No vacation, no excuses: The 82% winner sitting on the Senate floor

Good policy, it is said, makes for good politics. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and his Senate GOP colleagues find themselves in a serendipitous moment, having before them a tremendous opportunity to serve the nation’s interests while simultaneously benefiting their party’s narrower political interests.What is the opportunity? Simple — stay in Washington until they pass a budget resolution to make possible the passage of key elements of the SAVE America Act.While Senate Republicans consider the possibility, they should consider new polling that confirms that despite Democrat lies and media spin, voters have not been fooled and still overwhelmingly support the bill — and they want it passed into law before the November elections. According to results of a new survey conducted for Tea Party Patriots Action by McLaughlin & Associates, overwhelming majorities of voters — including strong majorities of Republicans, Democrats, independents, those who support President Donald Trump, those who oppose Trump, liberals, moderates, conservatives, those who voted for Trump in 2024, those who voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in 2024, whites, African-Americans, Hispanics, married people, single people, men, and women — agree that “only United States citizens should be allowed to vote in elections for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House.”Among all voters surveyed, 82% agree with that statement, compared to just 12% who disagree.This should not shock anyone. It’s common sense.Not surprisingly, since such a large percentage believe only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in federal elections, similar majorities of the same groups agree that “proof of United States citizenship should be required to register to vote in American elections”: fully 78% among all voters agree with that statement, compared to just 16% who disagree.Voters are similarly supportive of requiring that they produce a photo ID before casting a ballot — in this most recent survey, 78% agree that “voters should be required to show a photo ID when casting a ballot.”Again, this should not shock anyone. It’s common sense.And it follows previous surveys over the last few years showing essentially the same thing — vast majorities of voters, across virtually all partisan, ideological, and demographic lines, agree that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in federal elections, and that proof of citizenship should be required to register to vote in U.S. elections, and that photo ID should be required to cast a ballot.Perhaps more to the point right now, the new survey shows that voters want the Senate to continue working to pass the bill — by 56%-34%, they chose “the United States Senate should continue to work to pass the bill before this year’s elections” over “the United States Senate should give up on passing the bill this year.”Republicans have an issue that cuts 82-12 their way, and the majority of voters want them to pass the bill before the November elections. That’s an opportunity, served up on a silver platter.Thune and his GOP colleagues could take advantage of it by bringing the budget resolution to the floor that just passed the House. It contains a $10 billion fund and an opening for elements of the SAVE America Act that have overwhelming public support.Bringing the resolution to the floor would force Democrats on the defensive. They’d face a choice — vote in support of their constituents’ desires or be required to explain to their constituents why they oppose such a commonsense measure.Georgia’s Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), for instance, should be required to cast a vote on the measure. If he wants to represent his constituents’ desires on the matter, he’ll vote for it. But the extreme radical left-wing base of his party expects him to oppose the measure — and as he runs for reelection, he’s chosen to cater to that radical base.Decisions have consequences. Ossoff should pay a political price for his decision to cater to his radical base.It’s not just Ossoff. By bringing the resolution up for consideration, Thune could use the attention-focusing aspect of debate on the Senate floor to make Democrat candidates for the Senate in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas explain to their voters why they don’t support a measure that their voters do, overwhelmingly.In politics, you win by going on offense and taking control of the argument — and you make your opponent talk about the things you want to talk about. In this case, Senate Republicans have the opportunity to force their own campaign debates — and the campaign debates of GOP candidates who want to join them in the Senate — onto the topic of proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote.NON-CITIZEN VOTING IS REAL. WE DON’T NEED THE SAVE AMERICA ACT TO CLEAN ROLLSThe SAVE America Act should be passed by the Senate because it would be good for the country. It would help alleviate the erosion of confidence in the integrity of our election systems by making it clear to voters that government officials take election security seriously.Republicans should seize this moral high ground by staying in town long enough to consider and pass the budget resolution with the key elements of the SAVE America Act. That would be good for the country, and good for themselves.Jenny Beth Martin is chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.