President Joe Biden gave a fiery speech in Georgia Tuesday where he argued that the fight for voting rights boiled down to being either on the side of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or George Wallace.
The president explained that over the past several months he's been "quietly" having conversations with lawmakers -- and then he slammed his hand on the lectern and shouted, "I’m tired of being quiet!"
Biden specifically called out the 16 Republicans who have been willing to vote to extend the Voting Rights Act in years past, but now, suddenly have decided to oppose the law. He began by giving credit to Republicans and Democrats who worked together in the past to approve the bill, including former President George W. Bush. In 2020, Biden noted that Republicans stood for democracy and fought to uphold the will of the people. The new laws, however, "Trump loyalists in charge of deciding the vote count."
He detailed some of the absurd laws passed by Republican legislatures to place restrictions on voting. In Georgia, for example, they made it a crime to hand food or water to anyone waiting in line to vote.
"Jim Crow 2.0 is about voter suppression and election subversion," Biden said. He went on to attack former President Donald Trump without mentioning his name, saying "The goal of the former president is to disenfranchise anyone who votes against them."
Biden then moved to say that any and all options should be on the table to ensure voting rights are preserved, even if that means getting rid of the filibuster, something he's previously opposed.
"The U.S. Senate has been rendered a shell of its former self," he said. "It gives me no satisfaction in saying that."
"The filibuster is not used by Republicans to bring the Senate closer together — but to pull it apart," Biden continued. If voting rights legislation continues to be blocked, he adds: "We have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this."
The 16 Republicans who once supported the bill but no longer do include Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Jerry Moran (R-KS), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Thune (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Boozman (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
See the full speeches below:
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