Democracy in reverse ?
Sen. Raphael Warnock gave his first speech in the US Senate yesterday, delivering a powerful argument for protecting voting rights.
He argued that widespread Republican efforts to enforce stricter voting laws was tantamount to a return to Jim Crow days.
After Georgians turned out in record numbers to vote for a Democratic president and the state's first Black senator and first Jewish senator, the state legislature got busy making sure such a thing wouldn't happen again, as did Republican-led states across the country.
"Some politicians did not approve of the choice made by the majority of voters in a hard-fought election in which each side got the chance to make its case to the voters. And, rather than adjusting their agenda, rather than changing their message, they are busy trying to change the rules. We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we have seen since the Jim Crow era. This is Jim Crow in new clothes."
Beyond that, Warnock pointed to the absurdity of some of the proposed restrictions, like banning people from giving food or water to folks waiting in long lines to vote:
"Think about that. Think about that. They are the ones making the lines longer — through these draconian actions. Then, they want to make it a crime to bring grandma some water as she is waiting in line they are making longer! Make no mistake. This is democracy in reverse. Rather than voters being able to pick the politicians, the politicians are trying to cherry pick their voters. I say this cannot stand."
See the whole speech here ; https://twitter.com/SenatorWarnock
He argued that widespread Republican efforts to enforce stricter voting laws was tantamount to a return to Jim Crow days.
After Georgians turned out in record numbers to vote for a Democratic president and the state's first Black senator and first Jewish senator, the state legislature got busy making sure such a thing wouldn't happen again, as did Republican-led states across the country.
"Some politicians did not approve of the choice made by the majority of voters in a hard-fought election in which each side got the chance to make its case to the voters. And, rather than adjusting their agenda, rather than changing their message, they are busy trying to change the rules. We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we have seen since the Jim Crow era. This is Jim Crow in new clothes."
Beyond that, Warnock pointed to the absurdity of some of the proposed restrictions, like banning people from giving food or water to folks waiting in long lines to vote:
"Think about that. Think about that. They are the ones making the lines longer — through these draconian actions. Then, they want to make it a crime to bring grandma some water as she is waiting in line they are making longer! Make no mistake. This is democracy in reverse. Rather than voters being able to pick the politicians, the politicians are trying to cherry pick their voters. I say this cannot stand."
See the whole speech here ; https://twitter.com/SenatorWarnock
56-60, M
