Sinema Kowtows To Republicans

Money quote:

“That’s right. She [Sinema] and West Virginia senator Joe Manchin still think that the Republican Party – the party that lied about the 2020 election, gerrymandered congressional districts, and put in place laws that would overturn elections – that they must be asked for their permission for Democrats to take action to protect our democracy. As if they will ever give it.

The sheer denial of the crisis that we are facing and the lack of urgency by all politicians, by Democrats and especially Republicans, is the absolute worst.”

Joy Reid follows this up with an interview of Joe Madison the Black Eagle, radio talk show host on Sirius XM radio, who is currently in the third week of a hunger strike to demand that Congress pass voting rights legislation.

https://twitter.com/MadisonSiriusXM/status/1461741842777714695

Joe Madison is willing to put his life on the line to secure voting rights in this country, but our prima donna Democratic diva senator “Silent Sinema” is like “Meh, not unless my Republican donors give me permission.” She is selling out her country to GQP fascism for right-wing oligarch dollars. She is the “absolute worst.”

CNN reported SiriusXM host on hunger strike urges Congress to put voting rights on the front burner:

Sirius XM radio host Joe Madison, who is engaged in a hunger strike over what he has called a “politically and morally wrong” attack on voting rights, told CNN on Friday that he wants lawmakers to put voting rights “on the front burner” when they return from their Thanksgiving recess.

Madison’s comments come as Democrats, who hold the majority in both chambers of Congress and control the White House, have been pressured to pass legislation on voting rights reform. But Senate Republicans, who hold 50 seats in the chamber, have repeatedly blocked the legislation, and Democrats on the left have increasingly called on their party’s senators to gut the Senate’s filibuster rule requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation.

In an interview Friday with CNN’s Don Lemon, Madison, who is on the 12th day of the hunger strike, said there have been “physical challenges,” but added he is remaining hopeful that “the senators, upon their Thanksgiving recess while they’re reflecting on the abundance of this country, that they’ll reflect on what will happen if our voting rights aren’t protected.”

Madison announced his strike on his radio show on November 8.

“As a political protest, I am beginning a hunger strike today by abstaining from eating any solid food until Congress passes, and President Biden signs, the Freedom to Vote Act or the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,” he said at the time.

Since January, at least 19 states enacted 33 laws that make it harder for Americans to vote, according to an analysis in October from the Brennan Center for Justice. These laws mark a new record for restrictive voting laws since 2011, and many more bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country, the center said.

In early November, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which is aimed at fighting voter suppression, was blocked by Senate Republicans when the Senate took a procedural vote on whether to open debate on the legislation. The bill restores and updates key parts of the landmark Voting Rights Act, originally passed in 1965, and is named in honor of the civil rights icon and late Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.

The final tally was 50 to 49 with GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting with Democrats in favor. At least 10 Republicans would have needed to join with all 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus for the legislation to advance.

Madison said when announcing the strike that he is more concerned about the future of his children and grandchildren rather than the possible negative health ramifications of the hunger strike.
“Just as food is essential for the existence of life, voting is essential for the existence of democracy,” Madison said Friday.

Thomas Paine is credited with coining the phrase “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” You should note that obstruct or sabotage are not included among his options. Sen. Sinema needs to get out of the way of passing voting rights legislation to save American democracy.

Kyrsten Sinema should keep in mind pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem First They Came. Eventually the GQP fascists you are enabling to destroy American democracy will come for you. Your appeasement and being an accessory to their crime will not protect you. After all, you twice voted to impeach their “Dear Leader,” and to certify the 2020 election results. Do you really believe that “Dear Leader” will not seek his revenge against you eventually?

Passing voting rights legislation to save American democracy is also an act of self-preservation, Sen. Sinema, and selfishness is what prima donna divas are all about. Do it to save yourself.