House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is warning Americans the United States will become the Roman empire if lawmakers do not pass the sweeping Democratic voting rights bill, the For the People Act.
When asked by MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace if he could speak to the urgency of the legislation, Clyburn replied, “Article 1 section 4 of the Constitution makes it very clear that Congress has a right to determine the rules concerning federal elections. So this whole notion that the Congress is powerless is just not true.”
Clyburn noted when he was 18 years old, he could not vote. Pointing out Congress then dropped the voting age to 18, he explained, “States decided to come along. We have got to do the same thing here.”
He continued, “We have got to decide whether or not members of Congress are going to stand up for constitutional principles before a democracy or will not allow … the tyranny of the minority to run the country and when you do that then you are headed downhill fast.”
The House majority whip used his teaching experience as an example of how he told his students he wanted them to remember two dates, 476 AD and 1066.
Watch his comments below:
.@WhipClyburn: If Congress doesn't nationalize elections soon, "the greatest democracy on the face of the Earth will go the way of the Roman empire — the history is very clear." pic.twitter.com/qVCCvpuKYM
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 7, 2021
“That’s the year the Roman empire fell and passed the whole world into darkness and it did not come to light again until 1066 when William the Conqueror opened it up again and if we’re not careful … the greatest democracy on the face of the Earth will go the way of the Roman empire. The history is very clear,” Clyburn said.
He does not believe it is a “Democratic problem,” adding, “This is not a problem for Democrats. This is a problem for every person in these United States of America and we better wake up or we are gonna find ourselves going the way of the Roman empire and many others since.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) dealt a blow to Democrats’ hope of passing the For the People Act, arguing it was created in a “partisan manner,” as IJR reported.
In an op-ed published on Sunday, Manchin wrote, “I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.”
Manchin continued, “For as long as I have the privilege of being your U.S. senator, I will fight to represent the people of West Virginia, to seek bipartisan compromise no matter how difficult, and to develop the political bonds that end divisions and help unite the country we love.”
The legislation would mandate states to offer at least 15 days of early voting, “universal access to mail-in voting and same-day registration for federal races,” as NBC News reports.
Election Day would also be made a national holiday.