The first few days of President Biden’s administration shows two things: 1) Biden came to work on behalf of the American people who are hurting from COVID-19 and the economic crisis and, 2) the Republicans are still focused on obstructing Democrats even though it has a negative impact on the people they serve.
Speaking at Congressman John Lewis’ funeral former President Barack Obama called on leaders to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act even if they must exercise the nuclear option.
“If all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another Jim Crow relic, in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that’s what we should do,” said Obama.
The filibuster typically allows a bloc of 41 senators to prevent legislation from passing, and Republican filibusters stymied much of Obama’s policy agenda during his presidency.
American’s are in dire straights and need help now. We can’t allow Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to block everything the way he did President Obama, especially knowing the filibuster was a tool for white supremacy.
The filibuster itself predates Jim Crow and was created entirely by accident. In 1805, shortly after he killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, Vice President Aaron Burr returned to the Senate to deliver a farewell speech and suggested that the Senate make changes to its rules. Burr proposed eliminating the “previous question motion,” a process that was rarely used prior to his speech, and the Senate followed Burr’s advice in 1806.
Read more about the filibuster’s racist roots at Vox.com.