John, the Senate filibuster -- and any elected officials who still defend it -- are putting our democracy in grave danger.
Let me explain.
Right now, more than 400 voter suppression bills have been introduced at the state level -- many targeting Black and Brown voters in states like Texas and Georgia.
At the same time, politicians are drawing gerrymandered maps rigged for their own partisan advantage. And much of this anti-democracy manipulation is backed by Big Money special interests pouring in millions of dollars -- often in secret.
BEWARE. If the 2022 midterm elections are held under these conditions, millions of eligible Americans will be silenced and shut out. This easily -- and quite deliberately -- clears a path back to power for the anti-democracy, conspiracy-peddling forces led by former President Donald Trump.
THE GOOD NEWS: 50 senators are now on the record and ready to solve these problems by passing the Freedom to Vote Act.
THE BAD NEWS: These 50 votes mean little unless we fix the filibuster. You see, if we don’t, Senate Republicans will use it to block not only this groundbreaking anti-corruption legislation, but also climate action, workers’ rights, and other legislation to fight inequities.
Those are the stakes we’re up against. So long as Mitch McConnell is allowed to hold our nation’s priorities hostage by abusing the Senate’s rules, Congress will remain largely gridlocked.
That’s why it’s time to draw a line in the sand -- and increase our massive public pressure on several key senators like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema who, despite their support for voting rights, are still defending McConnell’s ability to shut down our government and bury the Freedom to Vote Act in his legislative graveyard.
And it also means that President Biden must back up his words with leadership. The President has already said he’s open to changing the filibuster -- and now, he needs to use the full weight of his presidency and his bully pulpit to do so, instead of sacrificing his entire agenda in order to protect the filibuster.
We have just a few short weeks to act -- here’s how we’ll get it done:
- Every day, Common Cause volunteers are calling thousands of voters in states like West Virginia, Arizona, and elsewhere -- connecting them directly to their senators to make sure they know that their constituents are looking to them to save our democracy.
- We’re also organizing among the constituencies these key senators will listen to -- like our letter signed by over 500 Arizona small businesses to Sen. Sinema, alongside similar efforts in Georgia, New Hampshire, and Delaware.
- And we’ve held dozens of on-the-ground mobilizations to show that Americans are united behind the Freedom to Vote Act -- and making sure lawmakers and the media are paying attention.
I’ve heard directly from key Senate offices that our strategy is working. And Majority Leader Schumer has publicly committed to bringing voting rights legislation up for another Senate vote -- which means now is the time to put massive pressure on senators in their home states.
But if we don’t act quickly, this once-in-a-generation opportunity will slip through our fingers.
I don’t want to hand our democracy over to the vote suppressors -- and if you don’t either, I need your immediate help to fuel Common Cause’s response.
Your support for our Emergency Mobilization will help ensure we see this through to the end. If you believe, as I do, that this moment demands we give it our all, I hope you will rush your contribution of $3 or more today.
The next few weeks will quite literally determine what sort of democracy you and I leave for the next generation. Our action will determine whether everyone -- or only a privileged few -- has a meaningful say in the decisions that affect us all.
That’s why I believe that failure is not an option -- and why I am so glad to know I can count on your immediate action right now.
Thanks for all you do,
Karen Hobert Flynn, President
and the team at Common Cause
