| Friend, Last week, Capitol Police officers shared harrowing testimony of how white supremacists were “sent by Trump” to attack the U.S. Capitol and prevent the peaceful transfer of power on January 6. But most Republicans refused to listen to the testimony, and even doubled down on their lies about the election and the insurrection in the media.(1) And yet Dianne Feinstein says she will only support ending the filibuster “if democracy were in jeopardy . . . and I don’t see it being jeopardy right now.”(2) She’s got to be kidding. Republicans not only aided and abetted the January 6 insurrection but also used the filibuster to block an independent, nonpartisan commission to investigate the attempted coup.(3) And now they’re defending the attack and downplaying the horrific day as a tourist visit.(4) This is a five-alarm fire for our democracy, and to put out the, blaze Sen. Feinstein needs to step up and end the filibuster -- or step down. We’re printing up thousands of posters to paste all over her hometown of San Francisco, demanding she do just that. Feinstein clings to the myth that the U.S. Senate is or could be a place of bipartisan comity, where the filibuster fosters broad consensus on major policy issues of the day.(5) It's complete fantasy. GOP senators won’t even support an independent investigation into a violent insurrection that put their own lives at risk, making it clear that they don't care about truth or democracy. They're willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto their power, no matter how much it hurts the rest of us. The GOP is still the party of Trump -- a minority party desperately grasping for relevance, trying to score political points with an increasingly extremist and violent base. The filibuster is their weapon to make American "great again" by stopping progress and imposing Jim Crow-era laws. Republicans are invoking the filibuster to block the bipartisan commission and voting rights legislation. At the state level, they’ve already passed 30 voter suppression laws, and literally hundreds of more potential laws are in the hopper.(6) They’re all fueled by the same Big Lie that incited the Jan. 6 riot. Feinstein has given some signs that she’ll vote to reform the filibuster -- but we’re quickly running out of time to protect voting rights, raise the minimum wage, stem the climate crisis, and more. We're printing up posters and distributing PDFs that people can print on their own -- to send a clear message to Sen. Dianne Feinstein: Step up or step down. Will you chip in to demand that Sen. Feinstein face the facts and vote to end the filibuster? Yours in the fight for democracy, Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Caitlin, Jay, Lindsay, LisaMarie, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team) PS: Courage California is fighting for equity and justice across the state and country. Will you become a monthly donor and help sustain our work? Donations go to support all of Courage California's work for a more progressive California and country. Follow us now on Facebook or Twitter! Footnotes:  |
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