March, 17 2021, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Valentina Stackl, Greenpeace USA, vstackl@greenpeace.org, (734) 276-6260
Greenpeace Response to Senate Introduction of for the People Act
WASHINGTON
In response to the Senate introduction of the For the People Act (S.1), a comprehensive democracy reform package, Folabi Olagbaju, Greenpeace USA Democracy Campaign Director, said:
"Our democracy should be a powerful tool for advancing solutions that protect our planet and our communities, but it has been hijacked by fossil fuel interests. The reforms in the For the People Act will be a major step in fixing what is broken in our democracy, by getting polluters' money out of politics, restoring voting rights, and returning power to the people by ending gerrymandering. We know the time for transformative change is now. Since the 2020 election, 43 states have already introduced, prefiled, or carried more than 250 bills to restrict or limit voting access this year, intentionally aiming to drown out the voices of voters, particularly Black, Brown, and Indigenous voters, who voted in record numbers this past election cycle. The voting reforms in the For the People Act would stop virtually every voting restriction introduced in state legislatures this year in its tracks.
"We are encouraged that this much needed reform is being taken on as a priority in the 117th Congress. It is now up to the Senate to be true to their word and work in a bipartisan way to prove that this is a democracy that works for all and not big corporations or the rich and powerful. We will no longer continue to be indebted to big money funders, like the fossil fuel industry, seeking to influence our democracy.
"A healthy democracy is key to a healthy environment. As a result of these reforms, we will see a domino effect, with rapid progress on the issues we care about most, climate solutions that protect the environment and expanding affordable healthcare, to passing fair labor laws and creating millions of good-paying union jobs. We must deliver on the promise of democracy that protects the constitutional rights of all Americans to have a voice in how they are governed. The Senate must swiftly pass and President Biden must sign into law these bold and common-sense reforms to build a more just, fair, and inclusive democratic society."
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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'Fragile Political Moment' Is No Time to Silence Concerns Over Biden, Progressives Say
"The greatest consequence of this event may turn out to be fence-sitting Democratic electeds using it as an excuse to avoid a decision on Biden," said one observer.
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Progressives on Sunday pushed back against calls from "top Democratic sources," via CBS News, who said the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump demanded that those pushing to replace President Joe Biden in the presidential race "stand down."
Sources within the Democratic Party, said CBS News correspondent Robert Costa, "believe that those Democrats who have concerns about President Biden are now standing down politically [and] will back President Biden because of this fragile political moment."
"All of that talk about the debate faded almost instantly" after one person was killed and a bullet grazed Trump's right ear at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, according to Costa.
Biden and his allies have vehemently pushed back against calls for him to step aside from lawmakers and commentators following the first presidential debate in which he struggled to deliver a coherent message about his plans for a second term and the threat posed by Trump.
Trump has led Biden in polls for months, and the debate late last month led to calls from Democrats including Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont and 19 House members for Biden to allow another Democrat—such as Vice President Kamala Harris or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer—to run in his place.
"The greatest consequence of this event may turn out to be fence-sitting Dem electeds using it as an excuse to avoid a decision on Biden," said author and podcast host Max Fisher. "Probably the single best thing that could happen to Trump just happened."
Progressive organizer and former U.S. House candidate Aaron Regunberg said he was not convinced that Trump's chances of winning the election would necessarily be "massively helped by having a registered Republican almost shoot him," referring to suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The rally shooting, however—now indelibly associated with an image of Trump raising his fist before being whisked off stage by Secret Service agents—will likely emphasize the former president's claims to "strength and toughness," said Regunberg. "Democrats desperately need a nominee who can similarly demonstrate strength."
With Republican allies of Trump increasingly embracing "violent, authoritarian rhetoric," he added, it is "more urgent—not less—for Democrats to have a real conversation about whether our current nominee is on course to hand Trump a governing trifecta."
With Trump allies including Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) openly accusing Biden of fanning the flames that led to the shooting by speaking out against the former president's anti-democratic agenda, progressive political commentary magazine Current Affairs said the assassination attempt may have "emboldened Trump and his base while Biden remains historically unpopular."
Progressive commentators including Mehdi Hasan applauded Democratic elected officials for displaying "what normal people say and do at times like this" in contrast with Trump and other Republicans' response to violence directed at Democrats such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) husband Paul Pelosi in 2022.
Last year, Trump drew laughter at an event where he asked a crowd of supporters, "How's [Pelosi's] husband doing by the way? Does anyone know?" His son, Donald Trump Jr., spread conspiracy theories about the attack just days after it happened, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was among those who mocked Pelosi shortly after he was injured.
But critics cautioned Biden and the Democrats not to conflate a cruel response to the violence directed at Trump with legitimate attacks on the former president's authoritarian aspirations.
In the eyes of some voters, said University of Washington professor Sasha Senderovich, "The candidate who has to prove he's not senile every day is now running against a fucking superhero whom one is no longer allowed to call fascist because 'inflammatory rhetoric.'"
Financial Times columnist Edward Luce warned that "almost any criticism of Trump is already being spun by MAGA as an incitement to assassinate him. This is an Orwellian attempt to silence what remains of the effort to stop him from regaining power."
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As federal law enforcement officials launched a full investigation into the shooting at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, journalists and political observers expressed fear that the act of violence would ramp up political division and turmoil in the United States ahead of the November elections.
Boston Globe reporter James Pindell was among the journalists at the rally who shared that Trump supporters "turned on the media"—a frequent target of Trump during his presidency—after the shooting.
"The crowd was angry," he wrote. "Middle fingers were everywhere. They asked the press if they were happy and blamed the media. 'You did this,' they said to reporters."
Allies of Trump including Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), and former White House adviser Stephen Miller immediately placed blame with President Joe Biden, claiming the attack was the result of warnings that electing the former president to a second term would threaten democracy.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) denounced Collins' claim that Biden "sent the orders," calling it "a continuation of the bullshit rhetoric that drives political violence."
"A likely assassination attempt and gun violence on Trump is awful on many levels," said Pocan. "Adding jet fuel to the political climate is unbecoming of a member of Congress."
Trump, who spread baseless lies that the 2020 election was rigged against him and urged his supporters to riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 as Congress was certifying the results, has said he would act as a dictator on "day one" of his potential presidency.
Dozens of people who worked in his administration helped to write Project 2025, a far-right political agenda aimed at consolidating power with the president and dismantling parts of the federal government, and he has named political opponents he aims to prosecute and pledged to deploy the military to stop political protests.
"One response to Trump's attempted shooting (apparently by a registered Republican) we must NOT take is to stop framing the existential nature of this election," said political organizer Aaron Regunberg. "The problem isn't Democrats saying Trump is attacking our democracy—the problem is that he's attacking our democracy."
One audience member was killed and two were seriously injured after the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired several shots from a rooftop near Butler Farm Show, where the rally was held.
Trump was escorted off the stage after a bullet "pierced the upper part of his right ear," The New York Timesreported. The Secret Service reported that Crooks had been killed after firing his weapon, and that officials found an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle near his body.
Authorities did not identify a motive for the shooting.
Crooks was registered as a Republican in his hometown; records also showed that someone named Thomas Crooks donated $15 to a liberal voter turnout campaign called the Progressive Turnout Project in January 2021.
"This remains an active and ongoing investigation," said the FBI in a statement Sunday, as law enforcement agents closed down all roads leading to the home of the suspect's family in Bethel Park in the Pittsburgh area.
David Hogg, who survived the 2018 Parkland, Florida school shooting and co-founded March for Our Lives, said the gunman's ability to fire at the president and kill an audience member while in the presence of Secret Service agents and police is the latest proof that people across the U.S. are vulnerable to gun violence due to a lack of strict gun control laws, which Republican lawmakers have long refused to pass.
"What happened today is unacceptable and what happens every day to kids who aren't the president and don't survive isn't either," said Hogg. "It's insane we have such a major problem with gun violence in America that no one—not even a presidential candidate—is safe."
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This remains a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Update (9:45 pm):
President Joe Biden spoke on Saturday evening about the shooting at former President Donald Trump's campaign rally, saying the attack, like all political violence, was "sick" and "one of the reasons we have to unite this country."
"We cannot condone this," said Biden. "The bottom line is, the Trump rally was a rally that should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problem... Everybody must condemn it."
When asked if he believed the shooting was an assassination attempt, Biden said, "I have an opinion, but I don't have any facts."
Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim said on social media on Saturday night that law enforcement agents had recovered "an AR-style rifle" at the scene. Later police identified the gunman killed at the scene as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Cooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a town about 35 miles from where the events in Butler took place.
Earlier:
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was reportedly in "fine" condition after being wounded in an apparent assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The former president appeared to be bleeding from near his ear as he was hurried off stage after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots were heard at the event. The Secret Service then brought him to his motorcade.
A spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the former president was being examined at a local medical facility.
Richard Goldinger, district attorney for Butler County, Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press that the suspected gunman was dead and that at least one rallygoer had been killed.
The apparent shooting happened just minutes into the campaign event, where Trump had been talking about border crossings and immigration just before the shots rang out.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident at about 7:15 pm.
Police cordoned off a section of the bleachers at the rally after the apparent shooting, and the New York Times reported that the Secret Service began "kicking out the press and declaring it a crime scene."
Shortly after the incident, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle issued statements condemning the apparent act of violence against a presidential candidate.
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Federal agencies including the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were mobilizing Saturday evening to assist the Secret Service in responding to the incident.
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