“government of the people, by the people, for the people” – Abraham Lincoln,

By Glen Reaux

The year is 2019, the Democrats control the House of Representatives.  The Republicans control the Senate, the Executive Branch and the Judiciary.  After two years of having a monopoly on government, the Republicans, who accomplished little-to-nothing of significance other than passing their corporate welfare and tax law for the wealthiest Americans are facing a new sheriff in town.  Sheriff Nancy along with Deputy Chuck Schumer and their posse of freshmen representatives led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are locked and loaded.  The two of them along with their posse came out with guns blazing.  They handed the Republican Party a stunning defeat by spanking Mitch McConnell and pistol whipping so-called President Donald Trump over the border wall and the Trump government shutdown.  The Republicans, in shock, know that they are in trouble and can read the handwriting on the wall. The message reads “we have a super-sized can of whup-ass for you, just bend over, smile and say, thank you ma’am may I have another.” They need not worry, because Nancy has already delivered another.

Arriving on America’s doorstep on January 4, 2019, was the first piece of legislation proposed by the Democratic-controlled House led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  HR 1_The For the People Act is a bill containing sweeping reforms in voting rights, anti-corruption, gerrymandering, and measures making election-day a federal holiday.  The For the People Act is reminiscent of the spirit that Republican President Abraham Lincoln hoped to engender with his Gettysburg Address, a spirit of healing.  Lincoln, in giving this speech at the Soldier’s National Cemetery, spoke to the fact that our nation was conceived out of a desire for liberty and the fact that all men are created equal.  He spoke to the sacrifices made by the soldiers killed in the civil war in their effort to save a divided nation.  “that, this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

What the nation has endured under the Republican and Trump administration cannot compare to the devastation that the nation suffered because of the civil war.  Trump is no Lincoln and what Lincoln fought to save, Trump has done everything in his power to destroy.  His divisive and racist rhetoric, policies, immigration actions and executive orders backed by the house, senate and judiciary are reminders of post Civil War Jim Crow laws.  Under Trump, the soul of this nation has suffered in ways that should have died out with the Civil War.  As a nation and a people, we have regressed.  But, in the spirit of former Republican President Lincoln, the Democrats are trying to stop the suffering and ensure that a “government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”  The Democrats reform and anti-corruption legislation, HR 1_The For the People Act aka HR1 would make a Republican President named Lincoln very proud.  Unlike Lincoln, Mitch McConnell’s first move from the floor of the Senate on January 30^th was to cry foul.

HR1 has not yet been voted on in the House which means that it has not reached the Senate yet.  Since it has not yet reached the Senate, it is not open for debate.  If it is not open for debate on the Senate floor, why is McConnell using Senate time and resources to speak against it?  McConnell called the bill “a power grab” in reference to his rhetoric proclaiming that the Democrats are seeking to grab power.   He also spoke to the fact that, the bill proposes declaring election-day a paid federal holiday so that people can take the day off from work to cast their votes.  McConnell knows well that this is not a power grab by the Democrats.  Rather it is an action by the Democrats to return the power to the people by making it easier for every American to vote.  “Power to the people”, to the Republicans means, the end of their world.

The bill was initiated by Speaker Pelosi in 2011, overseen and sponsored by Representative John Sarbanes (D-Md.), poses election reform, voting rights and anti-corruption are the main goals of HR1.  Once passed, this law would take the power out of the hands of the Republicans, Libertarians, Democrats or any given political party.  The initiatives contained in this proposed law would put the power squarely back into the hands of the individual voters.  For your convenience, a pdf file link to the For The People Act is provided at the end of this article. Below is a brief summary of HR1.

1. Requires presidential and vice presidential candidates to release 10 years of tax returns
2. Establishes a public financing system for the election of members of the House of Representatives thus minimizing the impact of dark-money on elections
3. Requires that all states automatically register voters who submit paperwork to a state government agency
4. Provides same-day voter registration
5. allows 15 days of early voting while requiring that sites be located near public transportation
6. Uses nonpartisan redistricting commissions to draw new congressional maps
7. Enables online voter registration
8. Bans laws that prohibit prior felons from voting after they have served their time and been released
9. Reduces the number of Federal Election Commission members from 6 to 5 to eliminate deadlocks
10. Includes a Disclose Act, which mandates that nonprofits and other groups reveal donor information
11. PACs must disclose those sources when they contribute to election campaigns.
12. The Honest Ads Act requires the disclosure of digital political ads on tech platforms.
13. It adds lobbying reforms to reduce government corruption.

In this fight for democracy, it is expected that the Republican Senate will not pass the bill.  And if passed, the so-called president will veto it.  The Republicans will fight this bill to the bitter end.  But it’s not up to them. It’s up to you.

As a citizen, your voice carries a lot of weight when it is used properly.   When enough citizens shout loud enough, hold town hall meetings, hold rallies, organize marches, call, mail, email and hold sit-ins at the offices of their elected officials, the battle will be won.  Whether your senators and representatives and Republican or Democrat, remember, they work for you.  The Republicans will call out their attack dogs, conservative news pundits, talk show hosts, Make America Great Again organizers, use social media campaigns and buy ads in the newspapers and on Television.  They will lie, deceive and do everything possible to demonize this bill.  They will try to make you think that you are stupid if you support this bill. Their dark money donors will pour tens of millions of dollars into defeating this bill.  But in the end, your voice can create such radioactive fallout that some Republican politicians will be forced to defect to stay in office.  Some will need the money and want to keep their jobs.  With a loud enough voice, this bill can pass both houses of Congress with a veto-proof majority.  If they don’t listen to you and the bill does not pass by the end of 2019, then in 2020 you must vote them out.  Don’t hold peace talks and negotiations.  Remember, your activism matters, take no prisoners.

Whether it passes or fails, the fallout from HR1 is what the Republicans fear most.  The Republicans and their dark money donors cannot imagine a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” which is what Nancy’s “supersized can of whup-ass” represents.  While fighting this bill is the Republicans worst nightmare, its passage means the end of the world to them.  Now is not the time for détente.  Through The For The People Act, the Democrats have given the American people the ultimate weapon needed to restore order.  Now, the people must fight to use it.

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Linked Sources

1. HR 1_The For the People Act
2. How to promote HR1- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-FpQnxBHos3GzchsUCI7ER6d53ETJNbj2Q1XDAvXI4SAow/viewform