Today in Atlanta, before an audience that is probably still thinking about the University of Georgia’s first national football title since 1980, President Biden will declare:
The next few days, when these bills come to a vote, will mark a turning point in this nation. Will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice? I know where I stand. I will not yield. I will not flinch. I will defend your right to vote and our democracy against all enemies foreign and domestic. And so the question is where will the institution of United States Senate stand?
Say, in this battle of democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice, does the President of the United States have anything to say about non-citizens voting in municipal elections? Does he think it is right, legal, just and constitutional that New York City will now allow more than 800,000 non-citizens in the city to vote in municipal elections? Does he believe that illegal immigrants should get a vote, just like U.S. citizens? If he does not agree with any of this, why isn’t he speaking out against it?
Does the president believe “defending your right to vote” includes restricting the right to vote to U.S. citizens? And if not, why not?
Oh, and does the filibuster – which then-Senator Joe Biden passionately defended — requiring 60 votes to cut off debate, really constitute “autocracy”? Does a longstanding Senate rule really belong in the same breath as what Vladimir Putin is doing in Russia, what Xi Jinping is doing in China, or what Kim Jong-un is doing in North Korea?