After hours of debate, Senate Republicans once again exploited the filibuster to block landmark voting rights legislation proposed by Senate Democrats and approved by the House. A measure to bypass the filibuster and pass the legislation with a simple majority also failed after conservative Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona refused to support any measure of filibuster reform.
Democrats have tried in vain multiple times to pass voting rights bills last year, hoping to offset the dozens of voter suppression bills passed into law by Republican state legislators under the guise of election security in 2021. Senators on the left have repeatedly noted that these bills disproportionately affect majority-Black communities, hindering their access to the ballot box. This has sparked comparisons to the historical disenfranchisement of Black voters, especially in the American South.
After the latest attempt to pass the legislation failed, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky held a press conference where he attempted to deny voter suppression measures were racist.
Watch below.
For anyone who wants the clip. Here it is. Minority Leader McConnell says the quiet part out loud. https://t.co/82sI1ehSot pic.twitter.com/0Wuf1l0icf
— Brendan Egan (@bse229) January 20, 2022
When asked what his message to voters of color concerned about equal access to the ballot box would be, McConnell responded:
"Well, the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting at just as high a percentage as Americans."
The slip suggested that McConnell believes Black Americans aren't really Americans.
Social media users called him out.
I need you to understand that this is who Mitch McConnell is.
Being Black doesn’t make you less of an American, no matter what this craven man thinks.
pic.twitter.com/Esk1NgIhD9
— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) January 20, 2022
Who are the Americans? https://t.co/OihnOyb6lm
— LaTosha Brown (@MsLaToshaBrown) January 20, 2022
Most Black Americans weren't surprised at all by McConnell's comment. We feel, experience, and live this sentiment every day in this country. https://t.co/trc3B6hb8V
— uché blackstock, md (@uche_blackstock) January 20, 2022
They’re a couple bills away from hanging “No Colored” signs at the voting booth. https://t.co/aiLrooa9Zf
— Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (@RevJacquiLewis) January 20, 2022
As much as I want to explain this away as a bad gaffe, the actions of the GOP suggest exactly what he said— they don’t see ME (or my family, friends, and neighbors) as Americans!
pic.twitter.com/1bP5qTOcnU
— Representative Dr. Jasmine Clark - HD 108 (@JasmineForHD108) January 20, 2022
More proof from the GOP’s 2nd favorite mouthpiece @LeaderMcConnell that the Republican Party is a pack of racists with an agenda to strip non-whites of rights as American citizens: pic.twitter.com/Ztdv8IkU9h
— Kevin Abosch (@kevinabosch) January 20, 2022
Some saw the comments as a rare moment of gruesome honesty from congressional Republicans' top spokesman.
i respect it when they’re honest! https://t.co/tnObCrnjzp
— read ‘revolution & evolution in the 20th century’ (@queersocialism) January 20, 2022
And there
it is folks, the honest truth @LeaderMcConnell thinks only white people are "American"
And
He is NOT alone, many or perhaps all of his Republicans colleagues feel the same way https://t.co/IPeigXAqfD
— Manny Funes (@Manny_Funes) January 20, 2022
I appreciate him being honest at least.
Screw this guy. https://t.co/MWBFnESMvz
— Krane (@danKRANE) January 20, 2022
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has vowed to continue the pursuit of voting rights legislation in the Senate, but with the filibuster essentially endowing McConnell with veto powers, that legislation faces an uphill battle.
