Moments ago, I wanted to cry watching Reverend Raphael Warnock make the case on the Senate floor for doing the right thing in this "moral moment" on voting rights.
Responding to Joe Manchin's irrational insistence on Republican support to overturn Republican voter suppression laws, Warnock asked, "I just have to ask: bipartisanship at what cost?"
Warnock recalled that Manchin's hero, former Sen. Robert Byrd, "said his greatest regret was filibustering the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. Robert Byrd learned from history. Will we?"
The Senate is now debating changing Senate rules on C-SPAN 2. But Warnock's powerful speech was vindication of years of hard work by so many people, including you.
Share Sen. Warnock's speech on Facebook here. And, share it on Twitter here.
One reporter declares, "Warnock is so good at this it's almost unfair to the other senators." Here is just some of what Warnock said that has the whole world talking tonight.
On bipartisanship...
"When it comes to something as fundamental as voting rights, I just have to ask: bipartisanship at what cost? Who is being asked to foot the bill for this bipartisanship? And is the cost liberty itself? I submit that that's a cost too high and a bridge too far."
On the importance of the filibuster...
"So when it comes to the question of procedure and the filibuster, let me be clear. I believe that voting rights are more important than a procedural rule. And if taking action requires a change in the rules, then it is time to change the rules."
On the late Senator Robert Byrd, who passionately defended the filibuster in his day...
"As we consider the filibuster, the name of the senator from West Virginia, Robert Byrd inevitably comes up. We shouldn't quote him as if he is scripture. He didn't always get it right. He said his greatest regret was filibustering the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. Robert Byrd learned from history. Will we?"
On the true nature of voter suppression...
"It isn't just restrictions about water... the more fundamental question is that why are the lines so long in the first place. For some Americans this is not your experience, but it is the experience of so many of your fellow Americans."
On invoking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while using arguments about states' rights...
"You cannot remember Martin Luther King Jr. and dismember his legacy at the same time. You can argue whatever side you want. You do not get to argue both sides. I will not sit quietly while some make Dr. King a victim of identity theft. You do not get to offer praises in memory of Dr. King and then marshal the same kinds of states rights arguments that were used against Dr. King and against the civil rights movement."
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, PCCC co-founder (@AdamGreen)
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