Thread by @ThePlumLineGS

1) Just before Mitch McConnell caved and allowed Dems to assume the majority, @SenSchumer gave an important interview to @maddow.

Schumer said some things that have been overlooked. They suggest a crucial shift in thinking among Democrats about power.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

@SenSchumer @maddow 2) Schumer vowed that this time, Dems won't get snookered by GOP bad faith.

But Schumer also framed the stakes in a good way. He said Dems are united behind the idea that *delivering in a big way* is key to restoring faith in government and democracy:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

@SenSchumer @maddow 3) Schumer also said a failure to go big will risk disillusionment and another Trumpist demagogue.

If so, restoring faith in government/democracy isn't about achieving bipartisanship for its own sake. It's about the scale of the program Dems deliver on:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

@SenSchumer @maddow 4) The possibilities for civic renewal after Trump appear real, as @lkatfield has argued.

But by the lights of Schumer's own analysis, the stakes *require* being prepared to *genuinely* reform or end the filibuster if McConnell stymies Biden's agenda:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

@SenSchumer @maddow @lkatfield 5) A big item Dems will pursue is a package of major pro-democracy reforms, broadening voting access and limiting counter-majoritarian tactics.

Republicans will filibuster *that,* too. You'd think the consequences of this would be intolerable to Dems:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

@SenSchumer @maddow @lkatfield 6) Here's the bad news. If Democrats believe all this, that makes the risks of Manchin and Sinema taking filibuster reform off the table and depriving Dems of leverage against McConnell obstructionism a lot worse -- by the lights of Democrats themselves:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

@SenSchumer @maddow @lkatfield 7) Bottom line: If Democrats believe delivering in a big way, rather than achieving bipartisan unity for its own sake, is the route to avoiding a resurgence of Trumpism, then they have to be genuinely prepared to end the filibuster.

Full argument here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…