The US president says he wants to save American democracy, but is struggling to get his own.
In a speech in Atlanta on Tuesday, the president took big words in his mouth when he talked about standing in the United States and how important it is to change the election laws.
– In the coming days, we are facing a turning point in the history of this country. The question is: do we choose democracy over autocracy, light over darkness, justice instead of injustice? I know where I stand, said the president.
Background: This is how the election laws are changed
Biden supports the Democrats’ proposal to change the procedures for voting in the Senate, which requires 60 out of 100 Senate members to approve a proposal, the so-called filibuster rule.
The Democrats do not have that majority, they only have 50. According to the American president, changing the procedures aims to protect “the heart and soul of democracy”.
– I have had quiet conversations with members of Congress for the past two months, the president said about the process of changing the election laws.
– I’m tired of being quiet!
The proposals aim to make it more difficult to manipulate election results through strict voting rights requirements and the division of constituencies that are adapted to the purpose of one party.
As VG wrote in December, it was promoted during 2019 440 election-related bills in 49 states during 2021. 88 of the bills will be considered in 2022.
–Biden also commented on a new election law in Georgia, where he was, and thought it came as a result of “the big lie”, and that it aims to suppress your vote and undermine the election, writes CNN.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp claims the president is lying about the law and says it will make it easier to vote, and harder to cheat.
Although the president expressed himself in clear text, it is not enough for many on the left in the Democratic Party, writes LA Times.
– We do not need a new speech. What we need is a plan, says Cliff Albright of the activist group Black Voters Matter Fund.
The high-profile Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia dropped out of the president’s speech, although Biden insists that she is on the same side as him according to Fox News.
Even if Biden manages to change the filibuster rule, he still does not have the necessary majority. All 50 democratic senators must vote to implement the changes to the election laws. At least two of them, Joe Manchin III in West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona, have both said they oppose the changes, writes the Los Angeles Times. And it does not seem that he will let himself be pressured by the White House
– We need some changes for the senate to function better, but changing the filibuster rule will not lead to that, he says.
VG/NTB
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