March, 07 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Patriotic Millionaire on Republican Opposition to HR 1: "If the Only Way You Think You Can Win is to Rig the Game, then Maybe You Shouldn't be Playing in the First Place"
“Protecting our democracy shouldn't be a partisan issue, but the Republican Party has decided it is unwilling to even consider reform despite virtually all Americans agreeing that our system is broken.”
WASHINGTON
Today, the US House of Representatives voted 234-193 on HR 1, the For the People Act, which includes a wide variety of election and campaign finance-related reforms. This vote came on a virtual party-line split, with every Democrat present voting yes and no support from House Republicans. In response, Morris Pearl, Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., issued the following statement:
"Protecting our democracy shouldn't be a partisan issue, but the Republican Party has decided it is unwilling to even consider reform despite virtually all Americans agreeing that our system is broken. Today's vote on HR 1 is a monumental step forward for our country that will hopefully lead to the people retaking control of our government from special interests, lobbyists, and billionaire donors. It's also a shameful reminder that Republicans are pursuing political power for the few over the fundamental values that this country was founded on.
If Congressional Republicans are worried that giving all citizens the right to vote and getting big money out of politics will lead to them losing power, then maybe that should serve as a wake up call about just how unpopular their policies are with the American people. If the only way you think you can win is to rig the game, then maybe you shouldn't be playing in the first place. The answer to having an unpopular platform in a functioning democracy isn't to rig the system so you win anyway, it's to change your platform to reflect the values of the public."
The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.
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