Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

1
Senate Republicans issued a slew of cataclysmic warnings on Tuesday as they tried to sink voting reform, claiming the Democrats’ top-priority package would dismantle faith in democracy and suppress millions of votes ― all as their own party pushes voting limitations nationwide.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the bill “Jim Crow 2.0.”

It’s an absurd comparison: Jim Crow laws were aimed at making it near-impossible for Black Americans to vote; Democrats’ bill (the For the People Act) would make voting easier, streamline registration processes and prevent partisan gerrymandering, among other reforms.

“This legislation is profoundly dangerous, and the reason it suppresses millions of votes is by allowing millions of people to vote illegally,” Cruz said during a Senate rules committee hearing on the bill. “That is the intended effect and that would be the actual effect of this bill. It dilutes the legal votes of American citizens.”

During a brief hallway interview after Cruz’s comments, HuffPost pointed out that Jim Crow-era voting laws actually stopped Black people from voting.

“And in this instance the Democrats want to stop the voters from voting Democrats out of power,” Cruz replied.

Republicans plan to spend the hearing offering countless amendments meant to tank the bill. Many of the voting reforms Democrats are proposing are popular with the public, which perhaps explains why Republicans are grasping at exaggerations, misleading statements and flat-out lies to push back.

Cruz claimed the bill is “intended to” register undocumented immigrants to vote ― it does not authorize this ― and meant to benefit Democrats. He argued it is similar to Jim Crow laws in that both were pushed by Democrats; a statement that ignores the fact that the Democrats of that era were far different than the party today. Republicans claimed the bill is solely a power-grab to take over from local election boards, and that it would create mass voter fraud.

The arguments build on former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen, the 2016 election was rigged and that voting is, on the whole, rife with fraud. His claims helped motivate supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 and are being used across the country to push voting restrictions. Now they could help sink voting reform.

Passage was already a long shot: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has signaled the package must be bipartisan to win his support, meaning Senate Democrats currently don’t have 50 votes in favor, much less the 60 they’d need to bypass a filibuster.

But Democrats have vowed to fight hard for the bill, which they consider particularly necessary given state-level efforts to limit voting access.

Republicans said that Democrats are out for their own benefit.

“This legislation is designed to ensure that Democrats never lose another election,” Cruz said, despite Republicans picking up 14 House seats during the highest voter turnout in over 100 years in 2020.

“If this bill were to pass, nobody would have any confidence in [our democracy],” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, echoing the manufactured concerns about election integrity raised by pro-Trump lawmakers who challenged the 2020 election results. “None whatsoever. Let’s call it what it is. Put aside the flowery language. This is a partisan effort to take over how you conduct elections in our country.”

Republicans argued that decisions on voting laws should be left to state and local officials and that the bill goes too far in implementing national standards. They also argued that it gave too much power to Democrats in its overhaul of the Federal Election Commission, by switching the number of commissioners from six to five, which would shift from three members of each party to three from one, two from another. Critics say the oversight board’s current split, which is required by law, makes it ineffectual.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said Republicans want to make it “easier to vote and harder to cheat” but that Democrats’ voting bill would do the opposite. HuffPost asked Blunt if he was trying to imply there was cheating in the last election, which he has previously said was not rigged.

“It does not imply that, though I am sure there was some cheating in the last election,” he said.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/senate-r ... 9247fbc8dc

Of course they are frightened of the passage of the bill, that it will put them at an extreme disadvantage in the upcoming elections and redistricting.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

4
FrontSight wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:12 pm That's going to be one seriously tough piece of legislation to get passed. Republicans know their only chance is voter disenfranchisement.
Yep. They haven't put forth any platform in years. Their 2020 General Election platform was simply to reelect TFG.
Eventually I'll figure out this signature thing and decide what I want to put here.

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

5
...it's now or never as Der Trumpenfuhrer's Party of Q will soon unanimously goose-step to das Der Trumpenfuhrer tune, with absolutely no regard for democracy, elections, or the Constitution.

If that is allowed to happen, then depending on the military it's quite possibly the end of the late-great USA as we knew and loved her!

Overly dramatic...???
Last edited by DJD100 on Wed May 12, 2021 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

6
DJD100 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 12:55 am ...it's now or never as Der Trumpenfuhrer's Party of Q will soon unanimously goose-step to Der Trumpenfuhrer tune, with absolutely no regard for democracy, elections, or the Constitution.

If that is allowed to happen, then depending on the military it's quite possibly the end of the late-great USA as we knew and loved her!

Overly dramatic...???
Nope. I've been saying this for a good long time now. Michael Cohen warned us of it 3 years ago.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

7
YankeeTarheel wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 1:22 am
DJD100 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 12:55 am ...it's now or never as Der Trumpenfuhrer's Party of Q will soon unanimously goose-step to Der Trumpenfuhrer tune, with absolutely no regard for democracy, elections, or the Constitution.

If that is allowed to happen, then depending on the military it's quite possibly the end of the late-great USA as we knew and loved her!

Overly dramatic...???
Nope. I've been saying this for a good long time now. Michael Cohen warned us of it 3 years ago.
Not overly dramatic. It is the most pessimistic view, but unfortunately not unimaginable.

Therefore, I must ask. Do you have your Exit Buddy for when the time comes? I do, and we're thinking Costa Rica. I'd like the Canadian Rockies, but my Exit Buddy won't go any farther north than we already are.
ExitBuddy.gif
ExitBuddy.gif (1.48 MiB) Viewed 944 times

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

9
DJD100 wrote:...it's now or never as Der Trumpenfuhrer's Party of Q will soon unanimously goose-step to Der Trumpenfuhrer tune, with absolutely no regard for democracy, elections, or the Constitution.

If that is allowed to happen, then depending on the military it's quite possibly the end of the late-great USA as we knew and loved her!

Overly dramatic...???
I think they only thing that gave us a reprieve was the military. The Senior leadership doesn’t want to be seen as political & maintain apolitical loyalty to the constitution - and to get their programs funded by Bi-partisan committees. Trump flubbed the relationship with the senior, uniformed, leadership of the military on the Lafayette square debacle; which in a way - was a good thing because the CJCS became much more cautious after that. If Trump had the smarts or credibility to engender the tacit loyalty of the military we would be living under martial law, Trump dictatorship, right now. We need to be very vigilant to right wing political aspirants with ties & military credibility.

In the middle officers ranks & senior NCO I’ve seen a lot of distancing from the extreme right going on after the insurrection. If we are hanging on by the military’s allegiance to the US Constitution & free and fair elections are broke; than this country is still in a dangerous place.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

10
INVICTVS138 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 9:26 am
DJD100 wrote:...it's now or never as Der Trumpenfuhrer's Party of Q will soon unanimously goose-step to Der Trumpenfuhrer tune, with absolutely no regard for democracy, elections, or the Constitution.

If that is allowed to happen, then depending on the military it's quite possibly the end of the late-great USA as we knew and loved her!

Overly dramatic...???
I think they only thing that gave us a reprieve was the military. The Senior leadership doesn’t want to be seen as political & maintain apolitical loyalty to the constitution - and to get their programs funded by Bi-partisan committees. Trump flubbed the relationship with the senior, uniformed, leadership of the military on the Lafayette square debacle; which in a way - was a good thing because the CJCS became much more cautious after that. If Trump had the smarts or credibility to engender the tacit loyalty of the military we would be living under martial law, Trump dictatorship, right now. We need to be very vigilant to right wing political aspirants with ties & military credibility.

In the middle officers ranks & senior NCO I’ve seen a lot of distancing from the extreme right going on after the insurrection. If we are hanging on by the military’s allegiance to the US Constitution & free and fair elections are broke; than this country is still in a dangerous place.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Check out viewtopic.php?f=65&t=61627 If you are putting great faith in the military
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

11
Republicans block amendment that would make it illegal to ban giving water to voters in line

All nine Republicans on the U.S. Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday killed an amendment by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff that would make it illegal for states to ban volunteers from giving water to voters waiting in line. Sen. Ossoff's home state of Georgia passed a law making it illegal to give water to voters waiting in line. That law was signed by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.

"This is about decency — basic decency," Ossoff said in a press conference announcing the amendment, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. "This is about the health and well-being of a senior citizen who's being made to wait six hours in line to vote and allowing a volunteer to hand that senior citizen a bottle of water without facing up to a year in jail."

The Republicans voting against water are: Ranking Member Roy Blunt (MO), Mitch McConnell (KY), Richard Shelby (AL), Ted Cruz (TX), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Roger Wicker (MS), Deb Fischer (NE), Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), and Bill Hagerty (TN).
https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/republ ... to-voters/

If they can't kill it outright then they will try to kill the bill by the Death of a Thousand Cuts method.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

12
This is DOA, everything but the kitchen sink. Full of poison pills that Republicans won't support. The Summary.
This bill addresses voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and ethics for the three branches of government.

Specifically, the bill expands voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting). It also limits removing voters from voter rolls.

The bill requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions to carry out congressional redistricting.

Additionally, the bill sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.

Further, the bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending, requiring additional disclaimers regarding certain political advertising, and establishing an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices.

The bill addresses ethics in all three branches of government, including by requiring a code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices, prohibiting Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, and establishing additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.

The bill requires the President, the Vice President, and certain candidates for those offices to disclose 10 years of tax returns.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-con ... use-bill/1
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

13
Ted Cruz has already spilled the beans: None of the "approved" Republican Amendments mean SHIT! Just like Grassley admitted to Obama, all the changes and amendments are to get Dems to water it down and then EVERY GQPer will vote "NO".

WHY THE FUCK DO THEY KEEP PLAYING CHARLIE BROWN IN LUCY AND THE FOOTBALL???????????????????????????
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

14
Why? Because that is how legislation in a representative democracy is done. There is no other way. Matters little if the parties are so polarized that no new laws can be passed. There isn’t any other path other than EO’s.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

15
Bisbee wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 1:33 pm Why? Because that is how legislation in a representative democracy is done. There is no other way. Matters little if the parties are so polarized that no new laws can be passed. There isn’t any other path other than EO’s.
Sure there is. Put Manchin and Sinema in "choke holds" to change the rules so you only need a simple majority in the Senate and then tell the ReNazicans to go fuck themselves!
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

16
YankeeTarheel wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 3:49 pm
Bisbee wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 1:33 pm Why? Because that is how legislation in a representative democracy is done. There is no other way. Matters little if the parties are so polarized that no new laws can be passed. There isn’t any other path other than EO’s.
Sure there is. Put Manchin and Sinema in "choke holds" to change the rules so you only need a simple majority in the Senate and then tell the ReNazicans to go fuck themselves!

AFAIK the For the People Act would be subject to the filibuster, it's not a judicial appointment that would only need a majority and reconciliation can't be used.
The Congressional Budget Act permits using reconciliation for legislation that changes spending, revenues, and the federal debt limit. On the spending side, reconciliation can be used to address “mandatory” or entitlement spending — that is, programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, federal civilian and military retirement, SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), and farm programs — but not Social Security. Mandatory spending is determined by rules set in ongoing authorizing laws, so changing spending usually requires amending those laws.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-b ... nciliation

The For the People Act appears to be one of those bills that gets the Democratic base cheering but ultimately can't pass the Senate. But House Democrats will wave it at 2022 campaign rallies saying they passed it but the big bad Senate didn't. Republicans do the exact same thing. I expect a flurry of gun bills to be introduced before the 2022 midterm and Republicans know they're not going anyplace.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

17
Joe Manchin declares he will not support critical voting rights legislation – possibly killing HR1 ‘For the People’ Act

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has just announced he will not support HR1, the critical voting rights protection and expansion bill already passed by the House of Representatives.

"I believe Democrats and Republicans feel very strongly about protecting the ballot boxes allowing people to protect the right to vote making it accessible making it fair and making it secure," Manchin told ABC News' Rachel Scott.

Republicans in at least 11 states have passed into law voter suppression bills, some of which literally reduce the number of ballot boxes, and access to those boxes, dramatically.

Manchin, who is more conservative than Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, voiced support for the far less comprehensive John Lewis Voting Rights Act, saying, "if we apply that to all 50 states and territories, it's something that can be done -- it should be done."

"It could be done bipartisan to start getting confidence back in our system," he added, ignoring that the ones who destroyed confidence in the voting system are the Republicans.

On Tuesday Republicans on the Senate Rules Committee deadlocked the vote for the For the People Act, legislation that not only would secure voter protections but address rampant Republican gerrymandering as well as regulate dangerous dark money in politics. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer now will need at least one Republican to support the For the People Act if it is to even get to the floor for a vote.

Some political analysts say that given there is legislation in 48 states to suppress the vote, if Democrats don't pass HR1, they will lose both the House and the Senate next year.
https://www.rawstory.com/joe-manchin-d ... eople-act/

When will Joe Manchild finally expose himself as a Reptilian in Democratic clothes.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Republicans are trying to block the For the People Act, Democrats’ top-priority legislative package.

18
cooper wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 8:49 am
YankeeTarheel wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 1:22 am
DJD100 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 12:55 am ...it's now or never as Der Trumpenfuhrer's Party of Q will soon unanimously goose-step to Der Trumpenfuhrer tune, with absolutely no regard for democracy, elections, or the Constitution.

If that is allowed to happen, then depending on the military it's quite possibly the end of the late-great USA as we knew and loved her!

Overly dramatic...???
Nope. I've been saying this for a good long time now. Michael Cohen warned us of it 3 years ago.
Not overly dramatic. It is the most pessimistic view, but unfortunately not unimaginable.

Therefore, I must ask. Do you have your Exit Buddy for when the time comes? I do, and we're thinking Costa Rica. I'd like the Canadian Rockies, but my Exit Buddy won't go any farther north than we already are.

ExitBuddy.gif
Ha, we have property in CA and NM, and likely we'll just stay and fight it out here in No CA as here I have the high ground and lots of like-thinking neighbors, though we do have family in UK/CAN/AUS too (who probably wouldn't want anything to do with Americans if this all falls apart...)?

Interesting question, hadn't thought that far ahead yet...

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests