Wicker says this is a week that will decide the future, not only of the Senate, but the future of our republic.
On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) defended the 60-vote Senate filibuster rule and criticized proposed changes to national voting laws in speech on the Senate floor.
“Our friends on the other side of the aisle proposed this week to vote on destroying a provision that has served this Senate and this republic well for over two centuries, and that is what’s known as the filibuster, but what I call the consensus building 60-vote rule,” Senator Roger Wicker said.
“This is a time-honored way that this body has been unique, and it has enabled us to craft some of the most long-lasting and widely accepted legislation in the history of this republic,” Wicker continued.
The President posted a series of tweets declaring his support of changing the Senate filibuster to pass voting rights bills as he spoke to a crowd in Georgia advocating for the move.
When it comes to protecting majority rule in America, a majority should rule in the United States Senate.
To protect our democracy, I support changing the Senate rules to prevent a minority of Senators from blocking action on voting rights.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 11, 2022
“The next few days, when these voting rights bills come to a vote, will mark a turning point in this nation. Will we choose democracy over autocracy? Every Senator will have to declare where they stand,” Biden said.
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) also shared her thoughts on efforts to strike down the filibuster.
“2020 had the highest turn out in 120 years. 94% of voters said voting was easy. The fake hysteria about a ‘democracy in crisis’ is nothing more than a front to kill the filibuster– then we’ll see what a democracy in crisis really looks like,” Hyde-Smith said.
Wicker added that this may well decide the future of the American republic.
“This is a pivotal week, Mr. President. This is a week that will decide the future, not only of the Senate, but of the future of our government – our representative government – and the future of our republic,” Senator Wicker said. “I urge my colleagues to think twice about this.”
Anne Summerhays
