the john lewis voting rights act advancement gives us thatop opportunity. congressman lewis i know it would have wanted us to come together and find the path forward to address the many threats facing americans foundational right to vote. i would say what he would not have accepted pretty would not have accepted in t action. so let's try to live up to the memory an example of john lewis. a man of action one of my dearest friends in my years in the congress. and i know he is watching over us. let's make him proud. madam president i yield the floor. >> madam president click senate majority leader britt. >> let me think it might friend senator leigh he, not only from introducing the legislation but for his dedication he served in this body if you have done more to make sure people have the right to vote without some of the barriers that it always been place and they way they people who want to discriminate against people, particularly people of color when it comes to voting. so i thank him. madam president the story of american democracy is a messy tale of star

and if we had all these conversations, and how to show john lewis's story, saying why isn't there a john lewis comic book. if they had a movement then why can't we do it again now. and there's so much more story to tell. i went back to the office next day, and we had one of those meetings. and i raise my hand, because that's how we still did it, and said you know, i think john lewis should write a comic book. and everybody looked at me like i had three heads. and he was sweet about it. he said oh. maybe. and it moved on. and we all know it that means in politics. and i just kept at it. i just kept asking him, john when you write a comic book, when you read a comic book. and one day, he wrote a campaign, and this is why his house, and there was a thunderstorm. i think it's appropriate when i think about it. there is a flash of lightning, and then there's a roar of thunder, and there's two things that john lewis was ever afraid of, snakes and thunderstorms. so he takes off, a 65 years of age, down a sprint. running back to the car. we all dive in as the rain starts to patter on the roof, w

becoming more famous than john lewis was even though john lewis had been the most well-known figure after selma, right? and this relationship you see it in "run." we're setting it all up pics of them at the end of the next book john those writes a letter to julian saying you should run for the fifth district seat in georgia. julian openly said no, i'm not going to. that's when andy young goes to run, then john lewis, juul'ing come back and run against each other and 86. 86. it's like a real-life opera, right? it was a meaningful to me that i do with julian because i get to see the congressman and julian reconcile. i got to be within. julian called my phone to get to the congressman. i was given the messages. i have this old voicemail from juul'ing before he passed were called to wish the congressman a happy birthday. i get to see, i told the story i saw julian with the congressman in texas in 2014 and he comes up to me and he goes, so you did that comic book. well, i did it first. they were just this incredible pair, and it's amazing. i note this in the endnotes of "run." the reason sncc

i am with congressman john lewis. i'm at the foot of the edmund pettus bridge and i'm holding up a piece of legislation. the piece of legislation that then chairman leahy and i and our staff had worked tirelessly on over a year, and it was so fix the hole blown in the preclearance section of the voting rights act by the shelby county decision, a carefully balanced sensible other approach towards restoring the effectiveness of free clearance in the modern era the way that it is in this bill. and in a minute, i'll just ask you to walk us through what that balance is that the now john lewis voting rights act restoration act would do. but i have to say i'm sick at heart. i was smiling that day because i was so hopeful and because i was in the presence of a living saint. someone who had borne the blows and given his own blood in a dozen places across our country, in a dozen instances, set upon by a howling mob when he was on a gray house bus of the freedom ride. attacked by klansmen when he dared speak up for his rights. c

. >> we take you live now to a senate judiciary committee hearing examining the john r lewis voting rightsdvancement act of 2021. live coverage on c-span. [indiscernible conversation] sen. durbin: the hearing of the senate judiciary committee on protecting the precious, almost sacred right, the john r lewis voting rights advancement act will come to order. this is the fourth hearing on protecting the right to vote, which we introduced yesterday. before we begin, i would like to turn to a video to put this legislation in historic perspective. [video clip] >> those who founded our country knew freedom would be secure only if each generation bought to renew and enlarge its meeting -- its meaning. our generation of americans has been called to continue the unending search for justice within our own borders. >> we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. >> yet millions are being denied those blessings. >> let's make this final. >> with that, the texas elections bill that has made headlines is law. >> the new law will make it harder for the elderly, disabled and peo

john lewis championed this bill for years. the voting rights advancement act, as you have noted, mr. chairman, has been bipartisan for many years, just like all the efforts to restore the voting rights act have before it. i hope it continues to get bipartisan support, as it has always had. like the evolving decisions from the court that impacted the voting rights act, then this legislation also must evolve to address emerging concerns. it may be surprising to some when they hear the rhetoric to learn that the voting rights act has been an overwhelming bipartisan effort for decades. we seem to be in an era of toxic partisanship and i hope that will not obscure what has for decades united us across party lines. republican and democrat members of this committee -- this committee -- voted in support of reauthorizing the voting rights act of 2006. in fact, it wasn't long ago, we stood side-by-side unanimously approved the reauthorization of 2006 the voting rights act. we even stood together, house and senate members, republicans an

john lewis was my mentor for nearly 20 years. for those of us from georgia, for all americans, for people around the world, he represents the very best of public service and self sacrifice in advancing civil rights, voting rights, and human rights. on march 7, 1965 in selma, alabama, when congressman lewis and hundreds of others marched across the bridge into a storm of violence, and that day he had his skull fractured for daring to demand equal access to the ballot for black americans in the american south. inspired and motivated by his example and the example of those who gave so much that day, just 10 days later the voting rights act was introduced in the u.s. senate and signed into law by president johnson on august 6, 1965, thanks to the sacrifices of patriots like john lewis. in 2013, the supreme court invited the u.s. congress to update this vital statute and so thanks to the efforts of many senators, we are here to restore and strengthen the voting rights act, to recommit to protecting voting rights and ballot access for

thanks to the sacrifices of patriots like john lewis. in 2013 the supreme court invited the united states congress to update this vital voting rights statute, and still thanks to the efforts of senator durbin and lake and we are here to restore and strengthen the voting rights act, to recommit to protecting the voting rights on the ballot access for voters in georgia and across the country, no matter the color of their skin. it is essential that we passed this legislation and at this time i would yield to senator durbin for his questions. >> thank you, senator. i just want to say at the outset -- i'd like to say the comments made, i thought to myself these are echoes of the same arguments that we have always heard. leave it to the states. things will turn out just fine. history tells us otherwise. history tells us unless we carefully guard the right to vote for every american some lieutenant to exploit the situation -- miss wiser in your testimony you talked about the findings of professor mccrary -- a staggering 1043 violations in the l

john lewis was my mentor for nearly 20 years. for those of us from georgia, for all americans, for people around the world, he represents the very best of public service and self sacrifice in advancing civil rights, voting rights, and human rights. on march 7, 1965 in selma, alabama, when congressman lewis and hundreds of others marched across the bridge into a storm of violence, and that day he had his skull fractured for daring to demand equal access to the ballot for black americans in the american south. inspired and motivated by his example and the example of those who gave so much that day, just 10 days later the voting rights act was introduced in the u.s. senate and signed into law by president johnson on august 6, 1965, thanks to the sacrifices of patriots like john lewis. in 2013, the supreme court invited the u.s. congress to update this vital statute and so thanks to the efforts of many senators, we are here to restore and strengthen the voting rights act, to recommit to protecting voting rights and ballot access for

that's why the john lewis voting rights act is here. it seeks to ensure that americans all parties, all races, all backgrounds have the right to vote protected. it has never been the party, about the power of one party over another. in the last election we elected a republican governor and a democrat lieutenant governor. it's not about a federal takeover, it's about empowering citizens to fulfill their constitutional committee and exercise the right to vote. we as elected representatives of the people ought to be able to agree that it is a right towards protecting. the legislation introduced yesterday's a combination of many months of negotiations both in the senate and house in the consultation with the department of justice. the supreme court -- current voting conditions and then preface any voting legislation. what does the record show? it demonstrates action in senate is needed. the >> we did our part, we introduced the senate version and uses the goals, and incorporated until we saw a bipartisan conversation. it never has been, not

the john lewis voting rights act would restore preclearance as the gold standard of voting rights enforcement not only for some states, but for all. theon lewis voting rights act makes real the creed of america. liberty and justice for all. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 4, 2021, the gentleman from arizona, mr. schweikert is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. schweikert: thank you, madam speaker. i'm going to try something for the next hour and it's going to be one of those presentations that's always a little on the difficult side because we're going to talk about things a lot of this place and a lot of the country doesn't want to hear. but we call it math. and first premise, i need to ask all of us, if i were to walk into a room of democrats, people on the left, or people on the right, and say what's the biggest threat over the next couple of decades that is facing your country? you'd hear all sorts of things. a couple of years ago with the democrat it was russia, russia. today it may be this or that.

the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act contains a number of provisions. a bailout provision that would allow jurisdictions with a clean fill of health a way to exempt themselves from the preclearance obligation. judicial review is available to jurisdictions that want to bypass the justice department and proceed to court. there is a long history of good and strong collaboration between the justice department and local and state election officials. the justice department has carried out its review of voting laws in 60 days or less. it has done so in a transparent manner publishing guidelines that walk the public and officials through the process. the process that it undertakes when reviewing a voting law. we have heard from states like mississippi and north carolina told the supreme court in the shelby case that doj is flexible and has latitude in how they handle the section five process. i think this bill, again, makes clear that there is flexibility and latitude and respect for local and state jurisdictions that are administering their local law. the goal

we expect the same with the john lewis bill this week.ek president joe biden did not rule out that he would support a change in the filibuster or at least a carveout, at least on that and other issues. we got him to go from no to changing anything on a filibuster, to a maybe. now we must make that maybe go to yes. not just the president, but those in the senate, those 50 who are empowered because of the turnout of voters. the reason that manchin and synema have power is because we gave them the power. they are not there by their own will or even the electorate of the state. they are there because of the collective turnout around this country. that is why we deserve a carveout in voting rights. we stood out in all kinds of circumstances to make sure we change the center. we want to make sure they change the vulnerability of those who would try and rob us of our right to vote. we will be right back. will be . we have to be able to repair the enamel on a daily basis. with pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its

on that day john lewis said this.he referred to the monuments as a monument to peace, to love and to nonviolence resistance on the front yard of america. to symbolize the cornerstone of our two democracies. doctor king's presence on the front yard of america with president washington, president lincoln, president jefferson, his presence while not a president has wrought mustard to this line and had run justice to the front lawn and brought many more children to thefront lawn of america . today it is a privilege i know for all of us to return the mall where so many were here for the dedication, so many who played a role in the ideas and then both fulfillment of that idea of this monument and many members of the congressional black caucus who are here today. they are led by our chair now joyce beatty and i want them all to rise members of the congressionalblack caucus . thank you for your leadership and i also want to thank luther king the third, former mayor muriel and-year-old browser for their participation. and isn'

does the john lewis voting rights act cover all of them? >> yes. it possible to stop these fires before they get lit, and the purpose of the freedom to vote act is you really stop the ones that are already in place. so together if one doesn't take care of it, then the other one does. >> okay. good, they work together. i know that, ben, you have called on president biden, really called him out kind of for not doing enough on this issue. you're urging him tell the senate to remove the filibuster as an obstacle, pass voting rights legislation after doing so. if you consider the political calculus, do you think the president's waiting for an opportune time to weigh in or do you think he's just not prioritizing voting rights as highly as you'd like to see him do it? >> you know, jeez, i hope so. but you know, and they even -- the white house seemed to push out a rumor that he would in "rolling stone" magazine. i wouldn't cancel a rock concert for a rumor in rolling stone magazine. i certainly wouldn't cancel this movement. when the president had courage

the john lewis bill will be taking up next week. all of this is marching towards calling the question on the filibuster. i think at that point, i think we will hear from the white house. they will have no choice. we will hear from the president. that's going to be the moment we decide how we're going forward. whether we will be a democracy or not. >> all right. always great to get chance to talk to you. thank you. >>> the house is expected to vote tomorrow to refer steve bannon to prosecutors for criminal contempt. it's a warning shot to any other witnesses who plan on defying the investigation. one witness who isn't taking the banner route is mark meadows. what we know about that and the investigation into the war room on january 6th, after this. war on january 6th, after this but there is one van equipped to handle them all. for over 120 years, mercedes-benz vans have been built, upfitted and ready to go. because we believe dreams - should never stay that way. ♪ i like it, i love it, i want some more of it♪ ♪i try so hard, i can't

>> we know that john lewis bill -- let me just step back -- will stop states with a history of racialolling back voting rights in the future. >> this bill is an assault on democracy. this is a power grab. it's cynical. and it's wrong. >> outfront now, stacey abrams, former democratic candidate for governor in georgia and the founder of fair fight action, which fights voter suppression. so, you heard senator grassley say this bill is a disaster. senator cruz calling it a assault on democracy, a power grab by democrats. what do you say to them? >> well, i would, first, point out that senator grassley referenced 240-year history where it has taken multiple constitutional amendments, multiple federal laws, and untold number of court cases to ensure access to democracy. and unfortunately, in the wake of the 2020 election, we have watched 48 states try to pass laws. we've had 19 successfully do so to roll back access to the right to vote and so it's been 240 years of fighting to simply have access to the right to vote for so many americans who should be entitled to it via their citizenship.

[applause] on that day, john lewis said this. he referred to the monument as a monument to peace, to love and to nonviolent resistance on the front yard of america, to symbolize the cornerstone of our democracy. doctor king's presence on the front yard of america with presidents washington, lincoln, jefferson. well, his presence has brought luster to the front lawn, has brought justice to the front lawn and has brought many more children to the front lawn of america. today it is a privilege i know for all of us to return to the mall, for so many that are here for the dedication, so many who played a role in the ideas and then the fulfillment of that idea of this monument. and there are many members of the congressional black caucus that are here today. they are met by the chair now, and i want them all to rise. the members of the congressional black caucus. [applause] thank you for your leadership, and i also want to thank the martin luther king 3, the former mayor, and the [inaudible] for their participation. and isn't it a thri

they can vote for the john lewis bill. we want them to vote for it. but the obstruction we're seeing is scary in this -- in where we are right now with a former president pushing the big lie, telling people not to vote, and the subversion and suppression legislation we see around the country. but they will have a chance in the coming weeks to support the john lewis bill. >> cedric richmond, thank you for your time. >> thanks for having me. >>> join cnn tomorrow night for an exclusive town hall with president joe biden. anderson cooper will moderate as the president takes questions from the american people. that's at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. >>> coming up -- a major development in the search for gabby petito's fiance. the fbi will give an update any time. that's ahead. >>> and -- guilty much? liz cheney suggests it's easy to see why president trump is fighting the january 6th committee. stay with us. ♪ ♪ do you know what the future holds? people were afraid i was contagious. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years cle

as soon as next week i'm prepared to bring the john lewis voting rights advancement act here to the floor. what we saw from republicans today is not how the senate is supposed to work. this is supposed the greatest -- the world's greatest deliberative body where we debate, forge compromise, amend, and pass legislation to help the american people. that is the legacy of this great chamber. the senate needs to be restored to its rightful status as the world's greatest deliberative body. now, in the aftermath of the civil war and as the nation began the colossal work of reconstruction, america was more divided than at any point in history. it was hard to imagine that a single nation could endure after the bloody conflict of the four previous years. at the time the republican congress set to work on granting newly freed slaves the basic freedoms that had long been denied to them. these freedoms were eventually enshrined in the 14th and 15th amendments granting due process and the right to vote to all citizens, regardless of color or race. today these amendments rank as some of the greatest and

hr 4, the john lewis voting rights act.versary of mlk memorial dedication. ten years it's been. imagine. martin luther king was 58 years ago, nearly 60 years ago when he stood near that place and talked about justice and democracy and the beautiful speech. i had a dream speech. this fierce urgency of now. now martin luther king is there on the mall as john lewis called it, america's front yard, with washington and lincoln and jefferson. presidents of the united states and reverend martin luther king. so we'll go down there and honor dr. king, of course, being inspired by his work and words to protect the ballot. meanwhile, here on the hill, this select committee on january 6th continues its work this week unanimously on a bipartisan basis voting to hold one of the past presidents advisers to contempt for failing to comply with congressional subpoena. the committee is seeking information from bannon that is central to the investigative and legislative purpose. to investigate the january 6th domestic terrorist attack that was

president, i rise to speak in favor of the john r. lewis advancement act, when the body proceeds to debate, to proceed to debate in a forum before the american public with an offer to our republican colleagues to offer amendments, offer improvements, offer adjustments. this is incredibly important. we had a vote on the freedom to vote act last week, a bill that i am proud to be a cosponsor of, along with the presiding officer, and i'm proud to be a cosponsor of the john lewis voting rights advancement act. what does the john lewis bill do? it basically does two things. first, it restores a vigorous preclearance environment that was part of the original voting rights act section 5 that was struck down by the united states supreme court in 2013 in the shelby versus mississippi opinion. the supreme court in shelby said you could have a preclearance requirement but you couldn't apply that requirement only to the geographic jurisdictions covered in the 1965 act, congress would have to analyze and come up with a new set of criteria for who should

rights icon john lewis.he bill would restore a part of the gutted 1965 voting rights act, that requires states with recent histories of racial discrimination, in voting, to get federal approval from the justice department before making changes to their voting rules. today, senate democrats, led by senator patrick leahy over, mont introduced their version of the bill. now, this bill faces an uphill battle in the senate, but the senate judiciary committee is set to hold a hearing on the bill tomorrow, titled, protecting a precious almost sacred right, the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act, but activists are not satisfied to wait, this was the scene outside the white house today, as protesters held a giant voting rights now sign, in a banner that read in all caps, president biden, no more excuses, voting rights now. the protest was organized by the league of women voters of the united states. people for the american, way and the, declaration for american democracy. they saying this little light of min

we have to get ready -- host: one pastor, you primary john lewis in 2008. talk about that experience. guest: after his illness, i was there in his last days. i have always been a believer that if you want to see change, you have to see the change you want to see, congressman lewis, misses king, the other legendary civil rights leaders, it's time for another generation to emerge. nonviolence, direct action, social change, a lot of the voices are passive. we have to be solution focused, not just yelling and screaming at each other, but bringing together the sisterhood and brotherhood of resolutions, solutions, not just trying to defeat each other. host: tim is in minneapolis this morning. caller: i think that people are forgetting that the public, when i was in the military, i was subject to the people. people in general, the police are also forgetting that, the people are supposed to be in control. i'm all in favor of things like collaboration and citizens arrests. there is a law in our state, pretty sure i read this right, if you see a felony being committe

voting right -- named of course for the great john lewis. basically, reauthorize is the key provision of the original voting rights act that had been systematically gutted by the john roberts spring court over the past year or eight years or so. then there is the for the people act, that's a big, very ambitious proposal, it covers everything from ballot access, to ex ethics rules, taking on dark money groups that have flourished in the wake of citizens united, they used unregulated sources of money. now the freedom to vote act, for one that was up for consideration, the senate this afternoon, that's like not the big unambitious won it is a significantly sick scaled back version of that big ambitious agenda that's already passed in the house. you might even call it a watered down version of the for the people act there's a reason for. that you might not be surprised to hear that the mcleod extend under joe manchin he's been in the news a lot recently as the kind of scourge of legislation he said he would not support the big bold voting rights

this would have been precleared had we had that john lewis voting act in. and i certainly agree with you on hbcus. i'm in washington, dc tonight because i preached at rankin chapel for dr. richardson this morning, and howard university produced us a vice president of the united states, kamala harris. thank you both for being with us. there was no resistance, in fact you all were anxious to come on together to show this united front of fighting the real opposition. thank you, congresswoman sheila jackson lee. thank you, congressman al green. >>> coming up, discrimination and racism even within the most respected institutions in this country. i'll explain how you can rise up together to douse the flames of bigotry. >>> plus more damning information about trump's disgraceful inaction during the january 6 insurrection. i'll discuss with my panel. >>> but first, my colleague richard lui with today's other top news stories. richard? >> rev, a very good sunday to you. >>> some of the stories we're watching for you this hour, authorities say no charges will be file

we all believe it is vital that congress pass reforms like the john lewis bill. what we are seeing in a lot of states, especially southern states and red states elsewhere is republican efforts to make it it vote -- to make it vote and harder to make those votes to count. both voter suppression which is throwing people off of the voting rolls and gerrymandering the districts so they don't have the opportunity to choose a broader array, and other things that make it harder for people to reach the polls, that is one set of things. the other dangerous precedent we are seeing is a state legislatures telling a local and state election officials that the legislators will be a target in the elections. there is a dangerous and scary array of things happening in these states and it is vital for congress to pass these democracy reform bills. the problem is it cannot be done by democrats alone unless the filibuster is eliminated. that is almost certainly not going to happen. we would need to attract tenants and it republicans to vote for these bills. that is not impossible b

>> this afternoon we discussed redistricting with the john r lewis voting rights. my name is evelyn and i'm associate director from the federalist society all expressions and opinions are those of the experts we are very pleased they'r could join us after hours beakers to turn to audience questions if you have a question please enter at the q&a speaker at the bottom of your screen thank you for being with us today. >> spent thank you to the federal society. and and then into redistricting experts who have dealt with the issue for multiple cycles. and then the new york law school for the professor of law. and then second on the panel so without further do. >> it is a pleasure a longtime friend and associate of mine we may come from different political or philosophical backgrounds and for many years have been able to work to gather in the common interest of pursuing of their redistricting policies across the country and enforcing the voting rights act wherever you look at it. so i will start and give a brief overview of the lewis voting rights advancement act in the

this summer the house passed hr4, the john lewis voting rights advancement act to strengthen sections 2 and 5 of the voting rights act and this summer it was suing the state of georgia under section 2 of the voting rights act and commend your department for working to protect the rights of all americans to vote. section 2 of the voting rights act prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race while section 5 of the act main dates that changes to voting practices in certain covered jurisdictions be pre-cleared by federal authorities. with the supreme court having nullified section 5 in effect the pre-clearance requirement by ruling the coverage formula was unconstitutional, does the department view section 2 litigation alone as adequate to safeguard voting rights, or must congress pass the john lewis voting rights advancement act and reinstate section 5 in order for voting rights to be adequately safeguarded zbloo. the justice department supports that act. section 2 is what we have. section 5 is what we need. >> knowing the house has passed hr4 does the

john lewis was absolutely right. this is an american issue if you believe in democracy you believe in the right of everybody to vote. and for those of us who run for elective office, i always fought in vermont to make sure that everybody could vote knowing that there were some sections of the state where there may be a majority voting against me. i've always insisted everybody be able to vote. that's democracy. the core provisions of the voting rights act has been revised five times -- five times. every single time there was overwhelming bipartisan support in congress, republicans and democrats alike voted for it. president nixon president reagan president george w. bush proudly signed voting rights authorization -- reauthorizations into law and those presidents, nixon reagan, and george w. bush spoke of the profound importance of the landmark law of our democracy. in fact, just to show how it goes the most recent voting rights act reauthorization in 2006 you know what the vote was in the united states senate? 98-0.

. >> voting rights experts joined the federalist society in conversation on the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act and possible effects on drawing voting districts. this is an hour. >> welcome to the federalist society virtual event. we discussed redistricting, the john r. lewis we might advancement act. mining is apple and and i'm an associate director for the for lost society -- federalist society. today, we are fortunate to have the office of the secretary. after opening remarks, we will turn to audience questions. if you have a question, enter it into the q&a future at the bottom of your screen. with that, thank you for being with us today. >> thank you to the federalist society for hosting this panel. i am delighted to welcome these two amazing redistricting experts who have dealt with the issue for multiple cycles. with this issue for multiple cycles. first, professor jeffrey white from the new york university law school -- new york law school as adjunct professor of law and senior fellow and director of their census and redistricting institute. second, mark bra

and the john lewis voting bill needs to pass. host: all right. fox news reporting, democrats coming out of this meeting with president say framework for social spending bill is good. but they need specifics. remember, president biden came to the hill in late september wanting a deal. he likely leaves today again without a concrete deal. ethel in louisiana, democratic caller. we'll try to squeeze you in. the house is about to gavel in. make it quick. caller: hi, greta. i'm asking we need another female. host: all right. we'll leave it there on that note. the house is coming in for their legislative session. our live coverage right here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy visit ncicap.org] [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political o

the department finds the john lewis voting rights advancement back contains a number of

as soon as next week, i am prepared to bring the john lewis rights to enact here. what we saw from the republicans today is not how the senate was supposed to work. >> the measure scaled back by democrats last month to win the backing of joe manchin. those efforts, joe, failed to sway any republicans support yesterday. what does it mean and explain the position joe manchin is in right now. >> first of all, it means republicans have taken obstruction to a new level. you talk about do nothing republicans? think about this. >> they block the vote. they are sort of a schoolhouse story situation. they were like george wallace. they stood in the door way and stopped people from being able to go in and vote to expand voting rights for all americans. this would help all americans. we have white and black americans and asian-americans, you name it. this would help everybody. when you have the united states having lower voting turn out than most western democracy, this is a good thing. this is sort of the things when it passes and it will pass. you have people looking back 1

mitch mcconnell had more than empty platitudes for the legacy and work of my friend congressman john lewis. i wish he would support voting rights way -- the way he did back in the day when he attended the march on washington as a college student. instead, he is opposing the freedom to vote act. why? he knows his party can only win if they resurrect jim crow. i wish kevin mccarthy gave a damn in working parties -- families or infra structure. i wish i could tell you he is working to cut a deal with democrats but he is too busy catering with conspiracy theorists and insurrectionists in his party. i wish these republican governors were serious about keeping our kids safe during a pandemic. i've got two little boys at home who are not old enough yet to be vaccinated. one of them right now is quarantined because a kid in his class got covid. their safety is always my top priority and i can't tell you how much time i have spent, how many hours of sleep my wife and i have lost thinking about covid protocols and their protection. i know it is the same for families across this country. you think th

you can fix that and spend as many years, the john lewis voting rights act would fix that. the supreme court told congress to do that. that would be another piece. the democrats have problems with the filibuster, with joe manchin and kyrsten sinema who have issues. these other priorities, infrastructure and other things. my argument is if the ship sinks in a year, these other priorities also go by the wayside. things people care about, lgbtq rights, immigration, health care, climate. all of that will be at the whims of whoever is in power if the voters no longer matter. democrats need to step up and use their tiny majority in this moment -- it is not a mandate -- in the next year to shore up democracy for the people of america, all americans, republicans, democrats, independents so that we can still decide our own leaders. host: john, ryan lander, wisconsin. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have no problem voting in wisconsin. that usually takes me 15 minutes. i drive to my polling place, stand in line and cast my ballot. i come back home. we need to have 50 separate

mitch mcconnell had more than empty platitudes for the legacy and work of my friend congressman john lewis. i wish he would support voting rights way -- the way he did back in the day when he attended the march on washington as a college student. instead, he is opposing the freedom to vote act. why? he knows his party can only win if they resurrect jim crow. i wish kevin mccarthy gave a damn in working parties -- families or infra structure. i wish i could tell you he is working to cut a deal with democrats but he is too busy catering with conspiracy theorists and insurrectionists in his party. i wish these republican governors were serious about keeping our kids safe during a pandemic. i've got two little boys at home who are not old enough yet to be vaccinated. one of them right now is quarantined because a kid in his class got covid. their safety is always my top priority and i can't tell you how much time i have spent, how many hours of sleep my wife and i have lost thinking about covid protocols and their protection. i know it is the same for families across this country. you think th

there are pieces of john lewis voting rights act that we've heard about the act of 1965 was designedinute which gave formally enslaved black men mainly right to vote and that was taken away through maneuvers in theta city and putting rights act, in 2013, as an important provision of that, but in 2015 we see a lot of these anticlotting laws come back. ofsupreme court sent congress, u can fix that and spends many years with a sack would be the thing the fixes that john lewis voting rights act and it would be another piece of the democrats have problems with the filibuster andth problems with o members of the senate caucus they don't want to amend the bill or they have issues with the filibustered in other priorities infrastructure another things in my arm it is that if the chip in the democracy in here, doesn't really matter please other priorities over by the wayside pretty lgbtq to rise immigration healthcare climate, all of that will be at the whims of whoever is in power of the voters noe longer matter and that is why the democrats really need to step up and use their majority this