Anyone who thinks a hypothetical 50-50 Democratic-controlled Senate will pave the way for the end of the filibuster, expansion of the Supreme Court, Medicare For All and a Green New Deal needs to be reminded of the existence of Joe Manchin.
The biggest thing at stake tonight is which parts of Biden's agenda are allowed a vote in the Senate. Think $2,000 checks, minimum wage hike, background checks, DREAM Act and public option. If Schumer takes control they're all in play; if it's McConnell they're very likely DOA.
And it's hard to overstate how different Joe Biden's impact on the courts could be if it's a 50-50 Schumer-led Senate versus a McConnell-run chamber.
Text from a Democratic aide on what to know if the Senate splits 50-50:
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President-elect Biden gives the speech Donald Trump won't. "Our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we've seen in modern times."
Joe Biden: "The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect the true America... a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness... It borders on sedition. And it must end. Now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy go forward."
.@JoeBiden tells @realDonaldTrump to go on national TV now to "fulfill his oath" and condemn this violence.
"A dark moment."
"Through war and strife, America has endured much. And we will endure here and we will prevail again."
NEW from Atlanta: Georgia Democrats are closing with an economic populist message focused on $2,000 checks and highlighting the need for Senate control to deliver it.
A very different approach than Dems in other key Senate races took.
Ossoff and Warnock have the benefit of hindsight — Dem candidates who downplayed Senate control and ran from the party’s agenda mostly flopped in November.
It’s not hard to find Trump rally-goers who support the $2,000 payments. Republican voters are more fiscally liberal than the conventional wisdom, with the key caveat that they must be convinced the benefit includes them.
Joe Biden, in Atlanta, campaigning for Ossoff and Warnock: "Their election will put an end to the block in Washington on the $2,000 stimulus check."
Biden is pushing hard on the $2K stimulus payments at this Atlanta rally: "If you send Sen. Perdue and Loeffler back to Washington, those checks will never get there. It's just that simple. The power is literally in your hands."
Joe Biden: "The president spends more time whining and complaining than doing something about the problem. I don't know why he still wants the job, he doesn't want to do the work."
Listening to The Call, it's pretty clear Trump is annoyed at how well congressional Republicans did in the election as a result of his "coattails" (his word), even as he lost his re-election (which he refuses to accept).
The president begins by going on an uninterrupted 10+ minute monologue citing all sorts of conspiracy theories (Dominion, dead people, etc.) for how he obviously won. Eventually Brad Raffensperger gets to respond and rejects all of it: "We don't agree that you have won."
This line from Raffensperger responding to theories President Trump says he's hearing: "Mr. President, the problem you have with social media — people can say anything."
CUMMING, Ga. — @TedCruz takes the stage at an outdoor rally for @KLoeffler days before the election.
“The eyes of the entire country are fixed on the state of Georgia.”
In Georgia, Ted Cruz warns a GOP crowd that the battle for the Senate is “a dogfight” and “the Democrats are turning out their voters.”
“Dead or alive!” yells one attendee.
“Legal or illegal!” shouts another.
Cruz says — baselessly and citing no evidence — that Democrats will try to “steal” the Georgia Senate elections unless Republicans win by a big enough margin to prevent it.
.@EWarren comes out swinging: "After weeks of refusing to acknowledge Biden's victory, some Republicans have now decided that sabotaging his presidency is more important than helping our economy recover"