On January 8, Republican operatives learned that trying to stop the For the People Act would be a waste of money. That’s because it was extremely popular, even among conservative voters because it would: “Stop billionaires from buying elections.” So the GOP disguised their opposition with a billionaire-funded nationwide campaign of voter suppression. It diverted attention and gave cover to Joe Manchin and his Republican and Democratic colleagues alike, all dependent on dark money.

Abolish the Filibuster. Pass S1. Save Democracy. It took months to defeat the filibuster to pass the 1960s Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Next week the Senate votes on the For the People Act. Just as we turned out in record numbers in the middle of a pandemic, we come together now to abolish the filibuster and pass the For the People Act. Join us. Save democracy.

We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.

—Louis D. Brandeis

The Senate will be in recess for all but 35 days over the next three months. We must insist that our MoCs forcefully inform Majority Leader Schumer and President Biden that the only way to demonstrate that Republicans’ real agenda is delay and obstruction is for Schumer to force them to employ talking filibusters. Simultaneously, Biden must use his bully pulpit to call for the filibuster’s elimination. Only then will we have any chance of preserving our democracy.

Our democracy is in mortal danger from the GOP’s rigging of elections. We need our Members of Congress to understand the urgency, raise their voices and strengthen their spines. We must keep Lincoln’s promise that democracy “ . . . shall not perish from the earth.”

Corporations and the politicians they buy have kept us from realizing our future by pitting us against each other by race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. The center of our power is the right to vote, which is why the forces against voting are so loud. They can only take away our power if we let them. Commit to calling Congress and taking action to keep our right to vote. We must harness our power for our future.

The insurrection did not end on January 6. It continues to be stoked by the “Big Lie” that Trump actually won. To neutralize the insurrection, we need the findings from a January 6 Commission and passage of S.1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

Biden’s budget tells us what he values: reducing poverty and inequality, and ending the climate crisis. McConnell said that he is “100%” focused on “stopping” Biden. The clock is ticking. Democrats must pass spending bills that reflect Biden’s -- and our -- values before it’s too late.

Biden warned yesterday that “democracy is in peril.” We can fight for and strengthen our democracy by pulling down the barriers that subvert the freedom to vote for People of Color.

Today, as we remember those who died in combat, we pause to reflect on veterans who, upon returning from war, died in domestic acts of racist terror. Today, we pledge to do all we can to end racist policies, racist terror, and racist violence. Today, though our MoCs' offices are closed, we can still leave messages asking them to join us.

The Senate can no longer put off confronting the filibuster. Majority Leader Schumer must force the GOP to filibuster bills with widespread bipartisan support now languishing in the Senate. This is the only way to demonstrate to the country and wavering Democratic Senators that the GOP’s real agenda is delay and obstruction. Failure to act decisively now will cause our democracy to wither and die.