Tag Archive for: Filibuster

UPDATE: D21 Report — The Senate Filibuster, 1806 – 2021

View & Download This Report As A PDF By: Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21  |  UPDATED: January 2022 The United States Senate is facing a decision of historic consequence with the fate of our democracy at stake. Will 50 Senators plus the Vice President be able to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and override […]

The Atlantic: It’s Time For Democrats To Break The Glass

“Democracy is at stake this month, and that is not hyperbole.” – D21 President Fred Wertheimer in The Atlantic “The next few weeks will likely answer the most crucial question that emerged from last year’s insurrection by supporters of Donald Trump: Can one political party defend American democracy on its own?” Ronald Brownstein, senior editor of […]

It’s Not Too Late To Save Our Democracy. Senate Showdown On Voting Rights Coming In January.

WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE  |  DECEMBER 23, 2021 This has been a very difficult year for the country, starting with the devastating impact of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, we should also recognize our good fortune this year when the effort of a demagogic, lawless former President to pull off a political coup was averted. But, while that […]

D21 Vice President Matt Keller Discusses Status Of Voting Rights Legislation And More In New Interview

  The Surreal News  |  Friday, December 17, 2021   “We’re on the cusp of passing the most transformational reform and voting rights legislation since Watergate,” Democracy 21 Vice President Matt Keller tells Lew Lorini, host of The Surreal News, on his program last week. The Surreal News airs weekly on WSLR-FM in Sarasota, Florida […]

E.J. Dionne Jr. In The Washington Post: President Biden, Push The Voting Bills Now

“It’s time to make it all about democracy.” – E.J. Dionne Jr. “Precisely because the dangers to democracy often don’t become obvious to everyone until it’s too late, Biden needs to make raising the alarm his priority. ‘We are in a battle for the soul of this nation,’ he said in 2019. We still are,” […]

The Democracy Summit Highlights The Urgent Need To Repair Our Own Democracy

  FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE  |  December 9, 2021 As the United States holds its Democracy Summit this week for more than 100 countries, our own democracy has serious credibility problems. The attempted political coup and insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, the baseless, demagogic attacks by former President Trump on the presidential election he lost, […]

Democracy 21 Report: A Timeline Of The Senate Filibuster, 1806 – 2021

  View And Download This Report As A PDF By: Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21  |  December 2021 The United States Senate is facing a decision of historic consequence with the fate of our democracy at stake. Will 50 Senators plus the Vice President be able to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and override […]

E.J. Dionne Jr. In The Washington Post: “The Hypocrisy Argument On The Filibuster Is Itself Phony”

In a new op-ed, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. lays out the urgent need to reform the filibuster: “[T]he core reason the filibuster must be reformed is the moral imperative of passing bills to defend democracy.” Reforming the filibuster, Dionne writes, is the only way to “undo the voter suppression and election subversion laws […]

Nearly 9 Months And Still No Senate Action On Voting Rights. Here’s Why.

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | November 18, 2021 On March 3, the House of Representatives passed the For the People Act, landmark legislation to establish fair voting rules for federal elections and to stop voter suppression efforts in the states. Now, some nine months later, the Senate has failed to act on – or even […]

Analysis: Why The Filibuster Rules Must Be Revised In Order To Protect Voting Rights And Save The Senate

  By: Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21 The filibuster is again at the center of an ongoing battle in the Senate over civil rights. Since June, four filibusters have blocked pending voting rights legislation that would protect millions of eligible Americans from losing their ability to vote in federal elections. The right to vote is […]