Democrats are looking for their way forward on voting rights

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Democrats¹ are looking for their way forward on voting rights

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President Biden will make an in-person pitch to Senate Democrats to pass voting rights legislation — including changing Senate rules. Some Democrats, however, are opposed to ditching the filibuster³.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Democrats are looking for their way forward on voting rights. President Biden this week joined calls to change Senate rules to pass voting rights legislation, and today he's set to head to Capitol Hill to try and drum up new support to move a couple of bills forward. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin talked of the importance to ballot⁴ access.

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DICK DURBIN: The greatest possible participation⁵ of the greatest number of voters, then let them decide on issue after issue.

MARTINEZ: In the coming days, the Senate will answer a major question - how far will Democrats go to take up their voting rights legislation? Joining us to discuss all of this is NPR congressional reporter Claudia Grisales. In the past, Senate Democrats have tried to move voting legislation to the floor and have failed. What's the plan now?

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE⁶: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a memo⁷ to his colleagues outlining a procedural path to use existing Senate rules to at least start debate on two key pieces of legislation. This is the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement⁸ Act. But Senate Democrats still need 60 votes to move these bills forward, and with an evenly divided Senate, they fall short with Republican opposition⁹. Schumer told reporters that he does not want to delude¹⁰ anyone into thinking that this is easy.

MARTINEZ: So as you said, if Democrats are indeed going to fall short due to GOP opposition, what do they do then?

GRISALES: Right. Schumer and other Democrats have talked about changing Senate rules, but there's even less interest there, and they don't know what a new version of what that could look like - for example, if it's a move towards a filibuster, where a member has to hold the floor by talking. Republicans have been very vocal¹¹ about their opposition here, calling it a power grab. On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Biden's remarks this week on voting rights were, quote, "profoundly unpresidential."

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MITCH MCCONNELL: Look; I've known, liked and personally respected Joe Biden for many years. I did not recognize the man at the podium.

GRISALES: During a separate visit to the Hill yesterday, Biden said he still called McConnell a friend, while White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said it was more unbecoming that Republicans continue to push false lies tied to the 2020 election.

MARTINEZ: All right, if it doesn't sound like Democrats have the votes to change the rules, why are they pushing this issue then?

GRISALES: This is a marquee issue for the party, and a new wave of election disinformation and the January 6 attack escalated¹² these concerns. Florida Representative Val Demings touched on what's at stake here.

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VAL DEMINGS: We can talk about civil rights. We can talk about women's rights. We can talk about Social Security, Medicare, education. But all of it is at risk.

GRISALES: Demings joined the House Congressional Black Caucus¹³ to say the world is watching the Senate's next steps here, and they argued that you cannot have a government by the people unless every American can fully¹⁴ participate in democracy, something they argue Republicans at the state level are eroding¹⁵. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said he does not think there is any issue more emotional for members of the caucus or their constituents¹⁶.

MARTINEZ: One more thing really quick - Kevin McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican in the House, released a statement saying he would not cooperate with the January 6 inquiry¹⁷. What do you make of that?

GRISALES: McCarthy marks a key witness for the committee. They wanted to hear from him. So this is an ask that we were watching for closely. But it is not too much of a surprise that he declined, since most Republicans are boycotting¹⁸ the committee's effort. That said, it puts the panel in a tricky¹⁹ position now to consider whether they should issue a subpoena²⁰ to try and force his cooperation.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR congressional reporter Claudia Grisales. Thanks a lot.

GRISALES: Thank you much.

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

4 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

5 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

8 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 delude   

vt.欺骗；哄骗

参考例句：

• You won't delude him into believing it.你不能诱使他相信此事。
• Don't delude yourself into believing that she will marry you.不要自欺，别以为她会嫁给你。

11 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

12 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

13 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

16 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

18 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

19 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

20 subpoena   

n.（法律）传票；v.传讯

参考例句：

• He was brought up to court with a subpoena.他接到传讯，来到法庭上。
• Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses.特别委员会有权传唤证人。