Hi John,
Recently, I've been saying something that seems to have caught the attention of a lot of folks: "Joe Manchin is the new Mitch McConnell." Today, I want to take a moment here to explain what I mean by that:
Back when President Obama first took office, Mitch McConnell vowed to do everything in his power to stop his agenda. When President Biden took office this past January, he renewed that vow — and now, lawmakers like Joe Manchin are joining him in doing just that.
Both senators refuse to end the filibuster. Both refuse to pass the For The People Act, which would be a critical first step in establishing fair elections and making our government more accountable to the people. Both continue to stand in the way of us accessing our potential as a democracy. Manchin's current actions show us that he is just as bad as Republican leaders like Mitch McConnell who are prepared to sabotage fundamental democratic processes in order to hold and expand power at any cost.
Furthermore, this continued obstruction of social and economic progress doesn't serve the American people, Republican or Democrat. It serves the interests of corporations, billionaires, and the outrageously wealthy. Joe Manchin may uphold our current political system, but the system is much bigger than him.
I'm frustrated, John. But no matter what, I'm going to continue calling out all those who refuse to do the right thing for our future. Because as elected officials, we have a firm responsibility to bring the much-needed change our constituents voted us in to execute. And if we do not deliver this change now, our party will lose upcoming elections.
I'm committed to building my time and priorities in Congress around legislating to save our democracy and to work towards a future where we can all thrive. But I can't do it alone, and your support is critical to our shared success.
To be honest, John, your support right now couldn't come at a better time. My team and I had a meeting about our fundraising for this quarter the other day, and they told me that we need to raise at least $10,000 over email by this upcoming Tuesday if we want to keep pace with our fundraising goals for Q2 and ambitious plans for this year and beyond.
But above all, we gotta get mobilized — because democracy is fragile, and right now, ours is hanging by a thread. We must take full advantage of this moment and to continue to demand change without compromise from our Senate leaders, and urge them to reject the status quo.
Thanks for being in this fight with me, John. Peace and love,
Jamaal Bowman
