A Message For The President
Dispatches on the For The People Act (Edition #23)
Hello, dear reader; I’m back from vacation! But don’t worry, even during my time off I was on the frontlines of the fight to protect American democracy. On Saturday, I attended a Good Trouble Vigil to honor Rep. John Lewis in Washington D.C.. It was a fantastic event, and it generated significant press coverage. There were over 100 other vigils across the country — all of which built pressure to pass the For The People Act.
This week we will focus on the continued fight for filibuster reform and highlight the hard work that activists on the ground have been doing.
But first, a few updates
On Monday, the Senate Rules Committee held a field hearing in Georgia to learn more about anti-voter legislation that recently passed through the state legislature and to make the case for the For The People Act. You can watch the recording here. We expect more of these field hearings in the coming weeks.
The Brennan Center released its July Voting Laws Roundup. It’s main finding? “Between January 1 and July 14, 2021, at least 18 states enacted 30 laws that restrict access to the vote.” In the United States, there is quickly emerging a two-tiered democratic system. While some states are working to make voting more accessible, others are aggressively suppressing the vote. Without the For The People Act to set baseline voting standards, this divide will only grow worse.
Bad News for Sen. Sinema: A new Data for Progress poll shows that likely Democratic primary voters in Arizona are not happy with Sen. Sinema’s pro-filibuster stance. 66% of Democratic respondents said they would support a primary challenger to Sinema if that candidate opposed the filibuster. Only 22% said they would prefer Sinema. Might the threat of a primary challenge in 2024 push Sen. Sinema to act on the filibuster? We will see.
The Time is Now Mr. President
During a CNN town hall on Wednesday, President Biden briefly discussed his stance on the filibuster. In essence, he expressed his desire to return to a talking filibuster (for an explanation of a talking filibuster, click here). But the president also said that he did not want the fight over the filibuster to get in the way of his agenda. Biden fears that Congress will spend too much time debating filibuster reform instead of passing legislation to help the American people.
I’m going to be honest: This is a baffling position. Let me explain.
First, Biden fears that the filibuster fight will get in the way of his agenda...But the filibuster is already derailing his agenda and will continue to do so, unless it is reformed or eliminated. His presidency will, in large part, be defined by what happens with the Senate filibuster. There are a limited number of budget reconciliations (not subjected to the filibuster) that the Senate can attempt, and the GOP is committed to blocking virtually any bill subject to the 60-vote threshold. To provide for the American people, Senate Democrats will have to reform the filibuster.
Secondly, whether the President chooses to admit it, the filibuster fight has already been taking place for months. Hundreds have been arrested and tens of thousands have engaged in grassroots activism to reform or eliminate the filibuster. There has been a near constant stream of op-eds about the filibuster and the bills currently being blocked (including the For The People Act, the Equality Act, and the Jan. 6 Commission). Moreover, over a thousand political scientists, hundreds of scholars of democracy, and countless civil rights and advocacy groups have pushed for filibuster reform. And just this week, dozens of former Senate chief of staffs joined the fight. Consistent polling shows that Americans care more about passing legislation than about an anti-democratic Senate rule.
It is frustrating that President Biden is not leading the filibuster fight. While it's good that he supports some level of reform, confusing statements like those he made at the town hall will make it harder to ultimately reform the filibuster.
The upshot of all this? We have to continue to pressure the President to use his bully pulpit to advocate for filibuster reform.
Recap of a Few Recent Actions:
On Saturday, there were roughly 150 vigils around the country to honor Rep. John Lewis and to call for the passage of the two bills he championed: the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Check out an article covering the vigils here.
On Monday, 75 people were arrested for peacefully protesting the Senate filibuster and rallying for the For The People Act, the restoration of the Voting Rights Act, and more. These frontline activists were part of a larger women-led direct action by the Poor People’s Campaign. Read more about this event here.
The Congressional Black Caucus recently honored the Black women who have been on the frontlines of the fight to protect the right to vote. Read more about their efforts in The Hill here.
Yesterday, more activists, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), were arrested peacefully protesting the Senate filibuster and overall Senate inaction on voting rights. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) was arrested last week in a similar action. Read about both of these actions here.
Upcoming Events:
The Poor People's Campaign Continues its 'Season of Nonviolent Direct Action' with actions in D.C. and around the country. Check out the events here.
The Poor People’s Campaign also announced a multi-day 27-mile march in Texas for voting rights and filibuster elimination. Watch their launch event here and learn more about the event here.
Next week I will (hopefully) have information about a Week of Action being planned in the first week of August. Stay tuned.
Don’t forget to subscribe to get more updates about the For The People Act and exciting future events.
In the News:
Oren Oppenheim of ABC News reports on the Senate Rules Committee’s first field hearing on voting rights. In the Committee’s first field hearing in 20 years, Senators learned about anti-voter legislation in Georgia and why federal voting rights legislation is needed.
NYU Law Professor Eugene Fidell makes the case for why conservative senators should support the elimination of the filibuster. Noting that the filibuster is not in the Constitution, Fidell argues that the framers purposely did not create a supermajority requirement for legislation.
Walker Bragman explains that the clock is ticking to prevent extreme gerrymandering in the upcoming decade. Democrats must pass the For The People Act by August 16th in order for its anti-gerrymandering provisions to go into full effect for 2022.
Don’t forget to keep your friends, family, and colleagues in the loop by sharing this Substack with them.
Social Media Roundup:
Let’s be frank: there are A LOT of tweets, posts, and general conversation about the For The People Act. In this section, we give you an overview of the tweets and media you really need to see.
More Ways to Help!
We are entering possibly one of the most critical moments for American democracy since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We need all the help we can get to push the For The People Act over the finish line! Here are more ways to join the fight to protect American democracy:
Call your senators and tell them that you support reforming the filibuster to pass H.R. 1. You can find your senators’ phone numbers, as well as where they stand on the filibuster, using our handy filibuster tracker!
Common Cause, Center for Common Ground, RepresentUs, and End Citizens United are organizing regular phone banks in support of the For the People Act. This is a great opportunity to spread the word about H.R. 1 and help constituents contact their Senators in support of the bill. Check them out here, here, here, and here.
Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Action is hosting Hot Call Summer. Plug into their actions here.
Common Cause also hosts regular text banks on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sign up to join them here.
Write a letter to the editor in your local paper sharing your support of H.R. 1 and urging your Senators to pass it. Not sure how to write a letter to the editor? Reach out to us at info@equalcitizens.us and we can help!
Share our newsletter, our podcast, the articles included above, and the resources on H.R. 1 below on social media and tell your friends why you support #ForThePeopleAct
Extra, Extra:
If, after reading our newsletter, you still want to know more about the For The People Act or Equal Citizens you can find more information here! If you have questions about H.R. 1 you want us to answer in our Substack, tweet at us with #HR1Substack! Also, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more updates throughout the week.
Relevant Resources:
Here are a few resources on the “For the People Act” if you have questions:
Equal Citizens launched a filibuster tracker, so you can see where your senator stands on the filibuster. It also includes their phone numbers and their Twitter handles, so you can get in touch with them directly and push them to support filibuster reform!
The Brennan Center for Justice created a wonderful guide to H.R. 1. Check it out here. They also created an in-depth report about racism and disenfranchisement due to incarceration.
Recently, the Brennan Center also published a report on why H.R. 1 brings us closer to an inclusive democracy. Check it out here.
Here is the link to the House website on the For the People Act.
Flood social media with these awesome graphics about the For the People Act!
There is a lot of misinformation about H.R. 1, and the amount of misinformation will only grow as the fight heats up. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure everyone has all the facts on the bill - here is an article from Media Matters that can help you fact check. Additionally, the Brennan Center published a piece to help you decipher fact from fiction. Check it out here.
More About Me:
Kevin Rissmiller is a fellow at Equal Citizens and a Goodwin-Niering Scholar at Connecticut College majoring in Government and exploring sociology, economics, and applied statistics. In his free time, you will find him at Dunkins or (pre-pandemic) playing ultimate frisbee. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
If you want more updates on H.R. 1 from Kevin, then subscribe here!