A lot of people are wondering these days why Joe Manchin, the senior senator from West Virginia and a Democrat, opposes the legislation known as the “For the People Act.” It’s a bill that would expand access to the ballot box for all Americans, establish non-partisan commissions to carry out congressional redistricting and enhance election security, among other provisions.
To pass the bill, with the Senate split 50-50 between the two parties, either 10 Republicans would have to vote in favor (which they won’t do) or a majority of senators would have to abolish the filibuster rule that currently requires 60 votes for passage. With the filibuster in place, the legislation tagged S.1 in the Senate appears to be dead.
So why would Manchin break with his own party and oppose the most important piece of legislation to come before lawmakers this year? Let’s try to connect the dots.
Dot 1: According to The New Yorker magazine, the “For the People Act” is immensely popular with the American people, including Conservatives and Liberals alike.
Dot 2: One lesser-known provision of the bill would shine a light on the “dark money” used anonymously by big-bucks donors to buy politicians and influence the outcome of elections.
Dot 3: A major proponent of dark money spending, and hence an outspoken opponent of S.1, is the Koch Brothers organization.
Dot 4: The Koch Brothers are also major backers of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a self-described “nonprofit” organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft model legislation to be introduced into governing bodies around the country. Among other things, ALEC supports the broadening of voter identification laws to restrict minority voting, making it harder for them to vote instead of easier—the exact opposite of S.1.
Dot 5: The Koch enterprise and other dark money advocates acknowledge the popularity of the legislation, and have admitted that the only way to effectively kill it is with the Senate filibuster rule.
Dot 6: As late as January of this year, Joe Manchin was listed as a member of ALEC, according to the Center for Media and Democracy, a national watchdog organization. (I asked his campaign if he was still a member. They have not replied to my email query, but it's really irrelevant. At the very least, he has been reported to be a member in the past.)
Dot 7: Joe Manchin says he will never vote to abolish the filibuster.
Dark Money
In 2010, in the Citizens United case, the U.S.
Supreme Court opened the door for millions of untraceable dollars to flow into our
elections when it ruled 5-4 that corporations and other outside groups can
spend unlimited money on elections as expressions of free speech. According to
the Brennan Center for Justice, “The justices who voted with the majority
assumed that independent spending cannot be corrupt and that the spending would
be transparent, but both assumptions have proven to be incorrect.”
Since that time, by one estimate, more than $1
billion has been paid out to candidates and campaigns, and since the donors can
remain secret, voters have no way of knowing who is trying to influence their
votes. Under the For the People Act, organizations would be required to
disclose donors who contribute more than $10,000 to a candidate or campaign.
The
Filibuster
According to The New Yorker:
“In public, Republicans have denounced Democrats’ ambitious electoral-reform bill, the For the People Act, as an unpopular partisan ploy. But behind closed doors, Republicans speak differently about the legislation. They admit the lesser-known provisions in the bill that limit secret campaign spending are overwhelmingly popular across the political spectrum. Their own polling shows that no message they can devise effectively counters the argument that billionaires should be prevented from buying elections.”
A research director for a Koch-run advocacy group warned fellow Republicans that “conservatives were actually as supportive as the general public was” when presented with a neutral description of the legislation. As a result, he conceded, the legislation’s opponents would have to rely on Republicans in the Senate to use the filibuster to stop the bill, because turning public opinion against it would be “incredibly difficult.”
Political Pressure
Therefore, without the benefit of public support, opponents of S.1 decided they needed to pressure certain members of the Senate to swing over to their side, The New Yorker said. One such event occurred on March 20 of this year, “when conservative groups including Heritage Action, Tea Party Patriots Action, Freedom Works and the local and national branches of the Family Research Council organized a rally in West Virginia to get Senator Joe Manchin, the conservative Democrat, to come out against the legislation. They also pushed Manchin to oppose any efforts by Democrats to abolish the Senate’s filibuster rule, a tactical step that the party would probably need to take in order to pass the bill.”
Manchin has since insisted that the filibuster must remain in place to “protect democracy,” and that forcing S.1 through the Senate on a partisan vote would “further divide America.”
So let’s recap:
* The “For the People Act” would make it easier for Americans to vote, secure elections, eliminate partisan gerrymandering of voting districts and shine a light on secret campaign financing. It would benefit everybody except dark money donors who attempt to buy elections for their chosen candidates and voter suppression advocates who attempt to pass legislation to steal them.
* Most Americans support this legislation and want their elected representatives to vote for it.
* The bill passed the House of Representatives in March and was sent to the Senate, where 60 votes are required for passage. No Republican senators have supported the bill, which means it will fail unless the Democratic majority votes to abolish the filibuster rule and pass the bill on a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote.
* The roadblock to abolishing the filibuster is Senator Joe Manchin.
So I ask again: Now that you’ve connected the dots, whose face do you see?
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