Thread by @ChrisMurphyCT

I feel so lucky to have served under Harry Reid, and so sad he's gone.

You'll hear a ton of great Harry Reid stories in the next few days, but here's my favorite - my phone call with him in June 2016 to tell him I was about to launch a filibuster on guns.
washingtonpost.com/local/obituari…

2/ First, you've got to understand that Harry and the NRA started out as allies. His NRA endorsement was an important calling card for him for a long time.

But as the NRA got more extreme, Harry simply couldn't stomach it. He couldn't stay silent.

3/ Harry was old school. His convictions mattered more than his politics. If something was right, he was ready to risk everything.

So after Sandy Hook - he took a big risk. He broke w the NRA and backed a background checks bill the NRA hated. He put it on the floor for a vote.

4/ And for the next four years, he worked with me to try to advance the cause of anti-gun violence.

But when I decided to launch a filibuster after the Orlando shooting, I was nervous, because I was going to grind the Senate to a halt. And I hadn't told Harry - my leader.

5/ Harry didn't like grandstanding, and a filibuster is the ultimate "look at me" move. Harry preferred exercising power quietly. Forcefully but quietly.

But I had no other options, so right before I went to the floor, I called Harry.

6/ "Chris," he said, "A lot of people TALK about filibustering. A lot of people CALL ME about filibustering. But nobody actually DOES IT."

"I can't tell you what to do. But what I can tell you is this - if you're going to do this, then stop calling people, and go DO IT."

7/ Then he hung up.

He spent the rest of day relentlessly pressuring McConnell agree to my demands for votes on background checks bills.

By midnight, Reid had succeeded. He got the votes.

The lesson I learned - there's nothing like having Harry Reid in your corner.