andrew yang
MPower Action Co-Founder Linda Sarsour Releases Statement on Andrew Yang's Comments on BDS
In the wake of deeply offensive and dangerous comments made by Andrew Yang slandering BDS activists, Linda Sarsour, the Co-Founder of MPower Action, released the following statement:
"Andrew Yang's outrageous libel of protesters peacefully opposing human rights violations is disqualifying. Yang's explicit smear of activists, and implicit insult of Palestinians, is something I'd have expected to hear from the Trump administration. It's the kind of malicious rhetoric that must be rejected regardless of political party or affiliation.
As a Palestinian-American voter, and a proud New Yorker, I utterly reject Andrew Yang's absolutely false accusation against activists using principled non-violence to hold the Israeli government accountable.
Would-be elected officials should listen to Palestinian-Americans voters in their districts, rather than pretend we don't exist. They should also avoid spreading dangerous falsehoods that implicate already marginalized communities and set back the fight against identifying and combating the scourge of anti-Semitism."
McConnell Vows to Be 'Firewall' Against Progress in Senate As Democrats Mull Eliminating Filibuster
While lawmakers from both parties have used the tactic in the past, Democrats, hoping to flip the Senate, look to block GOP opposition in 2021.
Hoping to allow for the passage of progressive legislation, advocacy groups renewed calls to end the filibuster this week as Republican lawmakers joined Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in warning against the idea.
"This threat to permanently disfigure, to disfigure the Senate, has been the latest growing drumbeat in the modern Democratic Party's war against our governing institutions," McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor Monday.
Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups have ramped up calls to abolish the filibuster--a tactic used by both parties to thwart minority party opposition to legislation in the U.S. Senate--going so far as to set up a "war room" to, according to reporting by NBC News, "wage an all-out war on the Senate filibuster in bullish anticipation of sweeping the 2020 election and passing an ambitious progressive agenda."
Following McConnell's comments, Stand Up America, a grassroots advocacy group in favor of eliminating the filibuster, pointed to the urgent need for aggressive policies to combat the climate crisis as an argument for more Democrats to endorse getting rid of the process:
Mitch McConnell has shamelessly declared that GOP senators will use the filibuster as a "firewall" against any effort to pass a progressive agenda, including legislation to address the increasing frequency of man-made climate disasters like the fires raging across the country. That is disgraceful.
More areas than just the West will face wildfires, hurricanes, and other crises unless Congress is able to pass comprehensive legislation to address climate change. If Republicans are allowed to filibuster any meaningful progress, that won't be possible.
The science is real, and the threat is increasingly deadly. When Democrats flip the Senate, they cannot waste time on meaningless negotiations. If there is any hope of ending Republicans' senseless blockade on climate action legislation, it starts with abolishing the filibuster.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have used the filibuster to counter majority-party legislative proposals, but in recent decades Democrats have moved toward supporting its elimination.
"There's nothing in the Constitution about a filibuster," former presidential candidate Andrew Yang told Ezra Klein in an interview published at Vox last week. "It is just some weird, arcane, esoteric Senate rule that took on a life of its own. And so if you're willing to put that rule above getting stuff done, then what are you doing?"
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), also former White House hopefuls, support eliminating the filibuster.
\u201cPresident Obama is absolutely right. It is an outrage that modern-day poll taxes, gerrymandering, I.D. requirements, and other forms of voter suppression still exist today. If expanding the Voting Rights Act requires us to eliminate the filibuster, then that is what we must do.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1596139956
\u201cWe know what's broken in this country and we know how to fix it. But widely popular policies are stuck\u2014and Republican obstruction in the Senate is only getting worse. \n\nWe won't make progress unless we face this head on: It\u2019s past time to get rid of the filibuster.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1596300077
In August, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he is open to the idea, but stopped short of fully supporting it. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Republicans to do away with the filibuster when Democrats have used it to block GOP-led legislation during his tenure, calling it "stupid" and "ridiculous." But, like Democratic lawmakers who now wish to abolish the proceeding and had previously admired the use of the filibuster to block opposing party legislation, Trump has also flip-flopped on his position.
Still, progressive Democrats and advocates say the filibuster is outdated and needs to be retired.
"Rhetoric alone simply won't get it all done," Christina Harvey, managing director for Stand Up America, said in a statement earlier this month. "It's time for action--and it's time for Biden and Schumer to pledge their support for abolishing the filibuster."
'Democracy Has Prevailed': Federal Court Rules NY Primary Must Go Forward With Sanders, Yang, and Others on Ballot
"The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals today confirmed what we knew: the state of New York acted illegally in trying to cancel the Democratic presidential primary."
A federal court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by the New York Board of Elections and ruled the state's Democratic presidential primary must take place on June 23 as scheduled, a decision that supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang celebrated as a win for democracy.
"We expect New York to work to make voting safe, rather than wasting taxpayer money trying to disenfranchise New York voters."
--Faiz Shakir, campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld District Court Judge Analisa Torres' May 5 ruling that ordered New York to restore Sanders, Yang, and other Democratic presidential candidates to the ballot after state election officials voted to remove them last month.
Yang and seven other New York residents sued the state Board of Elections over the decision on April 28.
"The removal of presidential contenders from the primary ballot not only deprived those candidates of the chance to garner votes for the Democratic Party's nomination," Torres wrote, "it deprived Democratic voters of the opportunity to elect delegates who could push their point of view in that forum."
\u201cThree-judge panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals affirms ruling that New York\u2019s June 23 presidential primary should go forward. Kudos to @AndrewYang for pressing this pro-democracy fight, and to voting rights advocates and to @BernieSanders and his backers for amplifying it.\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1589898752
Douglas Kellner, co-chair of the New York Board of Elections, said in a statement after Tuesday's ruling that there are no plans to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, said the ruling "confirmed what we knew: the state of New York acted illegally in trying to cancel the Democratic presidential primary."
"With today's decision, which affirmed the District Court's recent ruling, we expect New York to work to make voting safe, rather than wasting taxpayer money trying to disenfranchise New York voters," said Shakir. "This ruling is a victory for democracy. Congratulations go to Andrew Yang, his delegates, and our delegates for standing up to this abuse of power."
Yang celebrated the ruling on Twitter.
"Thrilled that democracy has prevailed for the voters of New York!" Yang tweeted.
New York election officials claimed the effort to cancel the presidential primary was driven by concerns about spreading Covid-19, but critics said that justification did not make sense given that down-ballot races are still scheduled to take place on the same day.
"One can't help but see this as the New York Board of Elections trying to protect machine Dems from insurgent progressive primary challengers," Stephen Wolf of Daily Kos wrote last month.
Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout, a Sanders supporter, tweeted that Tuesday's ruling affirms that "you can't just say 'pandemic' and give away unconstrained power to change ballot rules."
"Good," said Teachout.