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US voting rightsHouse Democrats tell Senate: exempt voting rights bill from filibusterFilibuster exception would allow Democrats to push through their voting rights reform bill over unanimous Republican opposition Hugo Lowell in Washington DCTue 13 Jul 2021 03.00 EDTLast modified on Tue 13 Jul 2021 03.01 EDTTop Democrats in the House are spearheading a new effort to convince the Senate to carve out a historic exception to the filibuster that would allow them to push through their marquee voting rights and election reform legislation over unanimous Republican opposition.The sweeping measure to expand voting rights known as S1 fell victim to a Republican filibuster last month after Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and his leadership team unified the conference to sink the bill in a party-line vote.Now, furious at Republicans for weaponizing the filibuster against Joe Biden’s legislative agenda, House majority whip James Clyburn is pushing Senate Democrats to end its use for constitutional measures, according to sources familiar with the matter.The rare and forceful effort from a member of the House leadership to pressure changes in the Senate underscores the alarm among Democrats that the filibuster may be an insurmountable obstacle as they race to overturn a wave of Republican ballot restrictions.Ending the use of the filibuster for constitutional measures – and lowering the threshold to pass legislation to a simple majority in the 50-50 Senate – is significant as it would almost certainly pave the way for Democrats to expand voting across the US.The voting rights and election reform legislation remains of singular importance to Democrats as they seek to counter new voter restrictions in Republican-led states introduced in response to Trump’s lies about a stolen 2020 presidential election.Clyburn’s proposal to change Senate rules is intended to be limited. It would not eliminate the filibuster entirely, and would allow senators in the minority party to continue to deploy the procedural tactic on other types of legislation.The problem, as Democrats see it, is that Republicans in recent years have all but rewritten Senate rules to force supermajorities even for bills that carry bipartisan support. Filibustering bills, once extremely rare, has now become routine.The proposal to create an exception to the filibuster for constitutional measures mirrors the exception Democrats carved out for judicial nominations in 2013, after Republicans blocked former President Obama’s picks for cabinet posts and the federal judiciary.Clyburn’s proposal is particularly notable, the sources said, since it is broadly supported by the rest of the House Democratic leadership and is considered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be the only way to break the logjam in the Senate.The effort to create exceptions to the filibuster is being led by Clyburn in large part because of the influence he carries with the White House and the affinity he enjoys with Biden on a personal level, the sources said. Clyburn, a South Carolina congressman, was influential in securing his state for Biden in the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination – something that rescued Biden’s campaign from disaster.When Biden endorsed partial reforms to the filibuster in March, the prospect of Democrats taking action to defang the minority party’s ability to stall legislation, shifted almost overnight from a theoretical question to a possible reality on Capitol Hill.The details of what Biden endorsed was far less important than the fact he backed reform at all, and Clyburn, encouraged by that reception, has spoken to White House counsellor Steve Ricchetti and Vice President Harris to back his proposal, the sources said.McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, told the Guardian on Monday he was deeply unimpressed by Clyburn’s maneuvers. “If it’s not broken, it doesn’t need fixing,” McConnell said of the filibuster, adding he would “absolutely” oppose any changes.Clyburn’s outreach to top Senate Democrats and the Biden administration comes after Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer brought the issue of filibuster reform to the forefront by forcing votes last month on some of Biden’s most high-profile measures.The idea was to show to moderate Democrats opposed to filibuster reform – most notably Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema – that Republicans under McConnell will sink any Democratic policy proposals in an attempt to obstruct the administration.Schumer is still strategizing over how to advance S1 after vowing to reintroduce the bill following its defeat, according to a source familiar with his thinking. “In the fight for voting rights, this vote was the starting gun, not the finish line,” Schumer said.But carving out an exception to the filibuster for constitutional measures such as voting rights legislation, first floated by the number three Senate Democrat Patty Murray, appears to be the primary option despite resistance from the likes of Manchin and Sinema.Democrats open to making the change have previously indicated that their argument that the minority party should not have the power to repeatedly block legislation with widespread support resonates with the wider American public.They have also suggested that only partially ending its use could have fewer consequences for them should their political fortunes reverse as soon as after the 2022 midterms and they are thrust into the minority, trying to block Republican legislation.“The people did not give Democrats the House, Senate and White House to compromise with insurrectionists,” House Democrat Ayanna Pressley wrote on Twitter after Republicans blocked S1, illustrating the sentiment. “Abolish the filibuster so we can do the people’s work.”TopicsUS voting rightsUS SenateHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsDemocratsnewsReuse this content More
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The ObserverNew York‘My story resonates’: India Walton details the life experience that put her on a mayoral path A candidate for Buffalo’s mayor seat, Walton attributes her success to ‘really experiencing so many tragedies and traumas’Erum SalamSun 11 Jul 2021 03.00 EDTIndia Walton was just 14 when she had her first baby. After leaving a home for young mothers, and quitting high school at 19 when her twins were born, she went on to get her GED (the general educational development test for those who did not complete their schooling), have a fourth child and become a nurse.Now she’s firmly on the path to becoming the mayor of Buffalo, New York – the first socialist mayor elected to a US city since 1960, when mayor Frank Zeidler of Milwaukee, Wisconsin left office.Once seen as a long shot in the race for the Democratic party mayoral nomination against Byron Brown, a 15-year establishment incumbent, Walton may soon make history in more ways than one. Not only would she be the first socialist mayor of a US city in decades, but she would also be Buffalo’s first female mayor.Ex-police captain Eric Adams wins Democratic primary for New York mayorRead moreWalton’s nomination success created headlines and provided a shot in the arm for America’s socialists, who see a chance of wielding real power in a big city.When asked to what she attributed her success, Walton said: “The struggle. The struggle of being a black woman, of being a teenage mother, of growing up poor, and really experiencing so many tragedies and traumas.”Buffalo is the second-largest city in New York state, with a population of just over 250,000. Located on the shores of Lake Erie, it’s next door to Canada.With a population that is 36.5% black and 12.3% Latino, it’s rich in diversity but poor compared with the average US standard of living.According to the US census, the median household income for the city is around $37,300 (about £27,000), just over half that of the national figure. The city, once a centre for railroad commerce, steel manufacturing and shipping, is now struggling, with 30% of residents living below the poverty line.While she lacks a political background, Walton said: “My experience is the Buffalo experience. When I was growing up, we had one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates in the nation. I was a part of those stats. But I overcame. I think it’s a remarkable story that resonates with a lot of people who are average people in Buffalo.”Although Walton beat Brown – a traditional Democrat – in the primary and thus secured the Democratic nomination, he won’t go down without a fight.Brown refused to concede the result and has launched a campaign, asking voters to write in his name on the November ballot.Brown also refused to debate with Walton during the campaign. “He didn’t even acknowledge that there was an election happening. And the fact he now is not cooperating – it just speaks to his character,” she said. Despite her victory and seemingly smooth path to office in the majority Democratic Buffalo, Walton said she still can’t rest until the November election is over. “We won, but it wasn’t a landslide,” she said. Walton is not afraid of her socialist identity. In a video circulated on social media, Walton was asked directly by the press if she considers herself a socialist. Without missing a beat, she replied: “Oh, absolutely.”Her quick response is reflective of a new sentiment felt by a younger, far-left constituency inspired by democratic socialist trailblazers such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.‘First of many’: socialist India Walton defeats four-term Buffalo mayor in primary upset Read moreThey are unafraid to align themselves with politics branded controversial by establishment Democrats and those on the right. The refusal to shy away from the “s” word many Democrats deem a handicap or even political suicide could be indicative of a new approach on the left that is expanding.“It’s just semantics,” Walton said. “We all want the same thing but we’re allowing the right to use our language against us as a dog whistle and as a way to make people afraid. For me, it’s more about policies. We have to stop coddling the elite and business class and really draw down resources and power into the hands of the people who are doing the work.“To me, [socialism] is about putting workers first – the people who make the wealth but don’t often have access to it.”She added: “Now that I’ve won this mayoral primary, it’s going to crack the seal on a lot of other US cities and we’re going to see similar trends. People are tired of working harder for less. Many of us are still poor, even though we are in one of the richest nations in the world.”Walton knows all about working hard for little reward. The nurse-turned-politician said the combination of her own hardships and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are what drove her to politics.“Being a mother made me want to do it. I need to leave this place better for my children. And what makes me want to fight so hard is to make sure that other people have opportunities to make better choices and have a decent life. Everyone deserves a decent standard of living,” she said.“I decided to just go for it. Why wait? We can’t wait any more.”TopicsNew YorkThe ObserverUS politicsDemocratsWomenRacenewsReuse this content More
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