Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) has joined the progressive chorus in calling for the head of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who stated his opposition to H.R. 1 in an opinion piece over the weekend.
“The reason this bill has no Republican support is because it gets in the way of Republican plans to undermine elections. This bill protects our democracy from Republican attempts to dismantle it,” Omar said on Twitter, likening the Democrat to a member of the opposite party.
The reason this bill has no Republican support is because it gets in the way of Republican plans to undermine elections.
This bill protects our democracy from Republican attempts to dismantle it. https://t.co/I2ES955i1q
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 7, 2021
H.R. 1, called the “For The People Act,” is sweeping voting legislation that would ban traditional election security measures like voter identification, expand absentee voting, and provide for other left-wing agenda items in the way of election reform.
Manchin refuses to vote for the legislation because “voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen,” according to his piece.
But Democrats have a razor thin margin in the U.S. Senate, 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote, and Manchin’s refusal to vote for this legislation, and other polarizing bills, has led to rage among the more progressive members of the party, like Omar.
Omar recently blasted President Joe Biden (D), considered a moderate Democrat, when reports surfaced that border wall construction was still underway. Biden halted the construction shortly thereafter.
She later called on her Democrat colleagues in the Senate to “grow a backbone” and abolish the filibuster, which would give Democrats near-total power to pass any legislation, provided that they vote along party lines.
Omar is not the only member of the progressive left who is frustrated with the party’s more moderate members.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) accused Manchin of “voter suppression.”
“Just thinking about how after this photo ran Wall Street Journal columnists spent more time criticizing me for not smiling enough than asking Manchin precisely what areas of ‘common ground’ he had in mind when he stood up for the GOP,” she said n Twitter. “Turns out voter suppression was one of them!”
Just thinking about how after this photo ran Wall Street Journal columnists spent more time criticizing me for not smiling enough than asking Manchin precisely what areas of “common ground” he had in mind when he stood up for the GOP.
Turns out voter suppression was one of them! https://t.co/hiMeVNKtss
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 7, 2021
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) shared the following tweet from Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY-17), accusing Manchin of upholding Jim Crow laws.
Manchin’s op-ed might as well be titled, “Why I’ll vote to preserve Jim Crow.” https://t.co/pS1xEvkwEz
— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) June 6, 2021
– – –
Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
