Sen. John Fetterman: Voter ID Is Not Radical, “Absolutely Not Jim Crow”
Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman told FNC’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that his fellow Senate Democrats will likely filibuster the “SAVE Act,” which would require voter ID nationwide and demand proof of citizenship to register to vote, but he personally doesn’t see that as wrong or radical.
MARIA BARTIROMO: What I don’t understand, Senator, is why it is so difficult to get the SAVE Act into the portfolio and onto the floor. What’s wrong with having an ID to vote? Chuck Schumer said last week that the SAVE Act-even to attempt to get it to the Senate-is dead on arrival. Why? SENATOR JOHN FETTERMAN: Well, multiple things. I travel by air 49 out of 52 weeks a year, so I’m going to see a lot of TSA people, and they’re not going to get paid. I don’t have an answer for them-it’s just basic politics right now. I think every American deserves to be paid for the work that they’ve done. I refuse-I don’t want to jump back into that. I’ve been a Democrat who refused to shut our government down last year. That’s real lives, and they’re not wealthy, especially TSA folks. They’re allowing us to fly safely here in America, and that’s part of this conversation too. As a Democrat, I do not believe it’s unreasonable to show ID to vote. I remind everybody that less than a year ago in Wisconsin, they added that requirement to their constitution with a 63% vote to require ID to vote. And they also elected a very, very liberal justice to their Supreme Court. So it’s not a radical idea for regular Americans to show your ID to vote. These things are absolutely not Jim Crow or anything like that. Of course, that’s part of an awful legacy in our nation long ago. But where we are now, trying to find a way forward, calling balls and strikes, seeing what’s reasonable-I hope we don’t have to do this again and fail to pay TSA people and everyone else. Secure our border and focus on deporting criminals wherever they are. That’s the position I support as a Democrat, and I don’t ever want to vote to shut our government down again. MARIA BARTIROMO: Right. And you are very much where the people are. Look, that’s what most people would like to see-prioritize the criminals, take criminals out of the country who are here illegally and also committing crimes. Is there any other way to view the fact that Democratic leadership refuses to require ID to vote? Is there any other way to read it other than they want illegals to vote? SENATOR JOHN FETTERMAN: For me, the SAVE Act is not going to pass because of the filibuster. They would need at least seven or eight Democratic votes to pass that. And remember also, Democrats wanted to eliminate the filibuster-except for Manchin and Sinema. Now our party loves the filibuster. I do think the filibuster is a good thing, and it does force us to work together overall. But as a Democrat, I do not believe it’s radical or extreme to require ID to vote.
