I imagine you’re as frustrated as I am, John.
Voters came out in record numbers in 2020 to make sure Democrats won the White House, the Senate and held the House. It’s the kind of referendum that you would think would lead to big, bold changes in Congress. But instead, the filibuster and supermajority rule have so far prevented the Democrats from delivering what the American people voted for.
Senate Democrats have to depend on every single member of their caucus to support President Biden’s agenda. And the only reason the Democrats even have a chance of passing the Build Back Better agenda (if they get Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema on board) is through a process called Budget Reconciliation that only requires 50 votes.
But Senate Democrats can’t pass the Freedom to Vote Act or the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act with just 50 votes. Passing voting rights legislation would require 60 votes. And having the President’s agenda held up because of the whim of one or two Senators is no way to legislate.
To put it plainly, 50 Democrats in the Senate is NOT enough, John.
Here at RuralVote.org, we’re crunching the numbers and we’re getting really, really close to announcing our 2022 targets. We’re going to be focusing on 39 rural counties that will decide control of the U.S. Senate.
For far too long, Democrats have ignored rural America to their own peril. By 2040, about 70 percent of Americans are expected to live in the 15 largest states. They will have only 30 senators representing them, while the remaining 30 percent of Americans will have 70 senators representing them.
We must change the game in rural America if we are to win future Senate and presidential elections. And we must elect more Democrats to the Senate!
We have a couple of exciting announcements in the weeks ahead. I’ll keep you posted about what we’re cooking up for 2022. More soon!
Standing Tall for All
J.D. Scholten
Paid for by RuralVote.org PAC. Not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee.