The words we choose matter when describing contentious events such as the January 6 riots – or protests – on the U.S. Capitol. David Iwinski and Stephen Macaulay discuss terms in a home page debate at https://thehustings.news.
Republicans Block Debate on Voting Rights Bill – Republicans blocked S1, the For the People Act, on a procedural vote that prevents the voter rights expansion bill from advancing in the Senate, The Washington Post reports. The 50-50 vote on S1 means Democrats essentially have zero out of 10 Republicans necessary for a cloture vote to prevent a filibuster. The blocked vote comes as several state Republican-led legislatures pass bills that reduce both local voting hours and drop-boxes and allow state lawmakers to overrule election officials on election results.
So far, 14 state legislatures have passed 22 such laws since January.
“Voter suppression, I’m sad to say, has become part of the platform of the Republican Party,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said from the chamber’s floor.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, countered that no states are supporting voter suppression. No matter what is happening in some states, there is “no rationale for federal intervention,” he said.
Note: Sen. Joe Manchin III’s, D-WV, “compromise” bill on voting rights appears to have the support of a few “moderate” Republican senators, but still well short of the 10 needed for cloture. McConnell has so far asserted his power over Manchin, the erstwhile “most powerful” elected official on Capitol Hill. President Biden yesterday “counseled” Manchin to “find a path forward” on federal election reform – which would give their party a bit of hope on holding on to some small measure of majority in one of the two Congressional chambers.What’s left for Biden’s agenda? Assuming no movement by Manchin and fellow moderates, especially Sen. Krysten Sinema, D-AZ, on reforming the legislative filibuster, the president is left only with the possibility of a substantial infrastructure package via reconciliation.
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Pelosi to Announce Decision This Week on 1/6 Investigation – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will announce this week whether she will form a new committee to investigate the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, Politico reports, coming weeks after Republicans blocked a bi-partisan 9/11-style commission under pressure from ex-President Trump. Pelosi clarified Wednesday morning that she had not formally announced plans, clarifying reports of a closed-door meeting on the matter.
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Pro-Democracy Newspaper to Close – The Hong Kong-based independent, pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily says it will have to close by Saturday due to economic pressure by the Hong Kong government, which has frozen all its assets. The local government has cracked down on democracy in the past few years. Great Britain turned over control to China’s government in Beijing in 1999, but Hong Kong was to remain democratic under a special arrangement that lasted about 20 years.
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Ex-Police Officer Leads NYC Mayoral Race – Eric Adams leads ranked choice voting in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor with 31.7% of the vote, but it may take weeks before a winner is declared, The New York Times reports. Adams, a retired police officer and an author, is current borough president for Brooklyn.
In second-place, with 22.3% of the vote is Maya Wiley, the progressive candidate endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY. Kathryn Garcia, New York City Sanitation Department Commissioner from 2014-20, is running third, with 19.5%. Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, fourth, with 11.7%, has announced his withdrawal from the race.
Socialist Mayor for Buffalo? – While all attention was paid to New York City’s mayoral primary Tuesday, Buffalo Democrats chose “political newcomer and unabashed socialist” India Walton, over incumbent mayor Byron Brown in the city’s primary by a decisive 52% to 45%, Politico says. The Democratic candidate is considered a virtual shoe-in for the November general election, as Buffalo hasn’t had a Republican mayor since the Kennedy administration.
Note:Politico notes that Walton would be the first “big city” socialist mayor in more than 60 years. Frank Zeidler led Milwaukee as a “sewer socialist” from 1948 to 1960, which included the years Joseph McCarthy fought the “Red Scare” as he represented Wisconsin as Republican from the GOP’s founding town (disputed) of Ripon, in the U.S. Senate. The red-blue, rural-urban schism is nothing new.
--Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash