September 23, 2021

Beto O’Rourke: Democrats Will Lose Majorities If They Don’t Pass Voting Rights Bill

“It is connected to any other right that matters to you.”

Beto O' Rourke speaks at the Texas State Capital to demand federal action on voting rights, July 31, 2021, Austin, TX. Mario Cantu/Cal Sport Media via AP

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Beto O’Rourke told Mother Jones on Wednesday he was strongly considering running for governor of Texas, in large part to protect the right to vote.

“When I thought about how I could be most effective for this state, and, I hope, this country this year, it was on the issue of voting rights,” he said during a live virtual conversation. “It is connected to any other right that matters to you.” 

But he stressed that GOP voter suppression and extreme gerrymandering could only truly be combated if Congress passed federal legislation protecting voting rights.

“We need major federal voting rights legislation that can unrig the system and allow for free and fair elections in Texas and these other states that are under siege by these anti- ‘small d’ democratic forces,” he said.

He praised the recently introduced Freedom to Vote Act, a compromise bill introduced by Senator Democrats including Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) that would expand access to the ballot, ban partisan gerrymandering, and crack down on dark money. But he warned that Democrats would lose their Congressional majorities if they failed to reform the filibuster to overcome GOP opposition and pass it.

“Competitive elections allow more voters, hence more likely Democratic voters, to participate in the decisions at the end of the day,” O’Rourke said. “And if we, as Democrats or pro-democracy Americans, are not willing to use every tool available to us, while Republicans are using every tool available to them to constrict and reduce and perhaps demolish the right to vote altogether, then we become complicit in the outcome. And I’m not in for that one.”

He noted that communities of color in states like Texas and Georgia were the strongest supporters of Joe Biden and the most likely to be targeted by voter suppression efforts. “If, when the fight was engaged, Democrats walked off or stood on procedure instead of winning the damn thing…we’ll lose. And frankly, it would be hard to argue that we wouldn’t deserve to lose if we fail to fight now and fail to win this fight now.”

He predicted that if Republicans take back control of one or both houses of Congress, they would bring impeachment proceedings against Biden and try to overturn the 2024 election results.

“If we stand on the principle of the filibuster, and deny ourselves the ability to effectively fight back and save this democracy, I really do fear we lose it forever,” he said.

Watch my full interview with O’Rourke below:

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Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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