SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Demonstrators in downtown Charleston, West Virginia blocked traffic on May 23, 2022 to protest Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) refusal to support filibuster reform in order to pass the Democratic Party's agenda. (Photo: Twitter/@WV_Rising)
Arizona, West Virginia Residents Risk Arrest to Demand End to Filibuster
"Our democracy is on life support," said campaigners. "There's no time to ask nicely."
May 23, 2022
Pro-democracy campaigners in West Virginia and Arizona on Monday risked arrest at sit-ins in downtown Charleston and Tucson, demanding that Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema end obstruction of their party's agenda and allow the Senate to pass reproductive rights, climate action, and voting rights measures.
Campaigners representing a coalition of groups including West Virginia Rising, For All, Democracy Initiative, and Progress Arizona blocked traffic in central areas of the two cities, accusing the two senators of "laying waste to our future."
The campaign, called the "Sit-in for the Soul of America," was organized as President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act is stalled in the Senate. The package included ambitious climate action provisions, an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit, and other measures to narrow the wealth gap in the United States.
Manchin pressured the Democratic Party last year to remove several key provisions from the legislation last year before announcing in December that he would not support the agenda.
Manchin and Sinema's refusal to back filibuster reform has also stood in the way of the Democrats' goals of passing the Women's Health Protection Act, which would protect the right to abortion care, and voting rights legislation.
"Senator Manchin, you have failed West Virginia," said one protester named Rylee, who according to West Virginia Rising recently staged a hunger strike to pressure Manchin to meet with her. "You have blood on your hands."
Several campaigners were arrested in Charleston after blocking traffic.
As the arrests were happening, West Virginia Rising wrote on social media that the group stood "in lockstep solidarity with our sisters-in-struggle in Arizona who just SHUT DOWN the roads there to protest Kyrsten Sinema."
"Our democracy is on life support," said the group. "Women's rights are on the chopping block. An ice shelf the size of NYC just broke off of Antarctica and scientists are warning that if emissions don't peak within three years we'll pass the point of no return."
"There's no time to ask nicely," West Virginia Rising added.
A mobile billboard was also displayed at the protest in Arizona, reading, "Senator Sinema is holding reproductive rights hostage in all 50 states."
"Bans off our bodies!" the sign read. "End the filibuster!"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Pro-democracy campaigners in West Virginia and Arizona on Monday risked arrest at sit-ins in downtown Charleston and Tucson, demanding that Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema end obstruction of their party's agenda and allow the Senate to pass reproductive rights, climate action, and voting rights measures.
Campaigners representing a coalition of groups including West Virginia Rising, For All, Democracy Initiative, and Progress Arizona blocked traffic in central areas of the two cities, accusing the two senators of "laying waste to our future."
The campaign, called the "Sit-in for the Soul of America," was organized as President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act is stalled in the Senate. The package included ambitious climate action provisions, an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit, and other measures to narrow the wealth gap in the United States.
Manchin pressured the Democratic Party last year to remove several key provisions from the legislation last year before announcing in December that he would not support the agenda.
Manchin and Sinema's refusal to back filibuster reform has also stood in the way of the Democrats' goals of passing the Women's Health Protection Act, which would protect the right to abortion care, and voting rights legislation.
"Senator Manchin, you have failed West Virginia," said one protester named Rylee, who according to West Virginia Rising recently staged a hunger strike to pressure Manchin to meet with her. "You have blood on your hands."
Several campaigners were arrested in Charleston after blocking traffic.
As the arrests were happening, West Virginia Rising wrote on social media that the group stood "in lockstep solidarity with our sisters-in-struggle in Arizona who just SHUT DOWN the roads there to protest Kyrsten Sinema."
"Our democracy is on life support," said the group. "Women's rights are on the chopping block. An ice shelf the size of NYC just broke off of Antarctica and scientists are warning that if emissions don't peak within three years we'll pass the point of no return."
"There's no time to ask nicely," West Virginia Rising added.
A mobile billboard was also displayed at the protest in Arizona, reading, "Senator Sinema is holding reproductive rights hostage in all 50 states."
"Bans off our bodies!" the sign read. "End the filibuster!"
Pro-democracy campaigners in West Virginia and Arizona on Monday risked arrest at sit-ins in downtown Charleston and Tucson, demanding that Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema end obstruction of their party's agenda and allow the Senate to pass reproductive rights, climate action, and voting rights measures.
Campaigners representing a coalition of groups including West Virginia Rising, For All, Democracy Initiative, and Progress Arizona blocked traffic in central areas of the two cities, accusing the two senators of "laying waste to our future."
The campaign, called the "Sit-in for the Soul of America," was organized as President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act is stalled in the Senate. The package included ambitious climate action provisions, an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit, and other measures to narrow the wealth gap in the United States.
Manchin pressured the Democratic Party last year to remove several key provisions from the legislation last year before announcing in December that he would not support the agenda.
Manchin and Sinema's refusal to back filibuster reform has also stood in the way of the Democrats' goals of passing the Women's Health Protection Act, which would protect the right to abortion care, and voting rights legislation.
"Senator Manchin, you have failed West Virginia," said one protester named Rylee, who according to West Virginia Rising recently staged a hunger strike to pressure Manchin to meet with her. "You have blood on your hands."
Several campaigners were arrested in Charleston after blocking traffic.
As the arrests were happening, West Virginia Rising wrote on social media that the group stood "in lockstep solidarity with our sisters-in-struggle in Arizona who just SHUT DOWN the roads there to protest Kyrsten Sinema."
"Our democracy is on life support," said the group. "Women's rights are on the chopping block. An ice shelf the size of NYC just broke off of Antarctica and scientists are warning that if emissions don't peak within three years we'll pass the point of no return."
"There's no time to ask nicely," West Virginia Rising added.
A mobile billboard was also displayed at the protest in Arizona, reading, "Senator Sinema is holding reproductive rights hostage in all 50 states."
"Bans off our bodies!" the sign read. "End the filibuster!"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.