Before anyone says they support what Manchin has put forth, his changes must be reviewed by a panel of our best voting rights lawyers. We must assess if it weakens the bills, and we must be sure he will release the filibuster to guarantee passage of both bills.
And we must look at bad precedent. Remember our history: It was a compromise on the 1964 Civil Rights Act that made it necessary to come back & pass a Voting Rights Act, which almost didn’t get support.
And it was compromises on the Voting Rights Act that allowed, for instance in my state, 60 counties to be exempt from pre-clearance despite racist past practices.
I’m glad to see Manchin is responding to the pressure of people in his own state protesting three days ago & no longer saying he would never support the For The People Act. But we can’t just trust, we must verify.
And there must be more than a compromise. There must also be a guarantee that Manchin will not hold onto the filibuster.
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