Notes from a Stormy Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Will Democracy hold out for the long game on voters' rights reform?
Martin Luther King III, son of the man for whom a federal holiday is held every third Monday in January to honor his struggles for civil rights, criticized President Biden and Congress for allowing voting to become harder this year in 19 U.S. states. The Senate was supposed to work on the holiday yesterday and take up a vote on scrapping the filibuster so it can vote on two bills written to restore parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. As that didn’t happen, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) instead will raise the filibuster vote Tuesday in order for Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-WV) and Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) to shoot down the whole issue, voting rights and all in one fell swoop.
Still, the vibe from coverage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday seems to be that voting rights advocates are willing to play the long game. After all, the ’65 Voting Rights Act didn’t happen overnight. Proponents are now resolved to another strung-out political process. It could take years and a couple of overturned Congressional majorities.
But as MLK once said: “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
And so it goes.
—Todd Lassa