Fred’s Weekly Note Archive

The Moment of Truth for Democracy Reforms

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | April 29, 2021 “The right to vote lies at the heart of representative government. The battle to enact H.R. 1/S. 1 must be won on behalf of the nation’s eligible voters.” The moment of truth is approaching for the most sweeping democracy reform legislation in a generation. The reforms in […]

House Passes Historic DC Statehood Bill

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | April 22, 2021 “The For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1) should become law by July 4, 2021 to repair and revitalize our democracy which began with the nation’s origin on July 4, 1776.” H.R. 51, legislation to establish Washington, D.C. as the 51st state and finally provide its citizens […]

The “Swiftest and Surest Way” to Purge Corruption

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | April 15, 2021 “The American people understand this simple reality: big money buys influence and results in Washington at their expense.” The current campaign finance system in Washington creates innumerable opportunities for corrupting government decisions. The American people understand this simple reality: big money buys influence and results in Washington […]

The Battle for S. 1 Must Be Fought on the Senate Floor

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | April 8, 2021 “This battle must be fought out on the Senate floor.” In an op-ed in The Washington Post yesterday, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) proposed a Catch-22 solution to enacting voting rights and campaign finance reforms. Manchin said: “There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate […]

S. 1 Must Pass In Whole

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | April 1, 2021 “There is nothing to indicate that taking out key democracy reforms from the bill will improve the chances of passing S. 1.” Some academics and pundits have been postulating that the campaign finance, gerrymandering, and other reform provisions of S. 1, the For the People Act, should […]

A New Development in the Battle for S. 1

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 25, 2021 “The reforms in S. 1 have bipartisan support in the country. There is broad support from Democrats, Republicans, and independents.” Earlier today, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) issued a statement on the need for the Senate to address voting reforms and reforms to address “the disturbing role money plays in […]

S. 1, The Filibuster, And McConnell

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 18, 2021 “Is a changed filibuster rule more important to confirm a Supreme Court Justice than it is to prevent the greatest suppression and disenfranchisement of voters since the Jim Crow era, to reform a corrupting campaign finance system, to prevent extreme partisan gerrymandering, to stop self-dealing abuses by […]

H.R. 1 vs. GOP State Voter Suppression Efforts

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 12, 2021 “Senate Republicans will pull out all the stops to block H.R. 1 and enable GOP state voter suppression and disenfranchisement efforts to succeed.” Republican state legislators in Georgia are the leading edge of efforts across the country to enact new state laws aimed directly at the suppression […]

House Passes Historic Democracy Reform

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 4, 2021 “The bottom-line choice is clear: either the Senate votes to meet the urgent need of the American people to repair our democracy and protect the sacred right to vote, or the Senate maintains without exception the filibuster that has been serially abused for years by Senator Mitch […]

The Need for Political Reform Hasn’t Changed. The GOP Has.

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | February 25, 2021 “The need for reforms to repair our political system has not changed. The Republican Party in Congress has.” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced this week that H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021, will be on the House floor for consideration the week of […]