Former United States President, Barack Obama on Monday advocated for a sweeping voting rights bill which is set to be considered by the Senate.
Gatekeepers News reports that Obama argued that the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol proved that Americans cannot “take our democracy for granted.”
The former President, during a grassroots conference call for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, stated that America’s “own history” makes clear the importance of fighting for democracy and warned that “we are going to have to be vigilant in fighting back attempts by the few to silence the many.”
“The violence that occurred in the US Capitol on January 6, just a few months ago, should remind us that we can’t take our democracy for granted,” Obama said.
“Around the world, we have seen once vibrant democracies go into reverse, locking in power for a small group of powerful autocrats and business interests and locking out of the political process dissidents and protestors and opposition parties and the voices of ordinary people.”
He added: “It is happening in other places around the world and these impulses have crept into the United States. We are not immune from some of these efforts to weaken our democracy.”
Obama started the call by noting that since he left office in 2017, he has tried “not to weigh in on the day-to-day scrum in Washington.” But the vote set to take place on Tuesday “is more than just a particular bill coming up or not coming up to a vote.”
He noted that even the bill, For the People Act, being considered doesn’t have “everything I would like to see” in a voting rights package. But the former President but said it was an important step to ensuring the future elections are fair.
“Right now at least, Republicans in the Senate are lining up to try to use the filibuster to stop the For the People Act from even being debated,” Obama said.
“Think about this: In the aftermath of an insurrection, with our democracy on the line, and many of these same Republican senators going along with the notion that somehow there were irregulates and problems with legitimately in our most recent election. They are suddenly afraid to even talk about these issues and figures out solutions on the floor of the Senate. They don’t even want to talk about voting. And that is not acceptable.”
Former Attorney General, Eric Holder, who leads the redistricting organization, also support Obama’s view on the matter.
Eric Holder and Obama argued that while the United States can withstand chaotic elections like 2020, the country will suffer if that becomes the norm.
“If we have the same kind of shenanigans that brought about January 6th, if we have that for a couple more election cycles,” Obama said, “we’re going to have real problems in terms of our democracy long term.”
Gatekeepers News reports that the Senate is set to vote today (Tuesday) on whether to pass the bill.
