On Thursday, a Democratic politician from Arizona may have sounded the death knell for those in Texas still holding out hope that Congress might save them from our state GOP’s crusade against fair voting access and non-white electoral representation.
In a floor speech, U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema—the mercurial moderate and foil for progressive Dems—reaffirmed her opposition to undermining the filibuster in order to pass sweeping voting rights legislation. “While I continue to support these bills, I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country,” Sinema said. This was a direct blow to President Joe Biden, who had pronounced his support for bypassing the Senate procedure.
Biden was in the building as Sinema spoke, plotting behind closed doors with Senate Democrats. When the president emerged, he did little to inspire confidence. “The honest to God answer is I don’t know whether we can get this done,” Biden told reporters after Sinema’s speech. “As long as I’m in the White House, as long as I’m engaged at all, I’m going to be fighting.”
