Watch the recorded virtual town hall here
Washington, DC – On a Fix Our Senate virtual town hall event held last night viewed by over 200K people, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined advocates and civil rights leaders for a discussion, “Protect Our Democracy or Protect the Filibuster.”
Moderated by Shaniqua McClendon, Political Director of Crooked Media, the live discussion highlighted the stark choice Senate Democrats face between protecting our democracy and passing the For the People Act or protecting the filibuster – an outdated and abused “Jim Crow relic.” The speakers outlined the stakes and the way forward on how to win our fight to eliminate the filibuster and protect our democracy.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR): “We have to change the filibuster so that McConnell does not have a veto. That’s what we have to do, and the whole set of things we care about for the future of this country, the whole vision of we the people government, government of, by, and for the people, is dependent upon it.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “I just think of it as, Mitch McConnell understands the way that the filibuster can be used, and he understands the political implications: Keep the Democrats from delivering on any of our promises, and he’s going to use it. And frankly, I can’t image we’d be dumb enough to let him do that. We really have to stand up and fight back.”
"Whatever issue gets you up, if it’s gun safety, if it’s social security, if it’s child care, if it’s LGBTQ rights, if it’s police reform, if it’s income inequality, whatever it is that makes you say I am engaged in my democracy, I care about this outcome, then you must care about the filibuster.”
Meagan Hatcher-Mays, Director of Democracy Policy at Indivisible: “Either you pick an old senate rule, it's not in the constitution, it's not in the law, it's just made up, or you pick a country that works for everybody. That’s the choice. And we are really really running out of time.”
Reginald Thedford, Deputy Political Director, Stand Up America: “As President Obama has said in the past, this wonky Senate procedure known as the filibuster is nothing more than a Jim Crow relic that has blocked and will continue to block common sense legislation that the American people want and need. We can no longer allow a minority of Republican Senators, elected by an even smaller minority of Americans, to go against the will of the people.”
Rev. Dr. Stephany Spaulding, Founder of Truth and Conciliation: “The filibuster has primarily been used to block progress on civil rights that Black and Brown communities have been fighting for for like over 200 anti-lynching bills, anti-poll tax bills, and it even threatened the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965. So yes, there is a deep connection between the filibuster and race.”
Eli Zupnick, spokesman for Fix Our Senate: “Republican leaders in DC are preparing to filibuster and block the For the People Act – a bill that addresses these voter suppression efforts and takes key steps to restore our democracy. Momentum to eliminate the filibuster and pass the For the People Act is growing every single day – and thank you Senator Merkley and Senator Warren for your strong leadership on this, but we all need to dial up our work and fight like the future of our democracy depends on it – because it absolutely does.”
Participating groups in the virtual town hall event included:
#NoRA
20/20 Vision
Alliance for Youth Action
America's Voice
Arizona Students' Association
Be A Hero
Bend the Arc
Blue Future
Brave New Films
Broward for Progress
Call to Action Colorado
Capstone
CASE Action Fund
Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Climate Hawks Vote
Common Cause
Communications Workers of America (CWA)
Daily Kos
Demand Progress
DemCast USA
Democracy Initiative
Equal Citizens
Evergreen Action
Extinction Rebellion PDX
Face the Music Collective
Free Speech For People
Friends of the Earth
Hero Action Fund
Indivisible
Indivisible Marin
Indivisible Media City Burbank
Indivisible Northern Nevada
Indivisible Ulster (NY19)
Michiganders for Fair & Transparent Elections
Newtown Action Alliance
People for the American Way
People's Action
People's Parity Project
Pride at Work
Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Progressive Turnout Project
RepresentUs New Mexico
Spirit of the Sun
Stand Up Alaska
Stand Up America
Students Against Voter Suppression (SAVS)
Sunrise Movement
Supermajority
Voices for Progress
Voices of Health Care Action
Vote Save America
Voto Latino
We Testify
Women's March
Zero Hour