those conversations will continue in earnest this coming week. Despite all that confronts us, we must continue our fight to protect our democracy.”
Meanwhile, a front page story in today’s New York Times underscores the stakes and urgency, reporting that newly drawn congressional maps “are more distorted, more disjointed and more gerrymandered than any since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965,” calling it “an even more extreme warping of American political architecture … carried out by both parties but predominantly by Republicans.”
Eli Zupnick, spokesperson for Fix Our Senate, issued the following statement:
“We agree with Majority Leader Schumer that failure isn’t an option when it comes to voting rights and that protecting our democracy must take priority over an outdated and abused filibuster rule.
"Every Democratic Senator, including Senator Manchin, supports federal voting rights and democracy-protecting legislation and has seen that Senator Mitch McConnell’s Republican caucus will keep using the filibuster to endanger Americans’ voting rights and the health of our democracy.
"There is no way to ‘restore the Senate’ or ‘protect our democracy’ without addressing the filibuster. We thank Sen. Schumer and his colleagues for their resolve and recognition that there’s no more time to waste.”