Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is using the filibuster that she described as “what southern segregationist used to stop civil rights” to block President Joe Biden’s agenda.
Jayapal was responding to McConnell telling reporters earlier that he is “100%” focused “on stopping” President Joe Biden’s administration.
Jayapal said, “This is Mitch McConnell. If we had any doubt, this is who he is today. It is who he will with in the future. It is all about blocking. So don’t give me this bipartisan stuff he keeps putting out there. Democrats need to learn from what happened in 2009. I was not here in Congress back then. I was on the outside saying, come on, Democrats, just move. Because the only thing this guy has is to stop progress for the American people. So we need to be moving forward as quickly as possible because he has now laid all of the cards on the table as far as what the Republican agenda is.”
She continued, “On the filibuster, we are this week doing a national week of action on the filibuster, eliminating or reforming the filibuster which is designed to have members of Congress, and we have over 20 events across the country, lead by members of Congress to educate our constituents on what is the filibuster. It is not the ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ and stays up all night and does something to go up against the establishment. This is about the tyranny of the minority, something that the founders never wanted, were very clear that they never wanted. They always wanted the majority to rule, not the supermajority. They did not want the minority to be able to stop things.”
Jayapal added, “This is a relic of the Jim Crow era. This is what southern segregationists used to stop to stop civil rights. This is the same tool that Mitch McConnell wants to use to control the Senate.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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