Amy Walter and Errin Haines on Texas voting law, filibuster rules, Biden agenda

Amna Nawaz:

And back to Texas, where Democrats made a last-ditch effort to stall a bill they argue is voter suppression. It's the latest example of Republican-led statehouses revising voting laws since November.

If passed, the bill would end 24-hour and drive-through voting, two pandemic-related provisions. It would increase requirements to vote absentee, and limit voting hours on Sundays, also empower partisan poll watchers.

Here to help us understand the impact, Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report and Errin Haines of The 19th News.

Ladies, welcome to you both. Thanks for being here on this Memorial Day with us.

Amy, let's talk about Texas.

This bill, for state Republicans there, is absolutely a top priority. Why is that? Explain the reasoning there.

Amy Walter:

Like, we have heard in so many of these states, these Republican-controlled states, from leaders there, it is this idea that voters in their states don't believe that the election in 2020 was — whether there was fraud, that there were invalid ballots cast, the sense that, overall, that the election was not conducted in a way that gives them a feeling of security.

Now, we know that that's not really the case, right? We have had multiple instances of the courts and of recounts and of going through so many of these states, the actual cast ballots, finding no fraud, no problems.

In fact, it is remarkable to me, Amna, that, in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of a time where we had more people voting than ever before, record turnout, that everything went as smoothly as it did.

And yet, because the former president, Trump, continues to argue that this not a fair election, there are many, many voters out there, Republican voters, who believe that this election was marred by that and they need to change the rules.

Amna Nawaz:

And we know some of these laws would disproportionately harm Black and brown Americans.

But, Errin, when you look at the map, it is not just Texas that's taking these kinds of actions and moving forward with these kinds of laws. It is 14 states around the country right now, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, that have introduced laws that would limit the voting access.

So, we mentioned, Errin, these are Republican-led actions. What about the Democrats? What are they doing on the state level, what are they doing at the federal level to push back against this?

Errin Haines:

Well, Democrats have certainly tried to push back at the federal and state level.

Texas Democrats had a victory last night in their decision at the 11th hour to walk out and block this legislation, at least for now. But what they are saying is that this is a stalling tactic, frankly, while they are hoping that Republicans — I mean, that Democrats at the federal level can really do something to address the election integrity measures that are on the march in those states that you just showed.

Listen, what is emerging is a battle between those who believe in curtailing access to the ballot and those who are focused on trying to expand access to the ballot. And so Democratic voters were asked in November to do whatever it took to get creative, to really show up and show out at the polls last year. That is what they did.

And that is what they are now asking the people that they got elected to do on their behalf with this legislation. And I think that voters on both sides, for them, what they're seeing is what they're — they sent their elected officials to office to do, right?

But Republicans seem to very much understand that mandate, which is why they are continuing to kind of push the big lie that the election was rigged and that the president, former president, unsuccessfully — that the election stolen from him.

But for Democrats who are continuing to kind of try to seek compromise and find a bipartisan solution, that's frustrating a lot of the Democratic voters that I'm hearing from, who just want results, now that they have delivered victory and majorities for them.

Amna Nawaz:

Well, Errin, let me stay with you for a second.

You mentioned Democrats working towards a bipartisan solution here. There are a couple of acts they're considering, right, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. President Biden this weekend urged Democrats to move forward with them.

But where is this ending up now? Is this basically all in a collision course for a fight over the filibuster?

Errin Haines:

Well, it appears so, because, at this point, at least, the question of which 10 Republicans would be willing to get on board and really break with the Republican Party across the country that it seems to be at least OK with the perpetuation of the big lie, whether we're talking about the Republicans in Congress who didn't vote for an investigation into the events of January 6, I don't see how many of them, if they're not open to that, how many of them could be open to a conversation on voting rights, when the overall conversation among Republicans is about the imagined threat to election integrity.

So, in the absence of 10 Republicans who would be willing to cross the aisle for a bipartisan solution, don't hear very many of them talking about trying to figure this out, in addition to just trying to hold the line with Democrats, not all of whom are on board in the Senate either with this legislation.

It just seems like a very, very tall order at this point to get something done on voting rights, despite the president's continued sense of urgency Where things go over the next couple of months on this issue is really still very much an open question.

Amna Nawaz:

Amy, what about that January 6 commission vote, Republicans blocking — voting against that?

That was last week, basically the first bill to die by minority filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had come out after that and basically said, we have now seen the limits of bipartisanship.

So, what does that mean for when they return after the Memorial Day recess?

Amy Walter:

Well, you know what?

This also reminded me that we have had in the past, not that long ago, after the 2000 election, there were a lot of worries about our election system, considering what happened in Florida and hanging chads and the process there.

And Congress, in bipartisan fashion, passed election reform. So, it can happen. This is not something that, just because it's about elections, that, automatically, politicians are going to take their side, their political side.

When it comes to January 6, I think this is something that we sort of saw coming down the pike. And what we recognize right now is the fact that this Congress is a 50/50 — it's a 50/50 Senate, and nothing is going to get through there in any other form except for reconciliation, that the idea of getting 10 votes really for anything, whether it's election reform, whether it is infrastructure, whatever is in front of this Senate, seems all but impossible.

I will also tell you Joe Manchin does not seem at all interested in getting rid of that filibuster. So, whether it's voting rights or others, or this January 6 commission, I would not expect to see that go away anytime soon.

Amna Nawaz:

Amy, very briefly, what about where we are right now?

This weekend is kind of a turning point for the country. You're seeing things opening back up, people hitting the road and gathering .The pandemic for President Biden, his agenda, was sort of job number one, but what does all this mean, and the dynamics in the Senate among legislators moving forward with the rest of the Biden agenda?

Amy Walter:

Right.

So, this has been a pretty good few months here for the Biden administration. He said this was job number one, get the pandemic under control, get the economy opening. He has high marks among voters about how he's been handling coronavirus.

But now here is the big challenge going forward, which is this $6 trillion budget that he'd like to get through Congress, and having to do it, as we just discussed here, in a partisan way, doing it just with Democratic votes, making sure to get that in front of voters. This is what Democratic legislators talk to me about, is being able to go in front of the voters in 2022 with something tangible to show for their work here in Washington.

Amna Nawaz:

Errin, what about you, very briefly?

What's your takeaway in terms of this turning point, what it means moving forward for the Biden agenda?

Errin Haines:

Yes.

Well, Amna, the first 100 days were so largely about the pandemic, and really getting a hold of this from an economic and a public health perspective. And while the Biden/Harris administration has largely done that, the real test is happening now.

And this coalition that elected them in record numbers last November is asking, what are you doing for all of us? I think that we have seen, certainly, that the pandemic was unequal. The beginning of the reopening of this country has been unequal.

And the question now is, will it continue to be unequal? And, really, all of this looming over this Memorial Day weekend, the Tulsa anniversary, is, who gets to have full participation in this democracy and who gets to move forward really as a country, as we all look to a new normal on the other side of events of the past year?

Amna Nawaz:

A new normal, we're all looking forward to it.

Errin Haines, Amy Walter, thanks to you both. Always good to see you.