Under-pressure Biden Takes Gamble On Voting Rights Reform

Caught between fierce pressure from the left and right, President Joe Biden was set Tuesday to endorse a risky bid to force voting rights reforms through the Senate, arguing that US democracy faces a "defining" moment

Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Jan, 2022 ) :Caught between fierce pressure from the left and right, President Joe Biden was set Tuesday to endorse a risky bid to force voting rights reforms through the Senate, arguing that US democracy faces a "defining" moment.

Biden flew to Atlanta, Georgia, the crucible of the civil rights movement, for a major speech urging reforms that will decide whether the country chooses "democracy over autocracy," according to excerpts released by the White House.

Coming off a powerful speech last week to mark the January 6 anniversary of an attempt by Donald Trump's supporters to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Biden was set to describe the fate of the two bills under consideration in the Senate as "a turning point" in history.

It's a high-risk, high-gain issue for Biden, who is infuriating Republicans, while also trying to balance the more conservative wing of his party with the increasingly frustrated Black community.

Underlining Biden's shaky political standing, prominent Black politician and Georgia voting rights activist Stacey Abrams was missing his Atlanta event due to what Biden called a "scheduling" glitch, while a big civil rights group said it was boycotting due to lack of tangible progress.

Still, the speech was the boldest step yet into the issue by Biden, who also planned to lay a wreath at the crypt of slain civil rights icon Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and visit the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

"This is one of those defining moments, it really is," Biden told reporters as he left the White House. "People are going to be judged where they were before and where they were after the vote."