Prominent members of the Christian Left gathered in Washington, DC on Monday afternoon to “make holy trouble” and rally against the Senate filibuster rule. One speaker called the push to do away with the filibuster a battle “against the continued spirit of fascism.”
The filibuster is a Senate cloture rule requiring 60 members to end debate on most topics and move to a floor vote. It poses a steep barrier to the 50-seat majority’s policy agenda (the U.S. Vice President casts a tie-breaking vote).
The event, titled “Easter Monday Moral Monday: People of Faith & Moral Consciousness Making Holy Trouble,” took place on the steps of the National City Christian Church in downtown Washington. It was hosted by the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival, headed by prominent members of the Christian Left the Rev. William Barber and the Rev. Liz Theoharis.
Barber delivered the homily at the National Prayer Service for the presidential inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this year.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastor from North Carolina was unable to physically be present in Washington for the event, but began it with a video message.
“We are gathering from all around the nation and in the nation’s capital today to raise an important issue… we as clergy, pastors, imams, rabbis, people from the Hindu community and the Muslim community, are challenging the immorality of the filibuster,” declared Barber.
“The filibuster is dangerous to our democracy. It undermines our democracy,” he continued. “It causes us to have an impoverished democracy; it allows injustice to flourish.”
Barber further asserted that “the filibuster more often than not has been used to rob the poor.” He and his fellow speakers therefore “commit to creating holy trouble” in order to bring an end to the procedure.
The organization released a “statement of conscience” repeatedly mentioned during Monday’s livestream event and asked viewers to sign and send to their respective Senators. In the statement, organizers deem the filibuster a “relic of Jim Crow legislative obstructionism” and assert that it perpetuates “evils such as voter suppression, economic exploitation, lack of healthcare, ecological devastation, and a war-based economy.”
The Rev. Graylan Hagler, senior pastor at the Plymouth United Church of Christ in Washington, insisted that an effort to conclude the filibuster is a “battle against the continued spirit of fascism. Fascism that does not want to be held accountable. Fascism that does not want people to participate in the political process.”
Monday’s event was also promoted by the National Council of Churches (NCC), and NCC President Jim Winkler provided remarks at the rally.
“The filibuster is a symbol and tool of white supremacy,” asserted Winkler. “We don’t just need to address the anti-democratic nature of the filibuster, which has long permitted the most anti-democratic forces in our society to perpetuate racism, slavery, and poverty, we have to go further and come up with creative ways to modernize the Senate.”
“Perhaps, for example, it should be enlarged so that millions and millions of Americans who are underrepresented in the Senate have their voice heard and their vote counted,” Winkler continued.
Theoharis, director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice, concluded the live rally with the remarks, “We indeed also call this nation, in this moment, in this holy season, that we must make holy disruption, holy trouble.”
The event continued with video addresses from pastors, imams, rabbis, and other clergy from throughout the country.
One of the 14 policy priorities of the Poor People’s Campaign is to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour immediately. In the video remarks following Theoharis’ rally, Rose Gudiel, who is involved in the Poor People’s Campaign’s California chapter, stated, “that in order for us as people to have a true living wage, we would have to be closer to what inflation has brought us up to, to like $23/hour, and we’re not even there.”
Comment by Palamas on April 9, 2021 at 4:16 pm
I hate it when people who are as ignorant as the ones quoted in this post parade their ignorance in public for all to see. “Spirit of fascism”? So Senate Democrats were engaging in “fascism” (the definition of which for Rev. Hagler seems to be, “whatever I don’t like”) when they conducted over 350 filibusters on a variety of issues over the four years of the Trump administration? “Tool of white supremacy” (defined as anything Rev. Winkler doesn’t like)? Has Rev. Winkler been asleep for the past four years? Does he have even the remotest concept of how the Senate, and American democracy as a whole, are supposed to work? Are these so-called Christian leaders capable of doing anything other than parroting nonsensical far left talking points?
Comment by David on April 12, 2021 at 3:37 pm
Not quoted, but participating in the event was the Reverend Jimmie Hawkins of the PC(USA). Rev. Hawkins referred to the most recent election law in Georgia as voter suppression without any concrete examples. As a fed up Presbyterian with them attacking Georgia over the election law and invoking the knee jerk white supremacy trope over the spa shootings (while ignoring non-white race on Asian statistics), I sent an email to Mr. Hawkins office as well as all the Revs. heading the national organization and presbytery challenging them to actually read the legislation, which more than likely they haven’t, and challenging them to address the fact that race relations with Asians are way more complex than they clearly want to admit. (Death Valley will freeze over before I hear from the national office or the local presbytery on my pointed, factual criticisms.)
That said, I have no problem with people espousing as Christians views that may be generally consistent with their politics. However, I cannot tolerate when people, who may claim a commitment to truth (and stand against racism), willingly lie and engage in definitely bigoted and possibly borderline racist actions themselves in order to place their politics ahead of their professed religion. THAT is exactly what Rev. Hawkins and one of his PC(USA) collegues, in particular, regularly do. If I was critical of prominent Southern Baptists, whom I admired and respected (this did not include Falwell, Jr.), of placing politics of ahead of Christianity with Trump, despite having much in agreement politically with them, then I most certainly will do the same with these clerics with whom I do not have much in common politically.
That said, because of this blatant lying by these leftist clergy, who call themselves Christians, and the decision by some of them to flat out obstinately ignore the obvious racism of their own pigmentation against notably Asians has resulted in my pastor having an unpleasant surprise in his email box upon his return from Spring/Easter break with the kids…..my intended resignation from membership in the PC(USA).
My most likely option is the Anglican Church as a compromise with my more generally social liberal wife, even if she doesn’t move over, as opposed to the PCA, which she has flat out rejected in the past, or theological differences aside, the Methodist Church, because the coming schism has yet to be settled. Yes, ACNA has its debates and growing pains as a new denomination, and the PCA is going through struggles in at least one area, But, the church in general, especially at the highest levels, shouldn’t be taking stances that read solely like the talking points of one political party over the other. THAT is the problem primarily with the SBC on the right, and name your mainline denomination on the left.
Comment by Tom on April 12, 2021 at 5:55 pm
David, tell your wife not to believe what she hears about the PCA but to try it for herself. We’ve found the PCA to be warm and welcoming…and as far as politics go, we are monarchists (i.e., we are for the Kingdom.)
Comment by Timothy on April 13, 2021 at 2:29 am
And next week these leftist grifters, who appear starved for attention, will ‘stage’ a protest about more regulation of NASA. Saturday Night Live should bring these pathetic grandstanders on its show for a skit or two. Good for laughs. Better yet, let’s fly them to Venezuela, or Hong Kong, and watch them try to stage a protest.
I should stop reading Babylon Bee; can’t tell the difference between news and satire.
Comment by Brother Thom on April 13, 2021 at 7:27 am
I tried hard but still couldn’t figure out what the intent of this article was.
So a couple of dozen uninformed liberals gather on the steps of a church to protest against something they clearly have no understanding of, and that’s newsworthy here.
Wait, or is that point,