GOP squashes Freedom to Vote Act

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Our two major political parties are more polarized than they've been in a century. The extremes now dominate our politics and seek to weaponize government power against fellow Americans they consider 'enemies.' The result is crisis after crisis that never get solved: forest fires, water shortages, a never-ending pandemic, inflation and an exploding national debt, the high cost of healthcare, and a loss of faith in our elections. We do not need the extremists, the dividers, or the self-serving opportunists who haunt the halls of Congress today. We need selfless, servant leaders who unite rather than divide, seek solutions rather than attention, and who consistently put the interests of our country first. —Evan McMullin

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** Third strike
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Senate Democrats' latest attempt to overhaul election rules nationwide was blocked yesterday—for the third time this year—by Republicans. All Democrats voted to advance the Freedom to Vote Act, but Republicans were united in opposition to it, leaving it short of the 60 required votes. At the last minute, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer changed his vote to no, making the final tally 49 in favor and 51 opposed. Schumer's parliamentary maneuver enables him to bring the bill up again at a later date, leaving a shred of hope for future action. ([link removed])
* — The legislation being voted on was written after months of intraparty negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin, who had insisted that any voting bill be bipartisan. Manchin negotiated modest changes with an eye to winning Republican support, which then failed to materialize. The Freedom to Vote Act stripped out some measures opposed by Republicans from the broader, House-passed For the People Act and narrowed the scope of some of its provisions. ([link removed])
*
* — "Senate Republicans blocking debate today is an implicit endorsement of the horrid new voter suppression and election subversion laws pushed in conservative states across the country," Schumer said after the vote. "The latest umpteenth iteration is only a compromise in the sense that the left and the far-left argued among themselves about exactly how much power to grab and in which areas," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. "This body will continue to do the job the framers assigned it and stop terrible ideas in their tracks." ([link removed])
*
* — With the legislation stalled, liberal activists are stepping up their calls for President Biden to use his political capital to shake up the Senate and eliminate the filibuster to ease passage of bills. Biden yesterday reiterated his support for the legislation and criticized Republicans for blocking the bill, but he has been reticent to address the filibuster issue. He made no suggestions on how Democrats could overcome GOP opposition. —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])

MORE: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger calls for bipartisan election reform —Axios ([link removed])


** PPH Ed Board: We should heed King's warning
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"A stark warning was made on the floor of the U.S. Senate this week by independent Maine Sen. Angus King, someone who, we have come to know, is careful with his words. … Democracy is fragile, King told his colleagues, although they shouldn't have needed the reminder. Just nine months earlier, many of them had to run for their safety when a mob stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of the presidential election. Our imperfect system of self-government is based on the simple principle that all power comes from the people, who are regularly consulted in frequent elections. Destroying public faith in elections destroys the entire system." —Portland Press Herald ([link removed])

MORE: A dire warning from Florida election officials —Politico ([link removed])


** House debates what to do about Bannon
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The vast majority of House Republicans are expected to oppose a resolution today to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to appear before the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Brushing aside concerns about weakening the institution's future oversight authority and rejecting accusations that they're trying to block Democrats from getting to the bottom of the insurrection, GOP members argue that the committee's work is tainted by partisanship. They also allege that the panel's subpoena for documents and depositions is overly broad and lacks a legitimate legislative purpose. Just a friendly reminder: the proposed Jan. 6 bipartisan commission, which all but 35 House Republicans voted against last May, would have given Republicans veto power over any subpoenas, so their arguments now ring rather hollow. —CNN ([link removed])

MORE: Attorney General Merrick Garland vows to apply 'facts and the law' if Bannon contempt referred to DOJ —USA Today ([link removed])


** Cottle: In defense of centrists
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"Democrats on all sides of this debate are well aware of the stakes. But not all of them have the same values or priorities, politics or ideology. … [The centrists] have serious concerns about pieces of the spending plan, not to mention its transformational nature. Their more liberal colleagues may consider these concerns misguided, ill-informed, or even ridiculous. But this is what happens when a party owes its majority to a Big Tent coalition. Unity is excruciatingly hard to come by. … [Sen. Joe] Manchin and his cohort have a duty to sweat blood in pursuit of a deal that balances the policies their constituents support with broader concerns about the size, shape, and role of government. This is how the sausage gets made." —Michelle Cottle in ([link removed]) The New York Times ([link removed])

Michelle Cottle is a member of the
New York Times editorial board, focusing on U.S. politics.

MORE: Down to the wire on budget bill as Democrats haggle over details —Roll Call ([link removed])
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** Mix-and-match vax
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As the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 nears 730,000, more Americans will soon be able to receive an extra dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots, allowing eligible people initially vaccinated with those shots to get a booster of the same—or even switch. Someone fully vaccinated with Moderna can get a booster with J&J or Pfizer, if they are 65 or older or at high risk. Someone who initially received the J&J product can get a booster dose with Moderna or Pfizer, as long as the person is 18 or older. The lower age threshold for J&J recognizes the vaccine's decreased efficacy compared to its mRNA counterparts. — ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: FDA strongly considers authorizing vaccine boosters for people as young as 40 —The Washington Post ([link removed])


** Focus on illegal immigration
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U.S. authorities detained more than 1.7 million migrants along the Mexico border during the 2021 fiscal year that ended in September, and arrests by the Border Patrol soared to the highest levels ever recorded, according to unpublished U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. In the fiscal years between 2012 and 2020, border arrests averaged about 540,000. The 2021 figure was more than three times that amount. ([link removed])
* — Since taking office, President Biden has halted construction on the border wall, ended the previous administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, reversed key asylum restrictions, and announced a 100-day pause on most deportations and enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also directed Vice President Kamala Harris to address the "root causes" of migration from Central America's Northern Triangle nations—Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. But the strategy has had little to no measurable effect. ([link removed])
*
* — "Migration to the U.S.-Mexico border is now truly global," said Cris Ramón, an independent immigration consultant in Washington. "The implications for immigration policy require a far more comprehensive approach because it's not enough to say you have to deter migration from Mexico or Central America. This has become a far more complex problem for the administration to deal with." ([link removed])

1. — Nobody's happy. Immigrant advocates who backed Biden's candidacy have soured on his presidency lately, with several staging a virtual walkout last weekend during a meeting with White House policy advisers. Biden's proposals for a major immigration overhaul are stalled in Congress, and Republicans are planning to use his border record, one of his lowest-polling issues, as a cudgel in next year's midterm elections. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: White House unveils landmark reports on climate change's threat to national security —Yahoo! News ([link removed])


** Gonzalez: Why I'm leaving the GOP
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"After more than two decades as a Republican, I had seen, met, and worked with the many good folks who make it up. I hoped that the extremism we were seeing—those questioning the results of the 2020 election, those advocating against a peaceful transition of power, those defending the terrorists who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, those ignoring science and advocating for horse dewormer as a public health measure—was a fringe element. While many Republicans failed to show leadership during Trump's presidency, it seemed that in the wake of Jan. 6, those leaders would finally stand up for truth and democracy. I was wrong. Since February, we've witnessed a sad majority of Republicans continue to support the anti-democratic forces in the party." —Robert Gonzalez in ([link removed]) The Arizona Republic
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Robert Gonzalez is an Arizona-based attorney and tech executive.

MORE: Oath Keepers in the State House: How a militia movement took root in the Republican mainstream —ProPublica ([link removed])

Anti-Trumpers should not be happy about the fact that Trump is discouraging his supporters from voting. It is part of his effort to delegitimize elections—and this is what aspiring dictators do to justify taking power for themselves.

Trump does not need to get a majority to support his effort to undermine our elections; he just needs enough motivated people to take things into their own hands. Other countries have shown us what will happen: violence and intimidation, leading to a suspension of democratic institutions.

What Trump is doing is well thought out and very dangerous. We should be very afraid—and do everything we can to stop it. —Ron W., New York
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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