40+ AZ community organizations call on Sen. Sinema to eliminate the filibuster
February 16, 2021
Contact: Emily Kirkland, emily@progressarizona.org, 646 623 5271
Arizona Organizers Release Letter to Senator Sinema Calling for the Elimination of the Filibuster
Phoenix, AZ—More than 40 Arizona community organizations have released an open letter calling on Senator Kyrsten Sinema to support the elimination of the filibuster as a first step towards the passage of federal legislation dealing with voting rights, labor protections, immigration reform, and other key priorities.
The organizations include some of Arizona’s biggest progressive advocacy and labor groups, along with local, volunteer-led organizations across the state.
Text of the letter:
Dear Senator Sinema,
We are writing to you to ask you to support abolishing the filibuster.
We are facing a moment of peril almost unparalleled in modern history: hundreds of thousands have died from COVID-19, unemployment is at record levels, and urgent action is needed on racial justice, immigration, climate change, inequality and other long-simmering crises. As organizations that represent people across Arizona, we hear everyday from families who are feeling the impact of this difficult moment and who are looking to the federal government for answers and support.
With a trifecta in Washington, DC, Democrats have the opportunity to pass popular, common sense policies to meet this moment and improve the lives of millions. And yet as long as the filibuster remains in place, it will be next to impossible to do so. With the filibuster in place, legislation related to the minimum wage, immigration, climate, policing, or voting rights would need 10 Republican votes to pass — something that is exceedingly unlikely in today’s political climate.
The filibuster’s history is an ugly one: Southern segregationists were among the first to deploy the filibuster as we currently know it, and in its initial decades, it was used almost exclusively for blocking anti-lynching and civil rights bills. There is no reason to keep this Jim Crow relic in place — especially when it blocks progress on the issues that deeply affect our communities. We’ve seen repeatedly over the last few years that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders are more than happy to ignore Senate norms and procedure when it suits them. There is no reason to think that keeping the filibuster in place now will protect Democrats next time we are in the minority.
In 2018, volunteers, staff and members of our organizations went door-to-door talking to voters about why they should support your campaign for US Senate. We highlighted your support for immigration reform and environmental protection, your commitment to voting rights, and your desire to increase the minimum wage and make healthcare more affordable for Arizona families.
As long as the filibuster remains in place, Arizonans are unlikely to see real progress on any of these issues — something that will be difficult to explain to voters who know that Democrats control the White House and both houses of Congress.
Senator, please do the right thing. Abolish the filibuster and let’s get to work.
List of Signing Organizations
After the March Verde Valley
Arizona AFL – CIO
Arizona Advocacy Network
Arizona Blue Skies Indivisible
AZ CD8 Indivisible
Black Phoenix Votes
Bullhead City Indivisible
Catch Fire Movement
Civic Engagement Beyond Voting Indivisible
Chispa Arizona
Dems of Trilogy
Desert Progressives Indivisible
For All
Fuerte Arts Movement
Indivisible Arizona
Indivisible East Valley AZ
Indivisible Phoenix
Indivisible Sedona
Indivisible Tohono
Indivisible Valley of the Sun
Indivisible West Phx
Justice Alliance – Indivisible Southern Arizona
Living United for Change in Arizona – LUCHA
Northwest Valley Indivisible
Our Voice, Our Vote Arizona
Prescott Indivisible
Progress Arizona
Progressive Democrats of America – Arizona
Roots Action
Stand Indivisible AZ
Stronger Together AZ
Sunrise Movement Tempe
The AZ Ground Game
The Arizona Progressive People’s Alliance
Together We Will, Northern Arizona
University Union of Northern Arizona – AFT
White Mountains Indivisible
Working Families Party
Yavapai County Democrats
Yuma County Indivisible
Yavapai County Democrats