Washington, D.C. — The Hill reports that the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity organization is launching a new ad campaign in support of preserving the filibuster. It is no surprise that the Koch brothers and Senator Mitch McConnell are interested in preserving the ‘Jim Crow’ filibuster and wielding it to protect special interests and block critical progress on voting rights and democracy reforms included in the “For the People” Act” (S1). In late March, a Jane Mayer New Yorker article highlighted leaked audio from a call between strategists from the Koch brothers’ network and a Senate aide of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, revealing that they intend to rely on the filibuster to block the popular For the People Act. Noting the incredible popularity of the For the People Act, even among conservatives, the Koch strategist concluded:
"...the legislation’s opponents would likely have to rely on Republicans in the Senate, where the bill is now under debate, to use “under-the-dome-type strategies''—meaning legislative maneuvers beneath Congress’s roof, such as the filibuster—to stop the bill, because turning public opinion against it would be “incredibly difficult.” He warned that the worst thing conservatives could do would be to try to “engage with the other side” on the argument that the legislation “stops billionaires from buying elections … Unfortunately, we’ve found that that is a winning message, for both the general public and also conservatives.” He said that when his group tested “tons of other” arguments in support of the bill, the one condemning billionaires buying elections was the most persuasive—people “found that to be most convincing, and it riled them up the most.”
Eli Zupnick, spokesperson for Fix Our Senate, gave the following statement:
"It’s no surprise that right wing special interest groups and their wealthy donors are desperate to protect the filibuster as the best weapon their Senate allies have to maintain the status quo and block progress on critical civil and voting rights bills.The choice is clear: Senate Democrats can protect the filibuster, a ‘Jim Crow relic’ strongly backed by the Koch Brothers and Senator Mitch McConnell, or they can deliver for the American people and enact popular priorities. They cannot do both.”