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Biden Gets Pressure From Left on Voting06/23 06:06
As Democrats' massive election legislation was blocked by Republicans on
Tuesday, progressives argued Biden could not avoid that fight much longer and
must use all his leverage to find a path forward.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- When New York Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones was at the
White House for the signing of the proclamation making Juneteenth a national
holiday last week, he told President Joe Biden their party needed him more
involved in passing voting legislation on the Hill.
In response? Biden "just sort of stared at me," Jones said, describing an
"awkward silence" that passed between the two.
For Jones, the moment was emblematic of what he and a growing number of
Democratic activists describe as a lackluster engagement from Biden and Vice
President Kamala Harris on an issue they consider urgent and necessary for the
health of the democracy.
Although the White House has characterized the issue as "the fight of his
presidency," Biden has prioritized his economic initiatives, measures more
likely to win Republican support in the Senate. And he's shown little interest
thus far in diving into a messy debate over changing Senate rules to pass the
legislation on Democratic votes alone.
But as Democrats' massive election legislation was blocked by Republicans on
Tuesday, progressives argued Biden could not avoid that fight much longer and
must use all his leverage to find a path forward. The criticism suggested the
voting debate may prove to be among Biden's first major, public rifts with the
left of his presidency.
"President Obama, for his part, has been doing more to salvage our ailing
democracy than the current president of the United States of America," Mondaire
said, referring to a recent interview in which the former president pushed for
the legislation.
The White House argues that both Biden and Harris have been in frequent
touch with Democratic leadership and key advocacy groups as the legislation --
dubbed the For the People Act -- moved through Congress. Biden spoke out
forcefully at times, declaring a new Georgia law backed by Republicans is an
"atrocity" and using a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to say he was going to "fight
like heck" for Democrats' federal answer, but he left negotiations on the
proposal to Hill leaders.
On Monday, in advance of the vote, Biden met with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,
at the White House to discuss both voting rights and infrastructure.
But Biden didn't use his clout to work Republicans, who have expressed
staunch and unified opposition to any voting legislation, arguing Democrats are
pushing an unnecessary federal takeover of elections now run by state and
county officials.
Biden spent much of the month focused on foreign policy during a trip to
Europe, encouraging Americans to get vaccinated and selling his infrastructure
plan to the American public. He tasked Harris with taking the lead on the
issue, and she spent last week largely engaged in private meetings with voting
rights advocates as she traveled for a vaccination tour around the nation.
Those efforts haven't appeased some activists, who argue that state laws
tightening election laws are designed to make it harder for Black, young and
infrequent voters to cast ballots. The best way to counter the state laws is
with federal legislation, they say, and Biden ought to come out for a change in
the Senate filibuster rules that require 60 votes to advance most legislation.
"Progressives are losing patience, and I think particularly African American
Democrats are losing patience," said Democratic strategist Joel Payne, a
longtime aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "They feel like they
have done the kind of good Democrat thing over the last year-plus, going back
to when Biden got the nomination, unifying support around Biden, turning out,
showing up on Election Day."
"Progressives feel like, 'Hey, we did our part.' And now when it's time for
the bill to be paid, so to speak, I think some progressives feel like, 'OK,
well, how long do we have to wait?'"
Still, there could be a silver lining for Democrats in the ongoing battle
over voting rights: The issue is a major motivator for progressives and may
serve to drive enthusiasm among Black voters as well, potentially driving
engagement in a midterm year where Democrats are certain to face a tough
political climate.
Harris is expected to continue to meet with voting rights activists,
business leaders and groups working on the issue in the states, and will speak
out publicly on the issue aiming to raise awareness of new voting laws and to
pressure Republicans to get on board with federal legislation.
She watched the legislation fail to advance to debate on Tuesday, in her
role as president of the Senate, and coming off the floor told reporters that
she and Biden still support voting legislation and "the fight is not over."
Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, a progressive grassroots
group, said it's been nowhere near the level of advocacy the public has seen on
the infrastructure bill.
"The president has been on the sidelines. He has issued statements of
support, he's maybe included a line or two in a speech here or there, but there
has been nothing on the scale of his public advocacy for recovery for COVID
relief, for roads and bridges," Levin said.
"We think this is a crisis at the same level as crumbling roads and bridges,
and if we agree on that, the question is, why is the president on the
sidelines?"
White House aides push back against any suggestion the president and vice
president haven't been engaged on the issue, and say his laissez-faire approach
to the negotiations is based partly on his experience as a senator and his
belief that his involvement risks undermining a deal before it's cut.
But in private, White House advisers see infrastructure as the bigger
political winner for Biden because it's widely popular among voters of both
parties, a White House official said. Passing a major infrastructure bill is
seen within the White House as going further towards helping Democrats win in
the 2022 midterms and beyond than taking on massive voting overhaul that had a
slim chance of passage without a debate over filibuster rules, said the
official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal talks.
Embracing filibuster changes, in particular, risks undermining Biden's
profile as a bipartisan dealmaker and could poison the delicate negotiations
around infrastructure, where the White House insists it still sees opportunity
for bipartisan compromise.
"He does have to preserve some negotiating power, and his brand probably
does not compute with being at the tip of the spear on reforming the
filibuster," Payne acknowledged.
Still, other Democrats say it's time for Biden to get out front on the
issue. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, said the proposals Republicans are looking
to pass in his home state are "more explicit and more dangerous than anything
I've ever come across."
Allred said that the voting fight increases pressure on Biden to take the
leadership on the filibuster fight.
"We do need President Biden to make that a priority, because if you're going
to talk about supporting the underlying legislation, it really doesn't matter
if we don't have way to get past the filibuster," he said.
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