Quote of the Day

John Lewis [pictured at right in 2019] dedicated his life to being a fierce and resilient champion for democracy in the face of impossible odds. He quite literally put his life on the line to protect our democracy from sometimes violent attacks by conservatives and right-wing extremists seeking to undermine the right to vote.

The bill that bears his name, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, joined a slew of critical democracy reforms that have been blocked this year because of the outdated, racist filibuster – even with the last-minute appearance of a single Republican, Lisa Murkowski, willing to vote in favor.

If Senate Democrats truly want to honor the legacy of Congressman Lewis and pass meaningful democracy reform, they must go beyond naming a bill after him and bringing it to the floor for a performative vote. We’ve had enough of these theatrics. We all know that what comes next is what needs to come first: Senate Democrats must fix the Senate rules and remove the filibuster from the Senate Republicans’ obstructionist toolbox.

– Meagan Hatcher-Mays,
Director of Democracy Policy at Indivisible
Quoted in Jessica Corbett’s article,
“Dems Told to Kill Filibuster After All Senate Republicans
But One Block John Lewis Voting Rights Bill”
Common Dreams
November 3, 2021

To tell your Senators
to abolish the filibuster,
sign here.

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Peter Certo: “We Can Have the Filibuster or Democracy – But We Can’t Have Both”
• Sen. Tina Smith: The Filibuster Rule Is “Fundamentally Undemocratic”
• Rep. Ilhan Omar: Quote of the Day – May 29, 2021
• Heather Cox Richardson on Combating the Republican Party’s “Rigging of the System”
• Something to Think About – March 9, 2021
• Icon of Justice: Honoring the Life and Legacy of John Lewis, 1940-2020

Image: Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., with supporters of the Voting Rights Advancement Act at the Capitol in 2019. It is now known as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Lewis died in July 2020. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite).