So, Martin Luther King Jr. Day sucks, according to…his family. Okay, that might be a bit harsh, but they did say yesterday commemorating the late civil rights leader was no day to celebrate. Why? Well, it’s because the Democrats’ election takeover bill was blocked. The bill is not a voting rights bill. It’s legislation that federalizes all elections and ensures only Democrats can win. That’s the core of it. And if this bill dies a slow and painful death, it doesn’t mean blacks or other nonwhites can’t vote. It’s sad that even on days when we could come together to honor Dr. King, his family decided to continue the ongoing campaign of sowing further division (via CBS News):
PSA: Martin Luther King Jr.’s family is calling for no celebration of MLK Day without action on voting rights legislation.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 14, 2022
Spread the word.
"Be engaged. Right now, it is about protecting, preserving and expanding voting rights," Martin Luther King III told CBS News.
"We're calling for no celebration without legislation," his wife, Arndrea Waters King, added. "We can't celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. without having the legislation, the cornerstone of his legacy, the cornerstone of our democracy, solidified."
The couple and their 13-year-old daughter, Yolanda Renee King, were capping a weekend of mobilizations that included a march in Phoenix Saturday with a peace walk in Washington D.C. Monday. The King family is being joined by a coalition of more than 180 groups and congressional leaders including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Representative Joyce Beatty.
"We've seen what happens when the White House puts its full weight behind an issue," Waters King said, referring to passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill last year. "What we also are saying to the president and Congress is that you delivered for bridges, now deliver for voting — whatever it takes to get that done."
I’ve been watching MLK Day speeches for about 6 hours now. I’ve heard ~4,000 pleas to end the filibuster/pass the “Freedom to Vote Act.”
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 17, 2022
I haven’t heard anyone mention
Saturday's terror attack. https://t.co/8txDE3s6y1
Did I miss something? When was the right to vote rolled back and outright stripped for some people who aren’t convicted felons? Like COVID, the doomsday predictions are utterly laughable. No one can ever vote again if this bill doesn’t pass. Please. If anything, the only reason not to celebrate Dr. King anymore is to prevent his family from making idiotic remarks like the ones above. The hyperbole is almost parody at this point.
Now, regarding the filibuster theater, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) killed the Democrats’ effort to tweak the filibuster to pass this bill. Now, hypothetically, maybe a part of me would have not cared since there is going to be a red wave this year. That means we can undo this crappy elections bill and then pass national right to work, right to carry, privatize social security, and do a host of other things that would be contingent on the GOP growing a pair and not caring about what the media says about all of this. You know that won’t happen, so that is why this remains forever in dreamland.