Clyburn asks senators ‘which side are you on’ for voting rights legislation

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., on Sunday asked his colleagues in the Senate who are set to vote on voting rights legislation this week: “Which side are you on,” referencing the iconic union organizing song often sung during the civil rights era.

“You know this is Martin Luther King Jr.’s weekend. I first met Martin Luther King Jr. back in 1960 and that song comes to mind today when I look at these senators: Which side are you on?” the majority whip told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “So let’s have the vote so we can get a definitive answer to the question.”

Despite the House passing voting rights legislation Thursday, the forthcoming Senate vote on Tuesday and its outcome are seemingly a foregone conclusion.

Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., are still opposed to removing the filibuster provision, which would pave a path for the pair of voting rights bills to proceed before the Senate.

President Joe Biden met with Democratic lawmakers during their Thursday caucus lunch on Capitol Hill to persuade his colleagues to back a carveout to the filibuster, allowing his voting rights agenda to advance. Later that evening, Sinema and Manchin met with him at the White House, but there was no announcement of an agreement being reached.

Clyburn said he still has hope the Senate will pass the voting rights package but Raddatz questioned whether it’s even possible without Manchin and Sinema on board with the filibuster change.

With his sinking approval rating at an all-time low, Biden delivered an impassioned speech this week, calling for a change to the Senate rules to pass voting rights legislation.

“Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?” Biden asked from behind the podium on Tuesday.

Raddatz asked Clyburn whether Biden’s speech went too far.

“I want to go back to President Joe Biden. He got very serious pushback after his speech on Tuesday,” Raddatz pressed. “Senator Dick Durbin said he took it a little too far by comparing current voting restrictions to Jim Crow. Mitch McConnell called Biden profoundly unpresidential for this divisive language. So was that fierce tone counterproductive?”

Clyburn responded, “Absolutely not. I disagree with both of those statements. I know Dick; I like Dick a whole lot. But let me tell you something, that was what Jim Crow was all about.”

“These are Jim Crow 2.0. That is one of the strongest points of the president’s speech that I agree with,” he added.

With the House already having passed the pending voting measure, Clyburn said it’s time for the Senate to follow suit by supporting “fair, free, unfettered elections” ahead of Tuesday’s pivotal vote.

Raddatz also pressed Clyburn on the future of the Democratic Party ahead of the looming 2022 midterms.

“This is what Senator Bernie Sanders told The New York Times as we head into the midterms: ‘I think millions of Americans have become very demoralized. They’re asking what do the Democrats stand for? Clearly, the current strategy is failing. And we need a major course correction.’ Do you disagree with that?” Raddatz asked.

“Well, I don’t know what he has reference to, but I think they’ll be progressing forward on an agenda. What do we stand for? We stand for the American Rescue Act…. We stand for Build Back Better that we had passed in the House,” Clyburn answered. “It is time for the senators to do what they need to do to get those bills across the finish line.”

“Come on, Senate, step up. Stand to upend rules and get these bills passed,” he added. “Everybody will know what we stand for. Or at least the Senate, and its rules standing in the way.”