Balloon Juice - Right to Vote Archives

Saturday Morning Open Thread: We Will Go Forward

by Anne Laurie| January 22, 20228:23 am| 215 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, Excellent Links, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Right to Vote, Our Failed Media Experiment

Psaki on voting rights bills failing: "My advice to everyone out there who's frustrated, sad, angry, pissed off, feel those emotions, go to a kickboxing class, have a margarita, do whatever you need to do this weekend, and then wake up on Monday morning, we gotta keep fighting." pic.twitter.com/WkW4dJz0PB

— The Recount (@therecount) January 21, 2022

As I said earlier: Like a good teacher, President Biden’s not mad at GOP, he’s just disappointed…

“I am profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for our democracy. I am disappointed — but I am not deterred,” Biden says, adding “We will continue to work with allies to advance necessary legislation to protect the right to vote.” pic.twitter.com/huT21CXMwd

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) January 20, 2022

If you haven’t yet read Heather Cox Richardson’s post, it’s well worth the click:

Every news story criticizing Biden should start with this paragraph from @HC_Richardson. https://t.co/G2XJCEpQpD pic.twitter.com/xPob7aQLiv

— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) January 21, 2022

… After news of Willis’s request broke, Trump issued a statement calling the investigation a witch hunt and continuing to insist—despite all the recounts—that the vote in Georgia in 2020 was characterized by “massive voter fraud.” He said: “my phone call to the Secretary of State of Georgia was perfect, perhaps even more so than my call with the Ukrainian President, if that’s possible.”

Our failed media ‘betters’…

Sure, Donald Trump tried to steal the January 6 election, and he cheered on a violent attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. But Joe Biden wants to restore a landmark voting rights law that was gutted by Republicans on the Supreme Court.

So they're the same.

— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) January 21, 2022

Saturday Morning Open Thread: We Will Go ForwardPost + Comments (215)

Open Thread: #MoscowMitch Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

by Anne Laurie| January 21, 202211:28 am| 77 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Right to Vote, Voter Suppression

McConnell to colleague Bret Baier: If I were the president, I don't think I'd have a two hour press conference again.

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 21, 2022

Yeah, because #MinorityLeader ‘Speed Bump’ McConnell can’t even manage a ten-minute presser without stepping on his own… tongue:

In case you missed it, Mitch McConnell said the quiet part out loud last night: “African-American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”

Make sure everyone sees this.pic.twitter.com/ReOvHGJcnI

— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) January 20, 2022

Philip Bump, at the Washington Post — “Awkward phrasing isn’t the only problem with his argument”:

Shortly after the Senate voted down a proposed change to filibuster rules — thereby dooming a Democratic push to implement federal voting standards — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other top Republicans held a brief news conference…

A reporter raised the most extreme version of concerns about that change to McConnell, referring to the legislation that would no longer move forward.

“What’s your message for voters of color who are concerned that without the John L. Lewis Voting Rights Act they’re not going to be able to vote in the midterm?” he asked.

McConnell replied, “Well, the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”…

“A recent survey, 94 percent of Americans thought it was easier to vote,” he continued. “This is not a problem. Turnout is up, biggest turnout since 1900. It’s simply — they’re being sold a bill of goods.”

The point about turnout being up significantly in 2020 is true. This was the same point President Biden made during his news conference on Wednesday, that turnout had been so high even without new federal rules, which he presented as a reason for some optimism. But this ignores a crucial point: Turnout was that high because voting access was expanded in response to the coronavirus pandemic. With more states implementing the sorts of changes that the Democratic proposal would standardize — and, of course, with a hyperpolarizing incumbent on the ballot — turnout was up.

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The concern expressed by Democrats is that there has been a backlash to the 2020 turnout that manifests in those new voting laws. Nineteen states passed new laws scaling back voting access. Sometimes those were efforts to unwind new policies that had been implemented for the pandemic. Often, they were broader. The entire point is that the 2020 benchmark provoked a backlash. For McConnell to point to it as proof that the system is doing fine is like a kid trying to assure you he hadn’t broken a vase by pointing to its having been intact when he picked it up.

There’s a useful analogue here. When the Supreme Court decided to remove the preclearance provision from the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. pointed to the lack of a racial disparity in turnout as a reason to do so. He described the law as having been “immensely successful at redressing racial discrimination and integrating the voting process” — and then used that success as a reason to upend the law. In a dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg memorably compared this to “throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”

This is McConnell’s argument now. He’s telling non-White voters that because they didn’t get wet in 2020, there’s no need to bar [other] people from drilling holes in their roofs…

I *am* American. #mitchplease pic.twitter.com/DU1VZnKoCJ

— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) January 20, 2022

We were Americans before America was America. #MitchPlease pic.twitter.com/515oxVZQgz

— Lakota Man (@LakotaMan1) January 20, 2022

I want to personally thank Mitch McConnell

He just mobilized the biggest African American voter turnout for Midterms

— A Black Woman..The End (@battletested5) January 20, 2022

Excellent reminder:

McConnell is not a master of Senate procedure. Constant obstruction requires no skill, nor does hobbling the courts. He's either failed to pass legislation or moved through visionless bills. All while bolstered by the support of an increasingly homogeneous authoritarian caucus.

— Magdi Semrau (@magi_jay) January 20, 2022

Meanwhile, there is no evidence that McConnell had some cunning insight into Manchin & Sinema. He literally just did nothing & watched it all unfold. There's no tangled web here. Just a deeply immoral person who sat back & was rewarded by two people's pompous fecklessness. pic.twitter.com/qdfhJphvpI

— Magdi Semrau (@magi_jay) January 20, 2022

Open Thread: #MoscowMitch Says the Quiet Part Out LoudPost + Comments (77)

Late Night Reminders Open Thread: The National Promissory Note

by Anne Laurie| January 18, 202211:43 pm| 24 Comments

This post is in: Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Right to Vote

how strangely topical

it's almost as though civil rights advocates have been swimming upstream against the same condescending, bad-faith arguments for decades https://t.co/QTSoSj233v

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 18, 2022

Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion. It’s about making it harder to vote, who gets to count the vote, and whether your vote counts at all.

We have to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 18, 2022

‘To truly honor the legacy of the man we celebrate today, we must continue to fight for the freedom to vote, for freedom for all,’ said Vice President Kamala Harris in a #MLKDay speech, urging the Senate to act to bolster right to vote https://t.co/lovh24Q95I pic.twitter.com/MXSSM0m5N0

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 18, 2022

The U.S. economy has never worked fairly for people of color, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says in a speech to mark Martin Luther King Day. Yellen's remarks were recorded for the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network breakfast in Washington. https://t.co/tktxYw3mns

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 17, 2022

The family of Martin Luther King Jr. leads a march for voting rights as the Senate prepares to take up legislation. pic.twitter.com/29erClB7SA

— Sophia Cai (@SophiaCai99) January 17, 2022

From a long thread:

So, I scrapped my original speech and spent the entire first half of it reading excerpts from a bunch of Dr. King's speeches, but without telling anyone that I was doing so, leading the audience to think King's words were mine. And, whew, chile, it was AMAZING.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) January 17, 2022

Dr. King was a radical critic of racism, capitalism and militarism. He didn't die. He was assassinated. And many, including Regan, fought the national holiday we're not commemorating. If you haven't read, in entirety, his speeches, you've been miseducated & I hope that you will

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) January 17, 2022

Late Night Reminders Open Thread: The National Promissory NotePost + Comments (24)

Monday Morning MLK Day Open Thread: Mark the Day

by Anne Laurie| January 17, 20226:51 am| 57 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Pet Rescue, Readership Capture, Right to Vote

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden packed food boxes for the hungry and chatted with volunteers at a food bank as part of a day of service for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The president repeated his call for the child tax credit to be renewed. https://t.co/p6z4SYaXJb

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 16, 2022

As the nation prepares to mark the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., some members of his family are spending it in conservative-leaning Arizona to mobilize support for languishing federal voting rights legislation. https://t.co/GX95kQHFha

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 15, 2022

One possible charity:

Specialized rescue and adoption organizations are helping to rehome pets of terminally ill people and seniors.https://t.co/waaCRl1zqg

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 11, 2022

Monday Morning MLK Day Open Thread: Mark the DayPost + Comments (57)

TGIFriday Open Thread: When Friday the 13th Fell on A Thursday…

by Anne Laurie| January 14, 20228:03 am| 234 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Right to Vote

NEW @SenSchumer says due to COVID and expected winter storm, the Senate will recess tonight and come back to vote Tuesday to consider voting rights and not take the planned MLK week recess.

— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) January 14, 2022

Breaking: House passes Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act & sends to Senate for immediate debate

Not a single GOP House member supported voting rights bill

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) January 13, 2022

“You do hard things in White Houses,” says @PressSec, when asked about several setbacks and congressional opposition.

"We could certainly propose legislation to see if people support bunny rabbits and ice cream but that wouldn’t be very rewarding to the American people."

— Matt Viser (@mviser) January 13, 2022

Let me get this straight: 60-vote threshold was carved up 160 times so senators could pass Trump tax cuts, gas bill & Supreme Ct Justices but when it comes to voting rights, “traditions” & “comity” mean you hug it tight, throw the voters under the senate desks & go home? No way.

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 13, 2022

Four times last year, the majority in the Senate tried to advance legislation on voting rights. And four times last year, Republicans in the Senate used outdated rules to block it. Enough is enough.

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 13, 2022

Was looking for something else and found this one Dec 13, 2020. "Sedition-themed violence" pretty much got it three weeks before January 6. https://t.co/2JkTdZQF1k

— Mig Greengard (@chessninja) January 13, 2022

Gods come and go, but Murphy Rules…

Sinema’s personality, Comey’s sanctimony, McConnell’s nihilism, the butterfly ballot, Weiner’s dick, the timing of Justices Scalia & Ginsburg’s deaths, Office Goodman’s successful decoy move to prevent the massacre of a bunch of Senators…so much hinges on flukes & weirdness

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 13, 2022

TGIFriday Open Thread: When Friday the 13th Fell on A Thursday…Post + Comments (234)

Mid-Morning Open Thread: KILL THE FILIBUSTER

by Anne Laurie| January 13, 202210:32 am| 223 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, President Biden, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Venality, Right to Vote

I'll be clear: to protect our democracy, I support changing the Senate rules to prevent a minority of senators from blocking action on voting rights.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 12, 2022

This confirms that Biden gave a very, very good speech https://t.co/ZQ41h2XneP

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 12, 2022

BREAKING: Chuck Schumer has found a mechanism to enable Democratic leaders in the Senate to bypass an initial Republican filibuster and debate the party's sweeping election reform bills. https://t.co/vWkHybQhF3

— Jon Cooper ???? (@joncoopertweets) January 13, 2022

Sounds like a version of LBJ’s Make ’em deny it tactic…

Democratic leaders have found a mechanism to enable them to bypass an initial Republican filibuster and debate the party’s sweeping election reform bills, according to a new leadership memo obtained by Axios…

Driving the news: The House is expected to take up an amendment in the coming days related to NASA leasing “underutilized” property to private groups. Democratic leaders are referring to this as the “shell bill.”

– It will then strip that legislation of its existing language and replace it with the text for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

– The House would then pass the updated bill and send it to the Senate as a “message.” Then, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will file a motion to concur with the House amendment.

Between the lines: This would allow the Senate — for the first time — to quickly take up the bill and debate it on the floor…

… the problem being that #MoscowMitch *delights* in being known as a ~~pig fornicator~~ racist traitor. But maybe it can peel off a few Repubs from purplish states?

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Mid-Morning Open Thread: KILL THE FILIBUSTERPost + Comments (223)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Kill the Filibuster

by Anne Laurie| January 12, 20228:01 am| 153 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, President Biden, Proud to Be A Democrat, Right to Vote

(Jack Ohman via GoComics.com)
.

… not our democracy. Be nice if we were only fighting the Republicans, but it is what it is.

President Joe Biden made an impassioned plea for U.S. voting rights legislation stalled in Congress, calling it a ‘battle for the soul of America.’ He also made his most direct plea yet for the Senate to change its filibuster rule to pass legislation https://t.co/VH5HE7XzMC pic.twitter.com/7Psv3SFLqB

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 12, 2022

The fight for voting rights takes persistence. As MLK exhorted, “The clock of destiny is ticking out. We must act now before it is too late.” Thank you, @POTUS, for refusing to relent until the work is finished. Welcome back to Georgia where we get good done. #FTVA #JLVRAA

— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) January 10, 2022

Holy crap. Clyburn on MSNBC using the straight-party vote on the 15th Amendment, & Strom Thurmond telling him he was embarrassed by his filibuster of the 1957 civil rights bill, as a couple of two-by-fours right between Manchin’s eyes.

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 12, 2022

Americans support eliminating the filibuster by 24 points. In case any Senators care what Americans think. pic.twitter.com/TOM2FPWb6G

— Nick Knudsen ???? (@NickKnudsenUS) January 11, 2022

normal democracy stuff https://t.co/fxTgOfXd5p

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 12, 2022

Reactions to Biden speech on U.S. voting rights https://t.co/iTFeE0gDtO pic.twitter.com/MS4TWoZFof

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 12, 2022

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Kill the FilibusterPost + Comments (153)

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

This blog will pay for itself.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Militantly superior in their own minds…

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

The willow is too close to the house.

This fight is for everything.

The math demands it!

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.