Why it matters: The White House is under growing pressure to accede to the left's demand to bust the filibuster. That rule effectively requires the support of 10 Republicans for most measures in this 50-50 Senate, rather than the simple majority that most Democrats want.
What we're hearing: Democrats believe they have a narrow window to change voting rules at the national level, to ensure they don't get swept out of power due to Republican structural advantages.
- Many Dems believe that this moment — when they have total control of Washington — is extremely tenuous and fleeting.
- Jones tweeted: "Manchin's op-ed might as well be titled, 'Why I'll vote to preserve Jim Crow.'"
- At the funeral in 2020 for Rep. John Lewis, the civil-rights icon, former President Obama tied the filibuster to segregation, calling it a "Jim Crow relic."
- Manchin said: "I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster."
Between the lines: For a prominent Democrat to directly link Manchin to some of the most odious and racist laws in American history represents a new stage of the intra-party battle over voting rights.
- Many Democrats feel that if they fail to pass H.R. 1 before November 2022 they could be locked out of power for years.
- Instead, you're going to see progressives beseeching Biden to turn his bully pulpit against the most prominent Democratic senators standing in the way of filibuster reform — Joe Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
- But they can't change the math: Progressives can't end the filibuster without Manchin — and neither can Biden.
Comment: See also: