Photo by iStock.com/Muni Yogeshwaran
The outcome of disgraced former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial marks another sad day for our country. The majority of Senate Republicans prioritized allegiance to their party over their oath of office to defend the Constitution. By failing to convict Donald Trump for inciting the deadly January 6 insurrection, Republicans have taken another step toward declaring themselves to be the party of white supremacists and far-right extremists. In their near-total devotion to Trump, they have abdicated their responsibility to defend our democracy and uphold free and fair elections.
Thankfully, Sierra Club members and supporters like you rose up to demand justice and accountability, making 23,000 phone calls and sending 20,000 emails to Senate offices in recent weeks, urging our senators to convict Trump. We denounced this assault on our country and urged the Senate to hold those responsible to account—starting with Trump.
This trial must not be the end of holding accountable not only Trump himself, but all of those responsible for inciting the insurrection. And while those avenues are pursued, we must work to ensure that more systems of accountability are put in place.
The evidence of a broken and decaying democracy laid bare today is nothing new. The Senate vote is symptomatic of a larger problem that's been brewing for years. Too many Americans, particularly Black and brown people, have been blocked or discouraged from voting and otherwise participating in our government.
At the same time, it is becoming harder to hold politicians accountable. Through voter suppression and gerrymandering, politicians who are mainly interested in preserving their own power are rigging the system to avoid accountability. This lack of direct accountability makes it easier for politicians to take votes that go against what we the people want—things like failing to convict a traitorous president.
There are solutions in the works that seek to address much, though not all, of what led us here today. Congress is currently considering multiple bills that would transform our government and our country. The For The People Act would bring about comprehensive change on a scale that we haven’t seen in decades.
The way we move toward a healthier and more inclusive democracy is by passing stronger reform laws like the For The People Act. Tell your members of Congress to support this crucial democracy reform bill!
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Democracy demands justice. Our work continues to make that a reality, despite the brokenness we feel in the wake of this decision. As we emerge into the post-Trump era, we know there is much to do to reform and defend our democracy in order to advance environmental justice.
The For The People Act is a bold and comprehensive bill that begins to address corruption, repairs much that is broken in our democracy, and creates more ways for us to hold politicians accountable. It's being considered in the House (H.R. 1) and the Senate (S. 1) and will likely be voted on this year. Specifically, the For The People Act will:
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Strengthen ethics laws: Curb the influence of corporate polluters by requiring the president to disclose their tax returns, place tougher restrictions on lobbying, and bar elected officials from spending taxpayer dollars to settle sexual harassment lawsuits;
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Expand voting access and restore voting rights: Create a nationwide automatic voter registration system; have same-day voter registration; and restore the right to vote for people with felony convictions;
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Protect our elections: Safeguard our election infrastructure from hostile actors, foreign and domestic, and provide funding to states to upgrade their voting systems;
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Fix our broken campaign finance system: Empower small-dollar donors, support small-dollar public financing of elections, and combat the influence of “dark money” unleashed by Citizens United;
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Let the people pick their elected officials, instead of letting politicians pick their voters: Ban partisan gerrymandering and increase protections for communities of color.
Communities of color are affected the most by an unfair and broken democracy. We need bold transformational change to address this inequity. The For The People Act will help create the fairer, more transparent, more inclusive democracy that we all seek. As this bill moves through Congress, we must show it has the broad and sweeping support it deserves.
It's up to us to keep pushing for a democracy where more voices are heard, where elected officials are accountable to us, and each and every one of us is included. As it has become clearer over the last few years, our democracy is only as strong as our will to defend and exercise it.
1. "Congress Must Pass the ‘For the People Act’," Brennan Center for Justice, 01/29/2021.