The irony of this moment is that even as we
celebrate and honor John Lewis, the patron
saint of voting rights, he hailed from the
state which in many instances is ground zero
for voter suppression.
We are still fighting against voter suppression
in Georgia, but not only in Georgia, all across
this country.
In 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting
Rights Act, which is a law, in a real sense,
dipped in the blood of John Lewis and Hosea
Williams and so many others who fought the
good fight.
And even as we celebrate him, it has not been
reauthorized.
The last time this bill was reauthorized,
George W. Bush was president.
It passed the United States Senate 96 to 0.
But in recent years voting has become increasingly
a partisan issue, and there are those who
are not embarrassed by making it difficult
for people to vote.
And so, John Lewis fought for this to the
very last of his strength and breath.
The reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act
passed the U.S. Congress.
I’m running against someone right now for
the U.S. Senate who voted against it, Congressman
Doug Collins.
But it passed the House, made it to Mitch
McConnell’s desk, and that’s where it’s
sitting, on Mitch McConnell’s desk, who
stood the other day and offered pious platitudes
about the greatness of John Lewis, yet the
bill that carries John Lewis’s blood is
sitting on his desk.
If he really wants to honor John Lewis, he
ought to pass the bill.
He ought to put it up for a vote.
That’s how we honor John Lewis.
