While Republicans across the country are engaging in some of the most brazen attacks on our democracy and our right to vote, two Democrats – Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin – joined Mitch McConnell in blocking what would have been the most consequential suite of democracy reforms since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a result of Sinema and Manchin’s betrayal, the likelihood of constitutional crises, democratic breakdowns, and rightwing political violence are higher today than it was yesterday. That is their legacy now.
Senator Mark Kelly’s addition to Indivisible’s “Give No Ground” program comes just after he announced his support of a rules change in order to pass voting rights in the Senate, and one day after Indivisible’s flash poll of Arizonans that showed 94% of Indivisibles in Arizona support finding a Democratic primary challenger to Senator Sinema in 2024 if she does not join Senator Kelly in his support of changing the rules to pass voting rights.
This was the most important speech of Joe Biden’s presidency. He nailed it. A clear moral case and call to action. The vote is coming on Martin Luther King Day. The President wants it. The Speaker of the House wants it. The Senate Majority Leader wants it. The American people want it. It’s time to fix the senate, protect our democracy, and guarantee the right to vote. Time to get it done.
Our democracy is on a knife’s edge. It’s clear that Republicans will do nothing to protect our democracy, so Democrats must act alone to save it. We support and applaud Majority Leader Schumer’s decision to hold a vote to change Senate rules to pass critical voting rights and democracy reform legislation by January 17, and we urge all Senate Democrats to do whatever it takes to get it done.
Based on the Commission’s report, you’d hardly know there was anything wrong with the Court, let alone that the six conservative extremist justices are casually preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade and 50 years of precedent on abortion rights, not because there’s a constitutional reason to do so, but because their loyalty to Republican politics and power demands it.
It’s encouraging to see Senate Democrats negotiate and nail down the substance on a long-overdue voting rights bill. The Freedom to Vote Act would make critical reforms that Indivisibles have been calling for over the course of the year -- including mitigating the influence of big money in our elections, ending partisan gerrymandering, and protecting voting rights. But we can’t truly celebrate until we hear what the plan is to get this bill passed through the Senate with zero support from Republicans.
Use this document to fight against gerrymandering in your state. Learn how redistricting works, what policies that make redistricting more fair, and how you can work with democracy advocates to push for reform in your state.
If the President wishes to become a historic figure on the order of an LBJ, he’ll have to rise to the historic challenge he so accurately describes. But he will not succeed in passing this bill if he can’t even say the word 'filibuster,’ let alone rally the nation to reform it.
The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, is skilled at chipping away at constitutional rights and civil liberties with a subtle knife, hoping to evade notice. It won’t work. The Unrig the Courts coalition will continue to fight for critical reforms to the judiciary, most importantly, the expansion of the Supreme Court. We cannot spend every June hoping and praying that the 6 conservative justices will grow a conscience and do the right thing. We must restore balance to the Court, and faith in the institution, by adding seats.
We need to get rid of the filibuster. We need to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And then, to protect those critical pieces of legislation, we must add seats to the Supreme Court and cut off Roberts’s ability to destroy our democracy. Today’s decision only adds to the urgency for Congress to move quickly to rebalance the courts by moving quickly to pass the Judiciary Act of 2021, a bill that would restore balance and fairness in our judicial system by adding seats to the Supreme Court. Our democracy depends on it.