The Insurrection is Ongoing
It’s been one year since Former President Trump incited a violent insurrectionist mob on the Capitol aiming to overthrow the election he lost. Members of Congress were, in some cases, seconds away from being killed. I would love to tell you that those responsible for the insurrection have been held accountable and our democracy is stronger than ever. I would love to tell you that the Biden Administration and the Democratic majority in Congress have done everything in its power to ensure our vote is protected. That’s simply not the case.
States across the country are taking steps to erode our democracy by drawing districts to disempower communities of color, erecting obstacles to the ballot box that disproportionately hurt the poor, and nominating election officials who have expressed support for election subversion. We know President Trump called Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Rathensberger and begged him to “find more votes.” Brad refused. We might not be so lucky in 2024.
The House majority passed HR 1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect voting rights and create independent redistricting, but the Senate is refusing to act. It all comes down to Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema who have refused to eliminate or reform the filibuster and use the majority voters gave them to save our democracy. President Biden has been on the sidelines throughout this process refusing to use all of the tools in his toolbox to pressure the hold-outs from passing his agenda, an agenda that is overwhelmingly popular among voters. The president could threaten to launch an investigation into Manchin’s daughter’s almost certainly illegal price gouging scheme. He could ask the Majority Leader to remove them from committees. He could ask the DNC chair and DSCC to withhold campaign funds for their reelections. He could at the very least publicly call on them to support changing the filibuster. He has done none of this.
Meanwhile, none of the members of Congress, members of the administration, nor the former president have been indicted for their roles in inciting and coordinating an attempted coup. Rich, white men never being held accountable. A tale as old as time. Ugh.
If you haven’t been paying attention to politics since Biden got elected, let this be your wake up call. I know. It’s exhausting. And annoying. But I’m terrified for the future of this country. We need to demand more from the people in power, or we might just lose our country. It’s already slipping.
