Mychael Schnell and Mike Lillis interviewed Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) a couple of days ago. If the Democrats win the House, she’ll almost certainly be the Majority Leader and the two reporters wanted to know about the party’s policy agenda going forward.
Protecting democracy looks like it will be the first bill (H.R. 1). She told them that “We know that everything flows from the right to vote and having voter security, and what we have seen are attacks on that right to vote— undermining, through misinformation, Americans’ belief in the integrity [of elections]. We have fair and secure elections in this country… Trump and JD Vance are still denying the 2020 election, which is outrageous.”
Schnell and Lillis wrote that she didn’t tell them what the exact provisions of a voting rights bill would be, though she offered two options the House Democratic leaders re talking about— the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
In 2019 the For The People Act passed the House 234-193, every Democrat voting for it and every Republican voting against it. The Democrats introduced it again in 2021 and it passed the House 220-210. Senate Republicans filibustered it and when the Democrats tried to abolish the filibuster for bills protecting democracy, conservative Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema sided with the Republicans. Manchin offered a much watered down version of the bill but the Republicans rejected that too.
The original For the People Act would have made Election Day a Federal holiday, thwarted gerrymandering, required states to have automatic registration, to permit same day registration, hold early voting for at least 2 weeks, limited states’ ability to kicked registered voters off the rolls and restored voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences. It was probably the election finance reform part of the bill that caused unanimity on the GOP side of the aisle. Political parties could not raise more than $100 million to spend on a candidate and introduced voluntary public financing, matching small donations at a 6:1 ratio. It would also require PACs to disclose their donors and prevent foreign lobbying.
The other big priority is protecting reproductive freedom from right-wing states and right-wing courts. “We will take votes to make sure that the stories we are hearing about women being denied fundamental health care when they are in a crisis,” said Clark. “This is a national horror show that is playing out for women. It is a denial of health care. This focus on health care and making sure that we restore parity for women in his country, that we have protection so that pregnant women can get the care that their doctors recommend when they need is, is going to be a top priority of this Congress going forward.”
She’s describing the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify protections that had been afforded by Roe v. Wade. I'm guessing that will be H.R. 2. After that, it's anybody's guess, but if anyone asked me, I'd go for raising the minimum wage, which is less... abstract for many voters. Even though it's called the "For The People Act," many voters will see it as a for the politicians act. The House Dems should do minimum wage fast; it sends a message that you can understand without a college diploma.
Jerrad Christian is a progressive Democrat running for Congress in an Ohio district turning from red to purple. The DCCC and Ohio Democratic Party ignore the district and the people in it, helping to destroy the Democratic Party brand there. Christian is doing yeoman’s work to turn that around. His opponent, knee-jerk MAGA backbencher Troy Balderson isn’t thinking about saving democracy; he’s thinking about how to make Jim Jordan speaker of the House. Today, Christian told us that “When the Democratic party takes over the House, Senate, and the Presidency after this November, it's not just a good idea or a suggestion to protect voting rights and ensure campaign finance reform— it's a necessity. Our democracy is very young and very fragile— it's only 60 years old. It was formed with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Before every American had a voice, no American had a voice. We cannot go back. We must ensure a future with safe elections and without the interference of billions of dollars spreading lies.”
Christian is running this ad on MSNBC, CNN and Fox. Please consider helping him keep it on the air right through Election Day. Some of the spots cost less than $25 but, like we said, neither the DCCC nor the Ohio Democratic Party gives a damn about the people in OH-12.
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