Future generations will ask, ‘when the democracy was in a 911 state of emergency, what did you do to put the fire out?’ Did you rise to the moment? Or did you hide behind procedural rules?”

Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock

When you elect the minister who presided over Martin Luther King’s church in Atlanta as a United States Senator, you are going to be treated to some arguments within the Senate that sound gentle and yet powerful, loving and yet unwavering, deeply intellectual, and yet simple, all from a humble man who still sees himself as doing God’s work, in an entirely secular role as Senator from Georgia.

His ministry in Washington DC of late is the same critical issue in Georgia, the one that Georgia voters sent him to Washington to protect, both POC voters, poor voters, and white moderate voters tired of the MAGA message, Sen. Warnock is representing them, giving some of the most beautiful and powerful arguments we’ve ever heard from the Senate floor, making Ted Cruz look as spiteful and small as he is. But Warren’s also thinking tactically, thinking of ways to get that voting rights act attached to other legislation as he’s seen recently lately. He is brave enough to do it.

Earlier this week he gave an impassioned speech about democracy being on fire in this country and the threat that it poses (one could say no greater threat than what we have faced since Lincoln) and challenged those on the fence, those who voted to break the rules for one vote last week, to get the debt ceiling lifted (attaching it to another piece of legislation) and proposed that the same or something similar be done with voting rights.

He also simply argued for a rule change to make the Senate work. That argument, all of it, ALL of it, is directed at two people, Mancin and Sinema. Perhaps it is easy to blow off most arguments from most Senators. It is much, much harder when Sen. Warnock, with all his spiritual and civic conviction behind him, asks you what you did for democracy when it was on fire. There is much more in the speech below.

When I’m asked about bipartisanship—which I firmly believe in—I just have to ask, at what expense? Who is being asked to the foot the bill for this bipartisanship?

And is liberty itself the cost? pic.twitter.com/b7HVckQyIT

— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) December 14, 2021

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