Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “All In” that Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden have to do whatever it takes to pass the For the People Act because it was “do or die for America right now.”
O’Rourke said, “A few weeks ago when Senate Bill 7, the anti-voter elections bill that was working its way through the Texas House and Senate was being debated, we convened a rally outside the Texas Capitol in Austin, and on 24 hours’ notice, we were able to get the largest crowd of this year, of this legislative session standing up for voting rights and speaking out against voter suppression. So the people of Texas, more so than just Democrats, are fired up about this. They understand it is about our democracy. What you see in Texas, what passed in Georgia, in Florida, in Iowa, in Montana, this could spell the end of multiracial democracy that was guaranteed in 1965 by our fellow Texan, LBJ, when he signed into law the Voting Rights Act. So I think people understand just how precarious and important this moment is. It calls upon all of us to do all we can while we still have this window to act thanks by the way, to the Texas Statehouse Democrats who stopped that voter suppression bill, bought us a window of time. We may have about the month of June within which to get the for The People Act passed in the U.S. Senate, and that puts an end to what they’re trying to do in Texas, Georgia, and about 45 other state legislatures across the country.”
He continued, “I want the Senate Democrats and President Biden to take a page from the Texas House Democrats…They’re in the minority, and yet they were able to stop this awful voter suppression bill in Texas. Democrats in the U.S. Senate are in the majority. Let’s be very clear about what Republicans want to do. Not only do they not want to investigate the January 6th insurrection where five people, including a Capitol police officer, were killed, they want to roll back the right to vote in almost every single state in this country. Chris, you’ve got to understand this, in Texas, that bill was going to allow for the overturning of elections based on just the allegation of fraud. So you can imagine in 2024, a Democrat wins the 40 Electoral College votes in Texas. Republicans could allege fraud and overturn that election just as we know they’re going to try to do in Georgia and Florida and other states unless we have the For the People Act. So this is a time for Democrats to act. This is our moment of truth to step up and stand up for this country. We lose this moment at our peril and to the peril of American democracy. I really think it is make or break, do or die for America right now. We’ve got to have those Senate Democrats and President Biden come through for us.”
He added, “We need the Senate to pass the For the People Act. I just think it is that simple. That’s the solution, and Senate Democrats have to step up and get it done.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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Breitbart News 2021-06-02 02:16:00
