Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are on a power trip, but we can make them irrelevant after this year’s election.
Right now, we have only 48 REAL Democrats in the Senate. Manchin and Sinema are Democrats in name only—and are allowing the filibuster to block the Democrats’ agenda.
They’re acting more like the king and queen of the Democrat’s agenda, deciding on their own to prevent critical measures from being enacted.
Well, it’s time to de-throne them, and get a Democratic Senate that actually delivers—doing what it takes to get 50 votes to carve out the filibuster. Only then can we protect voting rights, codify Roe v Wade, pass universal background checks for gun sales, and protect the planet.
So the question for the midterms is how to get to 50 Real Democrats.
The math isn’t complicated, friends.
We already have 36 Democratic senators or Independents who vote with Democrats—who are NOT up for reelection. Add to that 7 who are in safely Democratic seats. That gives us 43.
We also need to defend these 5 who have a good chance of winning if we do what we can to help them.
We also have fair odds of gaining 2 to 3 new real Democratic senators:
John Fetterman, in Pennsylvania, supports abolishing the filibuster entirely and has pledged to “be that 51st vote” to pass voting rights, codify Roe v Wade, legalize marijuana, raise the minimum wage, and much more. He is running against celebrity snake oil salesman Dr. Oz, who is endorsed by Trump.
Tim Ryan in Ohio, also supports abolishing the filibuster, citing the need to pass labor protections, raise the minimum wage, protect voting rights, and act on the climate. His opponent is author and venture capitalist JD Vance, who is promoting Trump’s Big Lie and is, once again, endorsed by Trump.
In Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes supports abolishing the filibuster to fight voter suppression and protect democracy. He will face Republican incumbent Ron Johnson—another proponent of Trump’s Big Lie—who, when democracy was under attack on January 6, was busy trying to hand-deliver fake electors to the Vice President.
If we win 7 of these crucial races, we get a Real Democratic Senate that won’t depend on King Joe or Queen Kyrsten.
With just a couple more Democrats in the Senate, Manchin and Sinema will be irrelevant—and Democrats can finally deliver—without being blocked by the filibuster.
Friends, this is do-able. Focus on these 9 critical Senate races, and let’s make it happen!
This post originally appeared at RobertReich.org.
Robert B. Reich is the chancellor’s professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley and former secretary of labor under the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the 10 most effective Cabinet secretaries of the 20th century. He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause. His film, Inequality for All, was released in 2013. Follow him on Twitter: @RBReich.
