[1]U.S. Senator Chris Murphy
Friends -
Yesterday, Senate Democrats put the Freedom to Vote Act on the floor for a vote.
When Republicans refused to consider the For the People Act or the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, some of my Democratic colleagues got together to craft this alternative.
It was intended to be a bipartisan compromise bill to strengthen voting rights and our democracy. The kind of legislation that Senator Manchin believed could get Republicans to come to their senses and restore a functioning level of bipartisanship in the Senate.
And the truth is, this is legislation that historically would have received nearly universal support in Congress. But today’s Republican Party is fundamentally broken.
I wish this weren’t the case, but it doesn’t look like Republicans are willing to provide any support to preserve voting rights and our democracy. Their party has given up on democracy. They believe their path back to power is dependent on fewer people voting. It sucks, but that's where we are.
The solution is clear and quite simple: Democrats must end the filibuster.
If you agree, add your name to tell my Democratic colleagues that it is time to end the filibuster once and for all. With our democracy and the right to vote on the line, it is urgent that we act.
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I know some argue that doing this would have unforeseen consequences the next time Republicans are in power, but the truth is they are already getting their agenda through.
They pushed tax cuts for billionaires and corporations through the reconciliation process, and they’ve packed the courts with far-right ideologues who want to overturn our progress — on Roe v. Wade and voting rights and gun safety legislation and beyond.
And frankly, we shouldn’t be naive enough to believe that Republicans have any respect for Senate rules. There’s no doubt in my mind that they will end the filibuster at the first sign it interferes with their agenda — like they did to get their ideologues on the Supreme Court.
The filibuster is not some longstanding tradition that must be preserved; it is a dangerous threat to American democracy. For most of our nation’s history, it was used infrequently — reserved almost exclusively for racist white senators who wanted to block Civil Rights legislation.
The good news is that far more of my Democratic colleagues are where I’m at on this issue. But we need every Senate Democrat to help us get rid of this Jim Crow relic once and for all.
Please sign my petition today calling for an end to the filibuster. We need as many voices as possible demanding change to put pressure on my Democratic colleagues who want to keep the filibuster intact.
The status quo in this country is broken, and our democracy is being attacked from within by one of our major political parties.
The growing populist fervor is a clear indication that the American people are absolutely tired of elites substituting their own judgment for the will of the electorate under some pretense of protecting people from themselves.
Upholding the filibuster usurps power from the electorate under the patently false presumption that the American people cannot be trusted to govern themselves — all at a moment when, more than anything, people just want to trust that their vote counts for something.
It’s time for this to change. Thank you in advance for making your voice heard.
Every best wish,
Chris Murphy
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