Washington Examiner senior writer Joe Concha heralded Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) for remaining “the voice of reason” within his party on the matter of voter identification.
Fetterman rebuffed the idea that the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act is comparable to “Jim Crow 2.0” on Saturday, adding that presenting identification to vote in elections is “not a radical idea.” The Pennsylvania senator’s statement comes as other Democrats are vehemently opposed to the SAVE America Act, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Concha contended that “the real issue” with the Democratic Party’s opposition to the SAVE Act is the party’s desire to have up to 15 million illegal immigrants receive a path to citizenship and be able to vote in future elections.
“And John Fetterman, again, the voice of reason in the Democratic Party, a lone voice of reason it seems,” Concha said on Fox Business’s Varney & Co., guest-hosted by Ashley Webster.
“The numbers are the numbers, Ashley — we talked about them on this show — 84% of Americans overall support voter ID. If you want to get on a plane or rent a car or buy liquor, or do whatever you need to do with an ID, I’d think the most sacred thing we do in this country as a citizen is vote. You should need voter ID.”
Concha added that voter ID is supported by a majority of Democratic and minority voters, including 75% of black voters and 76% of Latino voters.
Despite Democrats being on “the wrong side of this issue by a country mile,” Concha said the SAVE Act is unlikely to pass the Senate due to the 60-vote filibuster. Republicans only have a three-seat majority in the Senate.
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Besides Schumer, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is also pushing back against the SAVE Act, calling it “part of the broader disenfranchisement effort.”
Washington Examiner Executive Editor Bob Cusack argued that the Democratic base knows party leaders’ opposition to voter ID laws is “a losing issue for them.”