A Partisan F.E.C. Takeover? Socialism for Political Consultants? Not Exactly ‘Voting Rights’
'This legislation has one goal. It has only ever had one goal. That goal was the same in 2019 as it is today: To let Washington Democrats rig the rules of democracy from the top down… and to hide that partisan project behind the smokescreen of voting rights.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding H.R. 1:
“Yesterday, the Rules Committee held a hearing on Democrats’ proposal to tilt our entire political system on a partisan basis.
“It would forcibly rewrite every state’s election laws in ways that defy common sense and are deeply unpopular with American voters.
“It would mandate nearly unrestricted same-day registration. It would mandate big loopholes that would render Voter ID almost meaningless.
“It would make every state legalize ballot harvesting, where paid operatives can turn up carrying big piles of ballots with other people’s names on them; zero chain of custody.
“Democrats want to hide behind the mantle of voting rights. What they’re really proposing is less security, less integrity, and a grab-bag of changes that are deeply unpopular.
“Just look at all the other changes with zero relationship to voting rights that Democrats want to smuggle in behind that smokescreen.
“This bill would take the Federal Election Commission from an evenly-split bipartisan panel to a partisan body so that Democrats could rule unilaterally over politics and citizens’ speech.
“Turn the neutral judge into a partisan prosecutor.
“It would send taxpayers’ money to fund political campaigns.
“It contains a massive attack on the privacy of citizens who engage in free speech, a massive and intentional gift to ‘cancel culture.’ That led even the left-wing ACLU to oppose this bill two years ago, and led senior ACLU lawyers to torch it again in the Washington Post just recently.
“Democrats are desperate to avoid talking about any of this. They are desperate to convince the media that a partisan takeover at the FEC, socialism for political ad-makers, and an assault on free speech and Americans’ privacy are all just, quote, ‘voting rights.’
“A shameless bait and switch.
“I noticed something funny yesterday. Remember, this is the same bill Democrats were shopping around two years ago in response to the 2016 election which they said was a disaster.
“Two years ago, Democrats were marketing this very bill as a massive shake-up that our broken elections badly needed.
“Our democracy was in shambles after they lost in 2016. It was broken. It was insecure. And only this sweeping transformation could repair it.
“Of course, it didn’t pass. The 2020 election came and went without this liberal takeover.
“And yet Democrats say it was a huge success! Democrats said the 2020 election was beyond reproach.
“They say the integrity and security were beyond question. They’ve said only conspiracy theorists would complain about the last election.
“But curiously enough, they’re still pushing this very same bill. Now, instead of a sweeping transformation, they’re trying to say it would just preserve our smoothly-functioning system so state legislatures can’t mess it up.
“So let’s get this straight.
“Two years ago, in 2019, Democrats suggested this bill was a bold, radical overhaul for a broken system. In the meantime, they got an election they liked.
“And now they claim the exact same legislation just does a few modest things to protect our system just the way it is.
“What utter nonsense.
“This legislation has one goal. It has only ever had one goal. That goal was the same in 2019 as it is today:
“To let Washington Democrats rig the rules of democracy from the top down… and to hide that partisan project behind the smokescreen of voting rights.”
Related Issues: Campaigns & Elections, Senate Democrats
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