When President Joe Biden announced he would be speaking in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to promote the “For the People Act,” Republicans reiterated that it was just another political theatre stunt surrounding voting reforms. The Republican National Committee (RNC) said this is another election power grab after their failure to pass H.R.1 They said that the Biden Administration continues their dishonest attacks on “commonsense election integrity efforts” and making it easier for people to cheat in the elections.
While Florida, Georgia, and Iowa have implemented voting laws to address voter ID and mail-in ballots, progressives have pushed the claim that these new laws make it harder for minorities to vote. They want the Senate to end the filibuster procedure so that they can pass voting legislation. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn even tried to convince Biden to change the filibuster and “use his power to strong-arm Senate Democrats,” such as moderate Sen. Joe Manchin.
Psaki, however, rejected Clyburn’s suggestion and said that changes will be made by members of the Senate, not by the president. “If it were waving a magic wand to get voting rights legislation on his desk through any means, [Biden] would do that. But it requires the majority of members in the Senate to support changes to the filibuster,” she said.
Trump also bashed Biden’s trip to Pennsylvania, saying that it was a “joke” to try and counter efforts in the state to pursue an audit of the 2020 presidential election results. While Biden won Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano has requested information from county officials to conduct an audit.
“Joe Biden is going to Pennsylvania today in a rush in order to stop the Forensic Audit that the Pennsylvania Republican Senate is in the process of doing. Philadelphia was a cesspool of corruption, which will soon be revealed by the audit. Why are they so concerned that a President, who never goes anywhere, would hop onto beautiful Air Force One and head to Philadelphia if it were an honest election? Why not let the audit go forward and make everybody, on both sides, happy?” Trump said.
President Joe Biden delivered his speech at the National Constitution Center in Pennsylvania and attempted to make a “moral case” for why Congress should pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. He called voter I.D laws “an attempt to suppress and subvert the right to vote in fair and free elections,” as well as an assault on democracy. He claimed that Republicans were trying to undermine the election and the sacred right to vote.
He asked GOP lawmakers if they have “no shame” and condemned their efforts as unconscionable. He even compared GOP laws to some of the voter intimidation tactics employed by groups like the Ku Klux Klan. “Are you on the side of truth or lies, fact or fiction, justice or injustice? Democracy or autocracy? That’s what it comes down to,” Biden said.
It doesn’t even seem like Biden is on the right page with the American people. According to the new Election Integrity Polling Project conducted by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, more than 80% of all voters said that verifying voter ID is an important security measure. The poll was conducted with 800 registered voters. 31% identified as Democrats, 29% as Republicans, and 36% as Independents.
87% of voters were against ballot harvesting and 71% of voters believe ballots should not be accepted after Election Day. Even 77% of the voters rejected the Democrats’ claim that “racism” is behind voting integrity laws. About 78% of all voters said they supported a voting plan with these five principles: 1. Presenting Voter ID, 2. Signature Verification, 3. Chain of Custody Controls, 4. Bipartisan Election Observers, 5. Cleaning up the Voter Rolls.
Biden’s speech comes as Texas Democrat lawmakers ran away from their state and took a private plane to Washington, DC., where they say they are willing to remain “for weeks.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would continue calling special sessions and raise the possibility of arrest if lawmakers refuse to show up for a vote. Biden didn’t make a single mention of it in his speech.
As always, Democrats are playing to their base. They don’t want the requirements of a valid ID and want to make it easier for voter fraud to leak into the elections that play in their favor. It’s hard to cheat your way through the game when the rules change.
