(#4729) And so it begins...

      This morning the House will take up a "message" bill that combines the John Lewis voting rights bill and the Freedom to vote bill. It should pass the House through democratic votes and then be sent to the Senate. The difference here with it being a "message" bill is that it doesn't need to pass the Senate filibuster rule in order to be debated. However it does need to pass the Senate filibuster rule after debate but at minimum all senators will have to go on the record with a vote either for voting rights protections or against them. We expect that there will not be 10 republican senators who will vote to pass the legislation and when the bill does fail then democrats can go to the filibuster carve out formula and put their own members on record.
     At this moment it appears that both Manchin and Sinema will vote no for the crave out and then what happens after that is anybody's guess although I do believe the President has some economic actions he can take against states that have approved voter restriction laws. Regardless, both Manchin and Sinema will be on record with their votes so they will not be unscathed by the backlash that will follow. It is appropriate for both of them to be pilloried, along with their like minded republican colleagues, for their inability to protect democracy from those who are about to destroy it. I have long clamored for this to happen because it isn't enough for Manchin and Sinema to just say they won't vote for a carve out to protect voting rights it is necessary to put them on record for all time for the world to see!
     I am awaiting now this early morning for C-span to pick up the coverage of the House beginning it's work this morning just a few minutes from now and seeing the process for passing the "message" bill. I hope that both Manchin and Sinema are getting an earful as to their intransigence for voting yes on the filibuster carve out for voting rights protections and when the time does come for their votes that they have made a different calculus as to their historical positioning. Being labeled as a democracy killer for all time can have a residue that would force one to consider a different option. Be it as it may we will in the next many hours know the fate of our democracy!