Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and company amendment just suffered an embarrassing defeat.
The Democrat controlled House rejected an amendment authored by the squad -Freshman Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., authored the amendment with support from fellow progressive Reps. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and New Jersey’s Bonnie Watson Coleman – to give voting rights to incarcerated felons.
“America does not love all of its people,” Bush, a Black Lives Matter activist, said in urging her colleagues to back the measure. “And we see that. Right now more than 5 million people are legally barred from participating in our elections … This cannot continue. Disenfranchising our own citizens – it is not justice.”
The measure went down in flames with only 97 Democrats voting in favor of the amendment compared to the 328 members that voted against it.
After the amendment failed Bush said, “For the first time ever, the House took a vote on whether or not to end the cruelty of denying incarcerated people their right to vote. Our amendment didn’t pass, but 97 Democrats voted with us. We will not stop fighting until we dismantle white supremacy in all of its forms.”
For the first time ever, the House took a vote on whether or not to end the cruelty of denying incarcerated people their right to vote. Our amendment didn’t pass, but 97 Democrats voted with us.
We will not stop fighting until we dismantle white supremacy in all of its forms.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) March 2, 2021
The National Republican Congressional Committee criticized the idea of giving people in prison the right to vote.
“The American people are probably wondering why Congress is wasting its time debating whether or not to grant convicted murderers additional rights,” said NRCC Spokesman Mike Berg. “The answer is because Nancy Pelosi and her socialist colleagues control the House of Representatives.”
