Saving democracy is the only issue

Rebecca Phipps speaks out

Rebecca Phipps, Voter Service chair for the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County, recently appeared with a panel of four West Virginia state legislators from districts in the Eastern Panhandle.* The following is her statement, reproduced with her permission.

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Good evening. My name is Rebecca Phipps and I live in Shepherdstown. Thank you for calling this meeting. We need more meetings like this.

There is only one issue that you should take to Charleston and that is to save democracy. Any of the four of you could be the one, the one who is the first to stand up and say … enough.

You could be the first. You could be the first, because the resistance has got to come from one of you. You have got to know, somewhere, in your heart of hearts, that the actions that are coming out of the White House are wrong.

You could be the first.

You could be the first to stand in a public forum and say, enough. Lead the action that restores democracy.

I know you’re here tonight to hear people discuss the pros and cons of state and local issues. But no. There’s only one issue.

You have a megaphone, and this is a public forum, and you could start right now. There will never be a better time. Because saving democracy is the only issue.

It’s not gun rights or abortion rights or voting rights or civil rights. It isn’t vaccinations, it isn’t healthcare, it isn’t affordable housing, it isn’t immigration and border security, it isn’t fighting terrorism, it isn’t war in Ukraine, it isn’t the Middle East, it isn’t about taxation.

And most of all, it’s not about party or party loyalty. You need to step away from that and think about the big picture.

What’s at stake here is democracy.

Again, you could be the one.

Tonight could be the beginning of the endgame of what, more and more, looks like the willful destruction of democracy.

Democracy, proven over and over to be the form of government that provides the best quality of life for the largest number of people.

For the love of God, could we unite around that?

You need to stand up and defend democracy, and you need to start yesterday. For the people.

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*News report on meeting — Legislators host town hall meeting in Charles Town | Journal-news