[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S27-S28]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Elections

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as 2022 gets underway, working 
Americans and their families are facing a steady stream of significant 
challenges: the fastest growing inflation in almost 40 years; violent 
crime rates continue to rise, with many of our largest cities setting 
new alltime records for murders; a southern border that remains in 
crisis; a new highly contagious variant of the virus that President 
Biden promised he would personally crush; too few tests and too slow 
new treatments on this administration's watch; and another rolling wave 
of school shutdowns, as Big Labor bosses continue to make hostages out 
of children's futures over a virus that leaves children largely--
largely--unharmed.
  Late last year, one poll asked Americans about the most important 
problems facing the country. Some were most worried about the high cost 
of living. Others said, not surprisingly, the pandemic. One-fifth of 
respondents, the most by far, said the biggest issue was poor 
leadership--at a time when the Democratic Party controls the entire 
government.
  But do you know what wasn't on the list of concerns? It wasn't there 
at all--the fictional, scary stories the liberal activists keep 
repeating about how democracy is at death's door. The November 2020 
election had the highest turnout in 120 years. Ninety-four percent of 
voters said voting was easy. Only 33 percent of Americans say it is 
currently too hard for eligible voters to vote. And a larger number 
than that actually say current laws are too loose--too loose.
  The American people are not buying this nonsensical talk of ``Jim 
Crow 2.0'' or a voting rights crisis. Everybody, apart from leftwing 
activists and the press, understands this emperor has no clothes at 
all.

[[Page S28]]

  A few months ago, even voters in blue New York rejected multiple 
ballot measures to soften up election laws the way liberal activists 
prefer. This fake outrage is just a predicate for Washington Democrats 
to do something they have sought to do literally for years: appoint 
themselves a nationwide board of elections on steroids.
  This is the takeover that Democrats have sought for multiple years, 
using multiple different justifications. It is not a voting rights 
bill. It is a sprawling, sweeping takeover of our democracy. Our 
colleagues' bill would do things like forcing all 50 States--all of 
them--to legalize corrupt ballot harvesting. They would have the 
government send public funds directly to political campaigns.
  The same Attorney General who has frivolously sued Texas just to 
placate the White House, whose Department of Justice tries to 
intimidate parents, would be handed new power to micromanage election 
law.
  Some early drafts of this bill tried to literally, openly turn the 
Federal Election Commission into an outright partisan body. Talk about 
tipping your hand.
  These changes wouldn't bolster faith in our democracy or in our 
institutions. It would do exactly the opposite. It would be a civic 
wrecking ball. And, listen, that is before you consider that Senate 
Democrats want to destroy our own institution to ram this through.
  The current Senate Democratic leader once said that nuking filibuster 
rules would be a ``doomsday for democracy.'' Just a few years ago, more 
than 30 Senate Democrats joined a bipartisan letter supporting the 
legislative filibuster.
  President Biden defended the principle in long, passionate speeches 
throughout his entire career. Just last year, as President, he repeated 
that destroying the filibuster would ``throw the entire Congress into 
chaos.'' He certainly was right about that.
  There is no partial or limited nuclear option on the table. As the 
Senator for West Virginia put it yesterday, whenever you start talking 
about carving things out, you end up eating the entire turkey.
  No party that would trash the Senate's legislative traditions can be 
trusted to seize control over election laws all across America. Nobody 
who is this desperate to take over our democracy on a one-party basis 
can be allowed to do it.
  Finally, it is beyond distasteful for some of our colleagues to ham-
fistedly invoke the January 6 anniversary to advance these aims. 
Washington Democrats have been trying to seize control over elections 
for years. Their first draft of the legislation at hand was introduced 
in January of 2019. The fact that violent criminals broke the law does 
not entitle Senate Democrats to break the Senate.
  It is surreal to hear sitting Senators invoke January the 6th to 
justify--listen to this--to justify breaking rules to grab outcomes 
they have not earned.
  I am going to say that again. It is surreal to hear sitting Senators 
invoke January the 6th to justify breaking the rules to grab outcomes 
they have not earned.
  It is surreal to hear sitting Senators invoke January the 6th to 
argue that institutions can be trampled because they would like a 
different result.
  A year ago, the Senate didn't bend and it didn't break. We held 
strong. It is jaw-dropping for colleagues to propose to commemorate 
that by breaking the Senate themselves in a different way.
  A year ago, there was a lot of talk on this floor about protecting 
the norms and institutions of our democracy by putting long-term 
bipartisan traditions ahead of short-term partisan power. Someday soon, 
it appears, we may learn which of us, actually, really meant it.