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With less than a week until Election Day, Governor Phil Murphy got the support of a national leader known for drawing impassioned crowds: Bernie Sanders, who traveled to Rutgers University on Thursday to stump for Murphy.This is a late-in-the-race indication that party leaders know that they need to boost enthusiasm among progressive Democratic voters in this off-year election.

If Murphy succeeds over his Republican challenger on Tuesday, he will be the first Democratic governor to win re-election in New Jersey since 1977. And for that, hell owe a debt to progressives. Not just because of a late visit by Bernie, but to the many grassroots progressive groups that have spent the past four years pushing Murphy to deliver on popular progressive policies in the state, keeping left-leaning voters engaged in the process.

Founded in 2016 after Bernies historic presidential run, members of Our Revolution New Jersey have been active across NJ; with 12 local chapters and a statewide network of activists, we have pushed forward Bernies progressive platform and advancing working-class priorities. We organized rallies to hold Rep. Gottheimer accountable to NJ voters.

During Murphys first term in office, OR NJ Activist helped turn universal sick leave and a statewide $15 minimum wage from policy proposals into a reality. We organized to oppose a partisan gerrymandering bill, mobilized for cannabis justice and rallied for Medicare for All. OR members are engaged at the local level working hard to support progressive candidates and turning out the vote in local and statewide elections.

Bernie Sanders inspired an entire generation of us to get active in New Jersey politics. But here in the Garden State, it is virtually impossible to run for office as progressive; or as a young candidate, or as a woman or as a candidate of color.Why? Because New Jerseys unique and undemocratic ballot design the County Ballot Line has become a systemic barrier that helps keep status-quo politicians in place, leaving independent and progressive voters disengaged with politics.

For those who havent spent time scrutinizing their ballot, The Line refers to the cohesive column of candidates on primary ballots with incumbents names listed under the candidate running at the top of the ticket. Voters accustomed to voting the party line do exactly that and as a result, New Jersey primary elections are essentially noncompetitive. No incumbent on the line has lost for state office in 12 years, or federal office in over 50.

As activists inspired by Bernies Not Me. Us message under the Our Revolution New Jersey umbrella, we are energized by the possibilities of politics to deliver real change for people. But, the fact of the matter is most New Jerseyans think politics in the state is corrupt and that their vote doesnt matter. Between party bosses hand-selecting candidates and district gerrymandering ensuring the party boss pick is elected, its not hard to see where that perception comes from.

If party leaders would embrace competitive primary elections and abolish the line ballot system, it would help re-engage voters in the democratic process and diversify the field of candidates. It would strengthen democracy in our state. It would help Democratic candidates up and down the ballot and increase voter turnout. And, yes, it would give progressives a fighting chance in primary elections.

On many issues affecting our communities, Our Revolution New Jersey is aligned with Gov. Murphy. We support him on economic rights, equal pay, womens rights, paid leave, housing justice, and other issues.

On electoral issues, we are calling on New Jersey Democrats and Gov. Murphy to embrace diversity in our Democratic party. In order to energize a truly diverse coalition of voters, we need representation that looks and feels like the real New Jersey we live in.

Elections do have consequences and therefore we call on all Bernie progressives in New Jersey to exercise your right to vote for the candidate that aligns with our progressive ideas.

Lets continue working together to make New Jersey a truly progressive state.

Anna-Marta Visky is the state organizer of Our Revolution New Jersey. Our Revolution is dedicated to organizing a political revolution strong enough to challenge the structural forces that threaten our survival as a society. Together, we are building a national grassroots network of powerful local groups who are fighting to win progressive issue fights, elect progressive champions, transform the Democratic party and get big money out of politics.

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When Re-elected, Murphy Will Owe a Debt to Progressives; Here's What We Want In Return - InsiderNJ

One of President Bidens top economic advisors has a succinct message for the progressive wing of the Democratic party: We need to take this win, Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told Yahoo Finance.

In order to get "this piece of legislation across the finish line, everyone needs to be on board, she said.

So far that message also delivered by President Biden during a meeting on Capitol Hill on Oct. 28 before leaving for Europe hasnt yet been heeded.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has said the trimmed down legislation is significant but the framework is one I want us to make better." The tension among Democrats has also been evident after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was reportedly kicked out of the meeting of progressives who were mulling their next moves.

The White House announced the $1.75 trillion "framework" Thursday which included investments in universal preschool and limiting child-care costs for some families; around half a trillion dollars for combating climate change; and an extension of expanded health care tax credits.

President Joe Biden, along with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, leaves a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus on the reconciliation package Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

At the same time, other programs like free community college, paid family leave, and a climate program known as the CEPP, were dropped from the package.

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Much of the frustration among progressives stems from the outsized role two moderate Democratic senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have played in the process. Because Democrats cant afford to lose a single Democratic vote in the Senate, those two Manchin and Sinema have been able to single-handedly dictate which provisions stay or go.

During a TV appearance Thursday night, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.), the chair of the House Progressive Caucus said her members are with the president in principle, but will not support a vote on the infrastructure bill without a full legislative text and a vote on the Build Back Better Act on the same day, citing concerns about changes that have continued to come from two senators, a clear reference to Manchin and Sinema.

Jayapal also noted that there are things floating around that could be additive to this framework around issues like prescription drug pricing and paid family leave. Both issues had been addressed in the initial $3.5 trillion bill but dropped for the slimmed down $1.75 trillion version.

Representative Pramila Jayapal (D.-Wa), center, speaks to the press on Capitol Hill after a meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Not everything that we want is in this legislation, Boushey said, but progressives who want more should recognize this is an incredible achievement that we've come this far and that the president has the commitment of enough members of the Senate to get this passed.

Biden is also committed to keep fighting for those pieces that ended up getting cut, Boushey added.

At the moment, progressives have stood firm against the White House's entreaties, and again delayed a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill Thursday night. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) had hoped that bill which passed the Senate with bipartisan support in August could be passed into law on Thursday as lawmakers flesh out the framework of the larger social spending package.

It didnt happen. Late Thursday, Democratic leaders announced they would vote on a temporary transportation funding bill to push the deadline for passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and that it would be the last vote of the week.

Ben Werschkul is a writer and producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.

Here's what's in the $1.75 trillion framework Biden is pitching to Congress

How the White House is trying to shake off the loss of a key climate provision

The backlash against effort to raise taxes is almost religious fervor, says Commerce secretary

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Biden economic advisor: Progressives 'need to take this win' - Yahoo Finance

The perennial dilemma for congressional progressives has always been that while they have a working moral conscience, their opponents dont.

This fundamental quandary is at work yet again, as progressives, after gamely holding the line for months on the Democrats infrastructure bills, are now coming under intense pressure to swallow another loss, smile, and say thank you. As Senator Joe Manchin, the public face of the corporate-funded wrecking ball thats been taken to the partys once-ambitious plans, reportedly told Bernie Sanders behind closed doors, hes willing to go without any of the reconciliation bills measures passing, let alone the tatters that are left of it, if progressives continue to insist on their $3.5 trillion framework.

So progressives are back in a familiar situation. They can either stand firm and, ultimately, make good on their threat to torpedo both parts of Bidens infrastructure proposal and, so, his entire presidential agenda winning nothing for their constituents in the process. Or they can accept the watered down reconciliation bill and get something done for the country in a moment of profound insecurity, no matter how inadequate, while putting on a brave face.

The choice is clear: they should reject the party leaderships advice to just pretend theyre winning, refuse to back this weakened package, and, if it comes to it, vote down the bipartisan bill, too. Consider why this is the most rational course of action.

Its not an argument made lightly. The country and world are in a moment of profound crisis, and Democrats desperately need to use the brief window of power they have to show they can act to improve peoples lives. The fact that theyre going into the 2022 midterms with little to excite their base and stave off a right-wing comeback only adds to the urgency.

Normally, this would be the kind of situation perfectly designed to nag at progressives conscience and force them to accept less than they ideally should. But at this point, Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and the handful of right-wing Democrats hiding behind them have gone so far in dismantling the reconciliation bill, that there should be no moral agonizing by progressives.

Back in June, I argued that if it came time to play hardball, progressives wouldnt have to feel an ounce of guilt if they decide to torpedo this deal, for several reasons: namely, that its climate provisions were already far below the level of investment needed to do much of anything to stave off planetary disaster; and that the provisions of the bipartisan infrastructure package thats paired with it were so bad, theyd be doing working Americans a favor by killing it. That was back when the bill had already been nearly halved to $3.5 trillion.

Months later, with Manchin and Sinema having now hacked that compromise to pieces, whatever moral imperative existed for passing it has been completely wiped out.

The dire emergency of climate change with scientists warning of a ghastly future of mass extinction and talking about a code red for humanity was once the main reason to back the compromise bill, and used to be a red line for progressives. But coal baron Manchin has now successfully stripped the bill of every meaningful attempt to tackle the crisis, leaving some tax credits and $30 billion worth of spending a year, a sum not remotely serious for dealing with the issue. And hes reportedly not done yet. This is unconscionable, especially when you consider this bill is widely acknowledged as the last chance for maybe a decade to take legislative action on this ticking time bomb.

Its a similar point for the human infrastructure parts of the bill. The politically expedient rationale was that by making a positive difference in the lives of tens of millions of voters, the party would be rewarded in the 2022 midterms. But look at everything thats been cut: no longer will Medicare eligibility be lowered to sixty years old, nor will the program be expanded to cover vision, hearing, and dental or be empowered to negotiate for cheaper drug prices; two free years of community college are gone; universal child care has been turned into a means-tested subsidy program that will spike costs for middle-class families; the popular child tax credit now looks to be means-tested, have a work requirement, and last only one more year; and Manchins now reportedly also demanding that Medicaid expansion be gutted, and that paid family leave be scaled back or cut entirely.

For those counting, thats sacrificing working parents, middle-class families, the poor, young adults, and seniors, the most reliable midterm voting constituency. Never mind what will happen when Democrats yet again fail to deal with out-of-control drug prices, a promise theyve been making for nearly thirty years and which they won back the House with in 2018. No one can argue with a straight face anymore that this bill is any sort of backstop against electoral annihilation.

Meanwhile, the bipartisan infrastructure deal that I called worse than nothing in June hasnt changed. Still intact are its menacing provisions to find unemployment insurance fraud and to sell control of US infrastructure to Wall Street as Trump tried to do, at which point theyll gouge ordinary Americans with more road tolls and other user fees. These outrageous provisions might have been worth swallowing if it came with what the reconciliation bill originally promised. But is whats left really a fair trade for privatizing US infrastructure and attacking working-class Americans?

In other words, Manchin, Sinema, and the rest have eliminated their most powerful bit of leverage over progressives: their moral agony, and their concern about protecting democracy. Progressives no longer need to feel conflicted about sticking to their guns and torpedoing the entire thing.

There are actually quite a few gains for progressives if they take a page out of Manchins book and play hardball like this.

One is protecting their own credibility. Progressives have, rightly, made much of the fact that they havent rolled over under pressure like theyve tended to do for years and years, and these negotiations were meant to herald a new era of progressive backbone, turning them into a real force that wouldnt be pushed around anymore.

Acquiescing now after virtually every one of their red lines has been crossed, and all at the behest of a much smaller faction of corporate-bought lawmakers, would undo all of this, prove their most cynical detractors right, and ensure their threats are never taken seriously again.

Two, progressives shouldnt forget theyre not the only ones with something to lose here. For all of Manchins posturing, remember the full sum of what he told Sanders last week, as recounted by Senator Chris Coons: We should just pass the infrastructure bill and, you know, pause for six months. [emphasis mine]

As Manchin let slip, hes not actually comfortable with zero. In fact, he and his fellow naysayers are quite desperate to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, with its much-needed improvements to physical infrastructure and its corporate giveaways, because its what their corporate masters want. While opposing the reconciliation bill, corporate America from the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers to the National Retail Federation and many more big business groups are fully behind that part of Bidens agenda. Call Manchins bluff and see how much he sweats when he goes back to his corporate patrons empty-handed.

On top of this, progressives should thirdly keep in mind that digging in puts the onus on Democratic leadership to finally put pressure on this desperate right-wing bloc. Remember that if both of these bills fail which they will, without every single Democratic senator and almost every House Democrat on board Joe Biden potentially goes down in history as a failed president with only one significant legislative accomplishment.

This is a dire prospect for a legacy-minded politician like Biden, whos dreamt all his life of being president and was reportedly thrilled earlier this year when the press declared him a bolder leader than Barack Obama, whose subtle disdain for him fueled years of quiet seething from Biden.

So theres a strong case to be made that, especially in the reconciliation bills current hollowed-out form, Biden and conservatives like Manchin have much more at stake here than progressives do. Faced with not getting what they want against a steadfast progressive bloc, itll be their turn to make some concessions.

In many ways, Manchin and the rest have done progressives a favor. Had they stuck to, say, just killing the clean electricity standard while leaving everything else in place, or only watering down one or two safety net provisions, congressional progressives might have been facing a truly difficult choice.

Instead, theyve gone so far in undermining the bill that theres little-to-no rationale for progressives to be morally blackmailed into accepting it. They should call Manchins bluff, use the partys slim majorities to stand firm and block both of these bills, and leave the corporate Democrats in the corner theyve painted for themselves until theyre ready to make concessions. Morally, tactically, and politically, theyd be right to do it. Anything else is not just a mistake its a betrayal.

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There's No Reason for Progressives to Vote for the Watered-Down Infrastructure Bill - Jacobin magazine

House progressives say they're willing to stop holding the bipartisan infrastructure bill hostage based on a presidential promise.

Why it matters: A key sticking point for progressives supporting the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill was their requirement the Senate first pass the nearly $2 trillion social safety net expansion they favor. Now, they say senators only have to promise they'll do so before they support the BIF.

Driving the news: Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) told Axios 30 members of the Progressive Caucus executive board were reassured by President Biden's pledge that all 50 Democratic senators will pass the social spending bill.

Driving the news: Support from the vast majority of House progressives is needed without dozens of Republican votes in that chamber.

What they're saying: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) echoed the sentiment.

But, but, but: Not all progressives are satisfied with just words.

Be smart: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the House Rules Committee to hold a hearing Thursday focused on the social spending package legislation another sign of progress in the complicated and intertwined negotiations.

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The progressive promise - Axios

Media top headlines October 28

In media news today, a former ESPN reporter tells Tucker Carlson about leaving her job over the company's vaccine mandate, a CNN reporter attempts to clean up Terry McAuliffe's education comments, and The Washington Post calls for answers on Wuhan lab research

Cenk Uygur, the founder of progressive media outlet The Young Turks, is urging progressive lawmakers to vote against the reconciliation bill being debated on Capitol Hill.

There has been a major divide among Democrats, who have been struggling to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill as well as the multi-trillion-dollar social spending bill. It's been a political showdown between the progressive caucus in the House versus more moderate-leaning Democrats Joe Manchin, W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz., in the Senate.

AOC THREATENS NO VOTE ON INFRASTRUCTURE IF DEMOCRATS DON'T PROVIDE SOCIAL SPENDING BILL TEXT

"There is nothing left for progressives in the reconciliation bill," Uygur declared on Tuesday. "If progressives in Congress vote yes and then do bullsh-- cheerleading for the corporate Democratic Party that gutted it, they will be met with a wall of skepticism and disdain. This bill is now trash. VOTE NO."

Cenk Uygur said that any reporter who calls Pelosi a "master legislator" is "not really a reporter" because she failed to get what she initially wanted. (Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Uygur doubled down amid reports that paid family leave was being stripped from bill

"Democrats drop paid family leave! This bill now SUCKS. Democrats are total losers. #VoteNo," Uygur tweeted.

RECONCILIATION BILL: PELOSI SCHEDULES HEARING DESPITE LACK OF BILL TEXT, FRAMEWORK: LIVE UPDATES

"If they pass this reconciliation bill completely crafted by President Joe Manchin and Vice President Kyrsten Sinema, then @JoeBiden's legacy is going to be getting owned by Joe Manchin. This is what weakness looks like. #VoteNo," he later wrote.

He went on to call out progressive lawmakers like Reps. Pramila Jayapal, and Ro Khanna, who've been spearheading negotiations on behalf of their caucus, as well as "Squad" members like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Cori Bush amid his push to derail the reconciliation bill as it stands.

"No progressive in their right mind would vote for this gutted, abomination of a bill that doesn't even have paid family leave. We have gotten nearly nothing from this bill!" Uygur exclaimed. "It's important to know that we were in favor of this bill until it got eviscerated in the last couple of weeks. Then Pelosi tells everybody the other day to just cheerlead for it no matter what's in it. Unbearable."

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: (L-R) U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) listen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump stepped up attacks on the four progressive Democratic congresswomen, saying that if they're not happy in the U.S., "they can leave." (Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images) (Alex Wroblewski)

Uygur added, "If progressives give in after nearly all of their priorities are taken out, they'll have no credibility for the rest of the Biden administration or until they have a new leader. What was the point of standing strong all the way to now if you're going to just give in at the end?"

Uygur's message may have been received as Ocasio-Cortez threatened a "no" vote on the infrastructure bill pending on what's included in the social spending bill.

"I don't see how ethically I can vote to increase U.S. climate emissions," Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday, noting that a "framework" of President Biden's "Build Back Better" plan isn't enough detail to sway her vote on infrastructure. "We have had a framework for six months. We need text."

The Young Turks radio show host Cenk Uygur (C) leads a protest of government bailout money given to Goldman Sachs, with listeners gathered in front of the US Treasury building in Washington, June 9, 2010. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST ENTERTAINMENT) (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., expressed optimism that the party was closing in on a deal in a letter to Democrats.

"As we have insisted, we are close to agreement on the priorities and the topline of the legislation, which can and must pass the House and Senate," Pelosi said in the letter. "At the same time, we are facing a crucial deadline for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework to pass."

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.

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The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur urges progressives to 'VOTE NO' on spending bill: 'We have gotten nearly nothing!' - Fox News