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Progressives are preparing to try to clear out Democrats they say are hampering their ability to remodel the country while their party still controls Congress.

They see the skeleton Build Back Better (BBB) package and failed voting rights bill as warning signs that a few stubborn lawmakers can and, if given the chance, will block and blow up the liberal vision they had dreamed about enacting when President BidenJoe BidenFormer chairman of Wisconsin GOP party signals he will comply with Jan. 6 committee subpoena Romney tests positive for coronavirus Pelosi sidesteps progressives' March 1 deadline for Build Back Better MORE took office.

When things fell further apart last week, leaving the president and congressional Democrats scrambling for a way to advance their two main priorities, progressives saw a clear fix to all of it: primary challenges ahead of November.

We need strong progressives in Congress to have some sort of counterweight and leverage against the conservative, corporate backed Democrats who are an obstacle to delivering results, said Waleed Shaheed, a spokesperson for Justice Democrats,a progressive group that has backed several liberal challengers to Democratic incumbents in recent years.

These primaries are where those seats come from, where that leverage comes from, he said.

Manyonthe left are outraged that Sens. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinPelosi sidesteps progressives' March 1 deadline for Build Back Better On The Money Fed's inflation tracker at fastest pace since '82 Billionaire GOP donor maxed out to Manchin following his Build Back Better opposition MORE (D-W.Va.) and Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) joined Republicans last week in opposing a rule changeto the filibusterand in doing so killed off a voting rights bill. They are equally furious that the same two holdouts, particularly Manchin, sank Bidens social and climate spending package.

While both bills have defined Bidens first year in office, progressives see them as just the start.

They believe the moderate duo in the Senate and many more in the House will vote against their proposals as often as possible in 2022 and 2024, creating further pressure to oust them from within their own ranks before it gets to that point.

Manchin and Sinema arent up for reelection in 2022, but here are five moderate Democrats the left plans to target:

1) Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas)

Jessica Cisneross quest to remove longtime moderate Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) from his position as a key centrist negotiator on Capitol Hill has attracted the most progressive energy this cycle.

Cuellar, a 10-term incumbent currently embroiled in an FBI investigation for alleged improper ties to Azerbaijan, is one of progressives biggestpotential gets.

He was seen as a major barrier to left-wing lawmakers goal of keeping Bidenssocial safety net packagelinked to the bipartisan infrastructure bill in November, arguing that he and others in similar positions in conservative districts needed an accomplishment to talk up back home.

Cisneros, a working class Mexican American woman, has a very different vision.

She gained someprominence forchallenging Cuellar for the same seat in Texass 28thCongressional District in 2020. And since then, progressives have become more interested in her candidacy. Like many on the left, she is firmly against corporate money in politics, particularly from the fossil fuel industryin the oil-rich state.Cuellar has sustained pushback from liberals over his ties to Big Oil.

While Cisneros is backed by liberal lawmakers, Cuellar, whos held his seat since 2005, has establishment weight behind his bid, including Majority Leader Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerClyburn calls for full-court press on voting rights Biden talks climate and child care provisions of Build Back Better agenda with top CEOs The Hill's Morning Report - Biden: Russia attack 'would change the world' MORE (Md.), the No. 2Democrat in the House. Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiPelosi sidesteps progressives' March 1 deadline for Build Back Better Let's 'reimagine' political corruption Briahna Joy Gray discusses Pelosi's 2022 re-election announcement MORE (D-Calif.) has remained neutral so far, butsupportedhim last cycle against Cisneros.

2) Rep. Carolyn MaloneyCarolyn MaloneyOvernight Defense & National Security Inside Austin's civilian harm directive House committee to hear from former Washington Football Team employees on misconduct claims House Dems seek to advance Equal Rights Amendment after new DOJ opinion MORE (N.Y.)

Rana Abdelhamid is progressives biggest chance to create a liberal trifecta in deep blue New York.

Abdelhamid, a 28-year-old Muslim woman, is competing againstRep. Carolyn Maloney, a nearly three decade House veteran, for a shot at the 12thCongressional District of the state where Democrat-on-Democrat action is something of a blood sport.

In Abdelhamid, top strategists see an opening to recreate the fire theyve captured cycle after cycle in the state that sent Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezOcasio-Cortez: Supporting Sinema challenge by someone like Gallego would be easy decision New Mexico Democrat tests positive for COVID-19 breakthrough case Warner tests positive for breakthrough COVID-19 case MORE and Jamaal Bowman to Congress against their more well-known and well-funded incumbent opponents.

The millennial progressive told The Hill she hopes that she can draw a contrast between her establishment rivalbacked by Wall Street and real estate who, she adds, has held this seat for as long as I have been alive.

We saw how important it is to have real progressives in Congress during the fight for Build Back Better,Abdelhamid said.We need leaders who will fight as hard as the people of this district already do.

3)Rep. Danny K. Davis (Ill.)

Activists desperate to send another social justice advocate to Capitol Hill have set their sights on Kina Collins, a young, Black gun violence prevention activist with ties to community organizing.

If Collinss story sounds familiar, its because it is strikingly similar to another progressive recruit from the activist class, Rep. Cori BushCori BushLaquan McDonald's family pushes for federal charges against officer ahead of early release Rep Cori Bush says 'gun violence shakes your soul' after car struck by gunfire Five Democrats the left plans to target MORE (D-Mo.), who rose to power and prominence by defeating longtime Rep. Wm. Lacy ClayWilliam (Lacy) Lacy ClayFive Democrats the left plans to target The FCC must act to promote minority-owned broadcasting Cori Bush hits her stride by drawing on activist past MORE (D-Mo.) amid an uproar over racial unrest.

Operatives see parallels between Bush and Collins, who is taking on Rep. Danny K. Davis, a 13-term lawmaker and member of the Congressional Black Caucus, in Illinois's 7thCongressional District.

Davis, progressives contend, is too closely tied to corporate money, which they say has long influenced his decision making, whereas Collins relies exclusively on small-dollar donations tofundher insurgent bid.

Illinois's7th District is one of the most unequal districts in the country, yet our representative Danny DavisDaniel (Danny) K. DavisFive Democrats the left plans to target Don't just delay student debt, prevent it Illinois Democrats propose new 'maximized' congressional map MORE has stopped showing up in the community, misses votes, and takes money from corporate donors, Collins said.

LikeAbdelhamid, Collins believes the ongoing struggle and public spectacle around passing Democrats social spending plan further spotlighted the need for her candidacy and others challenging lawmakerswholiberalssay are slowing things down.

We need progressive fighters, she said.

4) Rep. Tim RyanTimothy (Tim) RyanCooper becomes latest House Democrat to not seek reelection Marjorie Taylor Greene endorses JD Vance in Ohio Senate race The Hill's Morning Report - Biden, NATO eye 'all scenarios' with Russia MORE for Ohio Senate

Columbus native Morgan Harper, a former adviser for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is challenging moderate Rep. Tim Ryan in the states Democratic Senate primary, a race thats attracting national eyeballs.

Harpers rsum reads a bit like Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenDemocrats press cryptomining companies on energy consumption Ocasio-Cortez: Supporting Sinema challenge by someone like Gallego would be easy decision Over 80 lawmakers urge Biden to release memo outlining his authority on student debt cancellation MOREs (D-Mass.). A lawyer and policy wonk, but from the Midwest, not Massachusetts.

She hopes that in Ohio, the state that Democrats have watched turn red over the last several cycles, shes making the pitch that populist policies like "Medicare for All" and the Green New Deal are needed to inject optimism and concrete results into struggling areas.

Ryan, a Youngstown native and early backer of Biden, has long enjoyed the support of the party's establishment wing. While some Democrats are skeptical that the seat can go to any candidate from their side of the aisle, Harper would have to outcompete the moderate factions favorite candidate in 10-term Ryan to have a shot against the eventual Republican nominee.

5) Rep. Jim CooperJim Cooper Romney tests positive for coronavirus DCCC expands list of vulnerable House Democrats The Hill's Morning Report - Biden: Russia attack 'would change the world' MORE (Tenn.)

If theres an underdog to be had among progressives 2022 dream draft, its Odessa Kelly.

The young Nashville native is challenging Rep. Jim Cooper, a 16-term conservative Democrat and member of the Blue Dog Coalition in the House, forTennessee's 5thCongressional District.

Like other outsiders angling for a way in, Kelly, a mother of two, has the support of Justice Democrats and progressive groups like Indivisible, Brand New Congress, the Working Families Party and a slew of local and community leaders in Tennessee.

Her platform is unabashedly progressive.

While fellow organizers see hope in Kellys bid against Cooper, some privately acknowledge she has a tougher road ahead than her counterparts. Her district has been recently gerrymandered to lean toward Republican control, making it even harder for some to envision any Democrat clinging to power in the Southern enclave.

2024 Honorable Mentions:

6) Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.)

Theres no shortage of progressives who want Manchin out of Congress and away from politics altogether. But can anyone make that happen?

The West Virginia senator has been the lefts biggest problem child on Capitol Hill for the entirety of Bidens administration. FromBBBto the federal minimum wage, many progressives are loath to even refer to Manchin as a moderate, arguing that he is more of a Republican officeholder than a team member of the Democratic caucus.

Its notjust the left flank who ismad. As the negotiations around major legislation lagged for months for what he promised were good faith talks with the White House and congressional colleagues, many in the party felt he basically delivered a middle finger to the plans to pass an agenda that would address many social and environmental problems before the midterm elections.

The whole episode was cinematic. And it drastically upped the pressure among aggravated activists at the state and national levels to find someone who could be viable against him.

That, of course, wont be easy. Former President TrumpDonald TrumpFormer chairman of Wisconsin GOP party signals he will comply with Jan. 6 committee subpoena Overnight Defense & National Security Pentagon tells Russia to stand down Billionaire GOP donor maxed out to Manchin following his Build Back Better opposition MORE swept the state easily in both elections, and Manchin is still deeply popular with his constituents, despite the overall mood among Democrats in Washington souring on him.

7) Sen. Kyrsten SinemaKyrsten SinemaThe Hill's Morning Report - Democrats sense opportunity with SCOTUS vacancy Schumer finds unity moment in Supreme Court fight Left says they're not to blame for Biden's problems MORE (Ariz.)

Unlike Manchin, Sinema is a relatively newer target on the left. But shes quickly caught up to being equally reviled by those who want her out.

What started as a nascent primary Sinema movement among some rogue activists has gained steam in recent weeks after the first-term Arizona senator voted against amending the filibuster and effectively halted the debate on passing voting rights legislation.

Beyond the majority of Democrats in Congress, who have become increasingly unhappy with Sinemas position on the filibuster and refusal to budge after meeting several times directly with Biden, officials in her own state are even more upset.

Members of the Arizona Democratic Party recently voted tocensuretheir own senator after her GOP-aligned vote last week, a move that received praise from Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSchumer finds unity moment in Supreme Court fight McConnell warns Biden not to 'outsource' Supreme Court pick to 'radical left' Briahna Joy Gray discusses Pelosi's 2022 re-election announcement MORE (I-Vt.), who has been critical of both Sinema and Manchin in their opposition to changing the procedure.

Activists say they expect a Sinema challenger to emerge ahead of 2024, with some anticipating that Rep.Ruben GallegoRuben GallegoOcasio-Cortez: Supporting Sinema challenge by someone like Gallego would be easy decision Poll: Sinema approval higher among Arizona Republicans than Democrats It's time for 'Uncle Joe' to take off the gloves against Manchin and Sinema MORE could mount anintraparty fight, despite shooting down the idea earlier.

Original post:
Five Democrats the left plans to target | TheHill - The Hill

Liberal progressives and a focus on feelings

The letter to the editor, Supreme Court is wrong in COVID-19 decision (Jan, 20, 2022), shows why liberal progressives are a danger to this country. The author says the U.S. Supreme Court should have based its recent mask and vaccine mandate ruling on what he feels would be best for the health and safety of the general public.

His letter shows he does not understand or chooses to ignore the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in our democracy. SCOTUS is meant to be a strictly judicial body. It is not supposed to advocate for or against social policy like mandated mask wearing and vaccination. Its job is to dispassionately decide whether government and private sector actions are constitutional.

SCOTUS ruled that the Constitution does not give the Biden administration the authority to force businesses to require employees to be vaccinated.

Liberal progressives who are rapidly gaining influence in Rhode Island politics are dangerous because reality, facts and the U.S. Constitution mean little to them, as the Jan. 20 letter to the editor makes clear. They demand laws and government policies be based on their feelings. Emotion-driven policies dont make for good government.

Rational people gather facts and draw logical conclusions to make sound public policy. Liberal progressives dont so they should never be elected to public office.

Robert King,Middletown

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OPINION/LETTER: Liberal progressives and a focus on feelings - newportri.com

Media top headlines January 26

In media news today, MSNBCs Chris Hayes gets roasted for questioning people who oppose COVID restrictions, The New York Times Nikole Hannah-Jones deletes a tweet defending vaccine passports, and a CNN political analyst echoes Bidens statements comparing Republicans to segregationists.

New Jersey radio host Joe Piscopo slammed the soft-on-crime politics from progressives on Wednesday, after the second NYPD officer was killed by a suspect in a domestic disturbance incident in New York City.

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell confirmed earlier Wednesday that 27-year-old Officer Wilbert Mora died at NYU-Langone medical center in Manhattan. His partner, 22-year-old Officer Jason Rivera, previously succumbed to his injuries after being allegedly shot by suspect Lashawn McNeil.

McNeil allegedly ambushed the officers, who reportedly responded to a call to the West 135th Street apartment made by his mother, Shirley Sourzes. McNeil later died of injuries sustained after a third cop shot him while trying to escape. Sourzes later told the New York Post she regretted calling the police after the two officers were killed by her son.

NYC MAYOR ADAMS REINSTATES POLICE UNIT DE BLASIO DISBANDED DURING DEFUND POLICE MOVEMENT

On "The Joe Piscopo Show," Piscopo mourned the loss of Rivera and Mora, calling on politicians to finally abandon their left-wing, soft-on-crime policies, and praising New York City's new mayor for making new efforts to stem the violent crime spike.

"We lost another NYPD officer last night Wilbert Mora, who died days after that Harlem ambush," he said, calling Mora a true hero. "This kid 27 years old for Gods sake, I am amazed that this happens, and it's going to go from one day to the next, and I fear that nothing will happen."

Comedian Joe Piscopo speaks to reporters as he arrives for the Mark Twain prize for Humor honoring Eddie Murphy at the Kennedy Center in Washington October 18, 2015. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

"I can see [New York City] Mayor Eric Adams is trying to do something hes putting an anti-crime unit back in but at this should have been planned out all of this should have implemented," Piscopo said. "[M]y heart is heavy this morning we lost another cop, and thank you to the police officers bold enough and with enough courage to put politics aside and still walk the streets."

Piscopo, a former "Saturday Night Live" star, also blamed the media in part for the collapse of civil society in some parts of the country.

"The whole country is like just disintegrating before our eyes really, and were going to keep fighting, and we're going to get there. The evil cannot prevail like it is," he said, adding that some of the blame for rising the crime comes from the very top.

"The evil is out of Washington D.C. -- the core of this evil that has just come across America, not to be too dramatic, but you see it, you know it. They put this puppet presidency and whos running the presidency, no one really knows -- the press doesnt have the guts to write anything about it. The press has no backbone at all anymore," he said.

NYPD officers in motorcycles lead an ambulance carrying Officer Wilbert Mora as he is transferred from Harlem Hospital to NYU Langone hospital on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Piscopo said he hopes Adams, who is a former NYPD officer, is in serious discussions with progressive New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been roundly lambasted for his soft-on-crime, decriminalization approach to prosecutions.

"[Bragg] says you got to let criminals out on the street. You know thats his mantra. Let criminals go which again, inflames these wackos; these killers," he said. "He changed his tone a little bit yesterday. For the life of me, I don't understand why Governor Hochul, the governor of New York, doesnt remove this guy she has the ability to shut him down."

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Piscopo highlighted other tragic shootings that he thinks are being underreported.

"What happened to that girl, Brianna Kupfer? in the furniture store in Los Angeles what happened to that [suspect] -- wheres that story?" he asked, after police arrested a suspect in the case.

"What about Waukesha, Wisconsin? This creep who just mowed down families, killed eight, including an eight-year-old, where we thought. Where is that story?" he said, referring to a tragic event last year in which suspect Darrell Brooks Jr. allegedly drove a car through a Christmas parade.

Continued here:
Joe Piscopo blasts soft-on-crime policies from progressives after second NYPD cop dies: 'My heart is heavy' - Fox News

Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Wednesday pushed President Joe Biden to "use all legal tools" at his disposal to force U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies to share their closely guarded coronavirus vaccine recipes with the world, warning that not doing so will all but ensure the emergence of new variants.

"As new data emerges about the quickly spreading Omicron variant, we know that the longer the global pandemic is allowed to run rampant, new, more virulent variants will continue to threaten health and economic wellbeing across the planet," 30 CPC members wrote in a letter to Biden. "As the United States quickly approaches 800,000 pandemic deaths with roughly 1,000 deaths continuing daily, we fear the Covid-19 pandemic that has produced nearly 5.5 million deaths globally will continue ravaging the globe if inequity and apathy prevail."

"The harm to U.S. public health and the economy if vaccine-resistant variants are allowed to evolve is almost unfathomable."

"The harm to U.S. public health and the economy if vaccine-resistant variants are allowed to evolve," the Democratic lawmakers warned, "is almost unfathomable."

The president has acknowledged that Covid-19 "transcends borders" and that ending the pandemic will require action on a global scale. But critics argued that, thus far, Biden's actions have not matched his rhetoric.

While the administration has vowed to expand U.S. manufacturing capacity in order to produce a billion coronavirus vaccine doses annually to share with the world, it has yet to use its legal authority to make pharmaceutical companies share their vaccine recipes with developing countries, denying them the ability to produce their own shots and forcing them to rely on inadequate charity from rich nations.

In their new letter, CPC chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), and other progressive lawmakers argued that "arrangements entered into by Pfizer and Moderna to provide doses to low- and middle-income countries have been grossly inadequate, providing far too few doses, far too slowly, and sometimes only under onerous terms."

A recent analysis by the People's Vaccine Alliance found that pharmaceutical giants have been grossly overcharging developing countries for vaccines, leading to massive company profits and inadequate vaccine access for billions across the globe. Just 9.8% of people in low-income countries have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to Our World in Data.

Because pharmaceutical companies have "refused to share technology with willing and capable manufacturers" overseas, the Democratic lawmakers wrote Wednesday, Biden should force them to by "invoking the Defense Production Act and other legal tools, such as 28 U.S.C. 1498 and authorities under the Bayh-Dole Act, [which] would help jumpstart global mRNA production so that Covid-19 vaccines could be produced where they are needed in 2022."

Additionally, the progressive Democrats urged Biden to clarify his position on India and South Africa's patent waiver proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO), where Germany, the United Kingdom, and other rich nations have stonewalled the measure for more than a year even as millions of people died of Covid-19.

The president endorsed the patent waiver in May, but recent reporting indicates the administration has taken a passive approach to WTO negotiations, angering public health campaigners who want Biden to fight for the proposal.

"If the United States does not support it as drafted, we ask that you provide specific amendments to the text for evaluation and move quickly toward achieving consensus," the CPC members wrote. "This proposal would help manufacturing plants around the world to increase production of Covid-19 vaccines."

The lawmakers also demanded that Biden:

"We believe that if the administration takes decisive action to increase the sharing of know-how and intellectual property for Covid-19 vaccines, expand both the production of vaccines and their distribution and delivery, and support the financing needs of low-income countries through additional multilateral measures," the letter concludes, "your goal of vaccinating the world will be realized in short order."

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Progressives to Biden: Force Pharma to Share Vaccine Recipes Globally - Common Dreams

The filibuster bothers him so much that he still loses sleep over it. He woke up at 3 a.m. on the day last week that Democrats narrowly failed to install a talking filibuster for elections legislation, going over whether there was some way to sway Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to weaken the 60-vote threshold.Calling it Operation: Last Hope, he privately lobbied Manchin on the floor just before the vote.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) walks to the chamber after a Senate Democratic Caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington on Nov. 2, 2021.|AP

In the end, Manchin and Sinema sided against Merkley and with the filibuster. Yet unlike his longtime liberal ally Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who hasencouragedpotential primary challengers to the two centrists, the soft-spoken former statehouse speaker is still courting the hold-outs, no matter the Sisyphean appearance of the task ahead.

I have absolutely no interest in that conversation, Merkley said of trying to find more liberal candidates to run against Manchin and Sinema. I want to come back and have conversations with our colleagues to find a path forward.

Its rare that a devastating loss on the Senate floor is a zenith. But for Merkley, the 48-52 failure on a drizzly Wednesday night amounts to a high point in his 13-year career. Theres no one else in the Capitol as focused on changing the way the Senate operates than Merkley, nor more directly tied to a series of rules changes the chamber has undergone over the past decade.

Merkley and former Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) led the Obama-era charge to scrap the 60-vote threshold on most nominees, helping the then-president overcome GOP opposition to fill out the courts and his Cabinet. Four years later, in 2017, Merkleylaunched a filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch despite Senate Minority Leader MitchMcConnells blockade of Obamas high court nominee Merrick Garland.

Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) speaks during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on Capitol Hill on Sept. 24, 2020 in Washington, D.C.|Getty Images

McConnell then promptly changed the rules and eventually confirmed three Supreme Court nominees with simple majorities.

Yet as Merkley sees it, McConnell is unlikely to bend the rules further because his current situation empowerment to block much of Democrats agenda with 41 votes but confirm Supreme Court justices with a simple majority is essentially heads I win, tails you lose for Republicans.

I would be very surprised to see him actually change a situation thats working very well for him, Merkley said of McConnell.

Meanwhile, ever since McConnell eliminated the filibuster for high court nominees, Merkleys worked toward the moment his own partycould go around the opposition leader.

He must be being fed intravenously. Because hes just living on peanut sandwiches and working around the clock, said Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. He laid the foundation on the talking filibuster.

Merkley mulled running for president in 2020 but saw few avenues to distinguish himself in that muddled field. What he saw instead was a wide-open lane to be the Democrats filibuster specialist. In dense, technical presentations to his colleagues, the lanky Oregonian tries to explain whats wrong with the Senate as he hacks through byzantine procedure.

But unlike some progressives, he doesnt support getting rid of the filibuster altogether, reasoning its worth providing protections for the minority party to extend debate. That has helped Merkley make inroads sinceMarch, whenhe started interviewing every single Democratic caucus member on the topic.

Merkley reported back to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that he sensed an opportunity on the talking filibuster. Put simply, the reform that Merkley envisions would allow the party in power to eventually pass legislation by a simple majority, only after the minority had exhausted itself on debate. Merkley says this reform would still require bipartisan negotiations, because floor fights over controversial votes could tie up the Senate floor for weeks or months. His view resonated in the caucus, and the talking filibuster gained support as a less drastic option.

Under Merkleys vision of the Senate, it will take so long for majority parties to overcome the talking filibuster on contentious legislation that votes on major party-line legislation will be relatively rare. Merkley estimates that GOP senators could use 450 hours of debate time on sweeping reforms like the elections bill: Thatd be longer than the civilrights debate.

The rest of the time, he sees lonely members blocking a majority vote and then quickly backing down on less major pieces of legislation. These days, a single member of the Senate can demand a 60-vote threshold vote on most bills with just a call to the cloakroom.

He has compelling evidence that use of the current no-effort filibuster spiraled out of control over the past 20 years, but its not an easy sell: One Democratic senator described Merkleys presentation as dry and overly technical. Months ago, Merkley offered to give President Joe Biden his slide presentation but they didnt take me up on that, he said.

He instead educated Bidens chief of staff; ultimately, the president sided with Merkley and endorsed a talking filibuster.

When the vote came down, 47 of Merkley's colleagues sided withhim as well. That included his Washington roommate and longtime filibuster defender Chris Coons (D-Del.), who observed that by virtue of living under the same roof during session weeks hes had dozens of conversations with Merkley about the filibuster.

Sen. Merkley is a warm, engaging, thoughtful person. And a great landlord, Coons said.

Coons was among those who endorsed only the narrowest filibuster change, applying it only to the specific voting and elections bill that came before the Senate this month.

Nonetheless, both parties now have Merkleys proposal asa template to run with the next time they get stymied on a keylegislative goal.

McConnell and most Republicans say they wont do it, as Merkley predicts, but having 48 Democrats on record for an end-around the 60-vote requirement will change the playing field going forward.

It sets a precedent, said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of GOP leadership. I would just remind them that they are the ones that are doing this and that anything goes in the future.

What Ernst sees as a portend, Merkley views as good news. The idea that the minority party can dictate the direction of the Senate is an absolute violation of the philosophy of representative government, he said.

There are now 48 senators deeply convinced that the Senate is broken, he added. It's essential that we fix this. And so, I'm convinced we will.

Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.

See more here:
Meet the mild-mannered progressive who's breaking the filibuster - POLITICO - POLITICO