(RightWing.org) – The rhetoric put forth by Democrats attempts to paint their party as the defenders of American democracy — blithely ignoring the fact that our form of government is a constitutional federal republic (which the embassy in Argentina somewhat ironically has posted to their website) — but, as the old adage says, “actions speak louder than words.” A new bill put forth by Republicans to safeguard one of the most sacred rights the people enjoy has met with criticism and opposition spearheaded by none other than President Joe Biden.
Suffrage
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution granted the right to vote to former male slaves, then the 19th expanded that to include women, and the 26th lowered the voting age to 18. All three had two things in common. First, each one talks about “the right of the CITIZENS [emphasis added] of the United States” and second, how Congress is given the authority to craft legislation to enforce them.
Using the power that they were given three times, Republicans in the House introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to require that all voters for the offices of President and Vice President show proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
According to the summary of the bill, it prohibits any election official from registering anyone who does not provide the proper “documentary proof of U.S. citizenship” and provides for criminal penalties for those who ignore it. It also allows individual citizens to petition a court of competent jurisdiction to issue an order enforcing the law.
Biden Disagrees
The White House issued a statement on July 8 saying the “Administration strongly opposes” the act claiming that current laws are sufficient to keep noncitizens from voting and, without explaining how, they contend it would make it more difficult for all citizens to register to vote. Regardless of Biden’s position on the matter, the measure passed the House 221-198 with five Democrats joining all 216 Republicans (there were four who did not enter a vote) on July 10.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) posted a transcript of his press conference about the bill where he acknowledges the argument of laws already in place but counters that with the fact that none of them have a system in place to ensure that they don’t simply walk into a registration office and simply “check a box on a form and sign their name.” He also points out that 16 million illegal aliens have come into the country under Biden, including those who work for the Mexican drug cartels and agents of “adversarial governments.”
The Biden administration has already demonstrated a penchant for ignoring the rule of law, including decisions handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), and now seems to be pushing back on the constitutionally provided right for Congress to make laws concerning who may cast ballots in federal elections.
Conservative politicians (including Speaker Johnson) and pundits have expressed their concerns that the floodgates the Liberals have opened at the southern border have been with the intent to create a situation just like the one Republicans are trying to put a stop to.
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