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Indivisibles,

Ezra here with some breaking news and an update on what comes next. All
fifty Senate Democrats (including Manchin and Sinema!) supported beginning
debate on the Freedom to Vote Act -- the current version of the big
democracy reform bill that we’ve been fighting for all year. As expected,
McConnell and his GOP allies filibustered to prevent that debate. So now
I’m emailing you to talk about what this means and what’s next -- and,
yes, also to [ [link removed] ]ask for money to power the fight. Read on.

Why did we need yet another failed vote on democracy reform?

Answer: For Manchin.

The previous version of this democracy bill tacitly had Manchin’s support,
but he wasn’t fully bought in. The Freedom to Vote Act is the compromise
democracy bill -- he helped write it, making it worse in some ways and
better in others. Overall, what we got is an imperfect bill that is still
pretty darn good -- it ends gerrymandering, helps get money out of
politics, makes voting day a national holiday, and rolls back the voter
suppression and election subversion bills that have been making their way
through GOP states this year from Arizona to Texas to Georgia to New
Hampshire. The debate is no longer about bill substance -- it’s about
whether we will force a vote on the bill by amending the filibuster.

What does this failed vote do to move the ball forward?

Answer: It demonstrated Democratic unity and GOP opposition.

There were two goals of going through this process of creating a new
version of the democracy bill. First, we needed Manchin fully bought in.
This is now the “Manchin” democracy bill, with the full support of every
single Democratic senator. Second, we needed to demonstrate beyond a
reasonable doubt the the GOP would uniformly oppose any compromise bill. I
know, I know -- that seems like it should have been obvious to anybody
with a passing acquaintance with the legislative Grim Reaper, Mitch
McConnell, right? Well, Manchin needed convincing on this point. Manchin
was given latitude to try to find any Republicans to support it. He got
nada, nothing, zilch. Without a single Republican, let alone ten, it’s
clear to everyone now that the only way this bill gets a vote is if Senate
Democrats act to reform the filibuster.

What will the endgame look like?

Answer: A successful end to reconciliation followed by a showdown on the
filibuster.

We need Biden throwing his weight behind this fight, and that could be
coming soon. Democracy reform has always had Biden’s support, but it’s
never been his top priority. His top priority has always been
infrastructure and the Build Back Better economic agenda. As long as
Congress is still negotiating that “reconciliation” bill with Manchin and
Sinema, Biden will not be throwing his full weight getting those two
senators onboard with filibuster reform.

But the endgame is now coming into focus. Once the reconciliation fight is
over -- which could come as soon as the coming weeks -- that frees up the
legislative calendar and President Biden’s time. In the time period
between the completion of the reconciliation legislative fight and the end
of the year, we will have a brief window of opportunity to call the
question on the filibuster. Down one path is a vote to reform the
filibuster and save democracy. Down the other path is a vote against any
changes to the filibuster -- a vote that will allow McConnell to kill the
Freedom to Vote Act. It is our job to make that choice as stark as
possible.

Why are you asking me for money?

Answer: Glad you asked. We want to finish this fight, and it costs money
to do that.

Indivisible had long planned to make the fight for democracy our top
priority this year. That’s why we wrote a book on democracy after Trump
and directed the entirety of the book’s royalties to this democracy
campaign. It’s why we held a national convening back in 2019 to focus on
the filibuster and democracy reform. And it’s why we’ve trying to leave it
all on the field this year.

But let me be honest: this has dragged on a lot longer than any of us
wanted or expected. And we have a budget gap we need to fill if we’re
going to do everything we can to finish this fight.

We have big things planned! We’re working with our partners right now on a
massive nationwide action to show senators that we won’t accept any more
delays -- it’s time to act on democracy and eliminate the filibuster to do
it. We have ads we want to run in Arizona (and around the country -- to
the tune of $200k!) and swag we want to send to activists in West
Virginia. We want to drive calls to key senators and holdouts. And we want
to get a massive amount of press coverage so that congressional leadership
and President Biden feel the pressure and support to get this done. Our
allies in the Senate advise us that this is EXACTLY what we need to do to
create the space for a deal to be reached.

Some of this stuff we can do on the cheap, but much of it costs money. You
know Indivisible doesn’t take money from corporations or political
figures. Grassroots donations are our single largest source of support. So
when we face a budget gap like this, it’s my job to level with you
directly and ask if you have a few bucks to help us close the gap and
finish this fight. So let me level with you directly and ask: do you have
a few bucks to help us close the gap and finish this fight?

[ [link removed] ]If so, click here to throw us $21 to help us finish the fight for our
democracy in 2021. Or if you want, use one of these handy one-click
donation links to double or triple that:

If you’ve saved your information with ActBlue Express Lane, your donation
to Indivisible Project will go through immediately:

[ [link removed] ]Donate $21 >>

[ [link removed] ]Donate $42 >>

[ [link removed] ]Donate $63 >>

[ [link removed] ]Donate another amount >>

This is it. We’ve got this narrow -- and narrowing -- path to victory on
democracy reform. We here at Indivisible National will do everything we
can to get us there. And whether you can donate to help fuel our fire,
show up at events in your hometown to push your holdout senators, or make
calls from afar -- it’s an honor to be standing together with you in this
fight for our republic.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin
Co-founder, Indivisible

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