Desis in the house.jpg
Democracy was under siege in the last four years as the Trump administration took a wrecking ball to free and fair elections, human rights and the rule of law.
The divisive politics that polarized our country climaxed in the appalling spectacle of an enraged mob invading the Capitol to reclaim a ‘stolen election’, followed by the deaths of five people in the riot, and a group of lawmakers refusing ratify the electoral college results.
And yet, despite the chaos over the voting process that preceded the election in the middle of a pandemic, the nation flexed its collective democratic muscle in Election 2020, and set a record for the highest turnout in over a century.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (right) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
A constellation of progressive groups is making the first big fight of Joe Biden’s presidency about Senate procedure, with progressives convinced they cannot get their priorities made into law unless Democrats fundamentally change how the Senate passes legislation.
The groups, many of which opposed Biden in the 2020 primary, are pushing to frame the Senate filibuster as a tool of racism and oppression, tying the procedural mechanism that makes it impossible to pass most legislation without 60 votes to its historic use in blocking anti-lynching and civil rights bills in the 1950s. And they’re already showing how willing they are to use that message against Democrats who aren’t already on board.
Biden s racial remedies: An extraordinary first step politico.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from politico.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Primary Content
Caption Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan outlined his 2021 priorities, including photo ID requirements for absentee ballots. Georgia s election laws are expected to be a focal point of the 2021 legislative session. Credit: Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said Tuesday he supports legislation during the 2021 session that would add another verification for people casting paper absentee ballots after that method of voting became the source of controversy among his fellow Republicans in the 2020 election.
But he said he does not support new major limitations on absentee voting like his chamber’s Republican caucus proposed when it called for eliminating no-excuse absentee voting late last year. A record number of Georgians turned to absentee mail-in voting during the pandemic.