Joe Biden has conceded he is unsure when Democrats would pass the voting rights bill. Two of his party’s own senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, declined to abolish the filibuster yet again.
Meanwhile, Democrats have failed to get a Senate vote on the voting bills before their self-imposed deadline of passing it by Martin Luther King Jr. day.
Senators Put the Final Nail in the Voting Bill’s Coffin
Despite meeting with Democrat senators, Biden failed to bring everyone on board to pass a bill the House passed along party lines.
After speaking to the senators, Biden told the media, swearing to God, he does not know the future of the bills. However, the president indicated he would fight for these so-called voting rights, as long as he is occupying the White House.
Schumer and Biden talk a lot about "voting rights," but they never describe what the bill actually does.
That's because the bill gives taxpayer funding to campaigns, mandates ballot harvesting, and abolishes voter-ID laws.
This isn't voting rights. It's an election takeover.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) January 13, 2022
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, on the other hand, announced a delay on the vote for the bills, saying the chamber would not do it before Tuesday.
According to him, COVID devastations and the potential winter storms are the reasons for extending the vote beyond Martin Luther King Jr. day.
This came at a time when Democrat Senator Brian Schatz tested positive for coronavirus; Democrats currently lack the simple majority, even if Manchin and Sinema vote with them.
In spite of having fewer numbers than needed, Schumer is still depending on false optimism as he vowed to start debating on the bills on Tuesday.
Although Sinema reiterated her support for both election bills, she noted even passing these bills with a razor-thin majority will not reform election infrastructure at all.
Sinema stated that supporting these laws will only be like tackling the symptoms of the disease, while ignoring the real disease as it is.
BREAKING: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema praises proposed voting rights bills but reiterates support for filibuster rule, saying "I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country." https://t.co/ihVuth6xKF pic.twitter.com/GVNP9wBLYe
— ABC News (@ABC) January 13, 2022
Hunger strike for the stalled voting rights bills launched
After meeting with Senate Democrats, Biden met Manchin and Sinema in person. According to the White House, this was a “respectful exchange of views” between everyone.
Instead of supporting Democrats’ crafted voting bills, many Republicans are showing their willingness to reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887. This will make it hard for local officials to cancel election results, but Democrats have opposed this proposal.
Meanwhile, many protestors launched a hunger strike in Washington, highlighting they will continue until the approval of the bills.
Brandon Ortega, a student of the Arizona State University, asserted these strikes are easier to endure, compared to bearing the consequences of voter suppression.
Ortega noted that passing voting rights legislation is important, after seeing many states passing their own voting laws.
Reportedly, the major goal of Democrats is to show their voters they tried to pass the voting rights bills, but failed, as the opposition of both senators is long withstanding.
Likewise, the Biden administration already knows Manchin and Sinema will not change their minds.
