Psaki’s statement was a reaffirmation of the White House’s long standing position. But it came at a semi-critical juncture for the obstructionist reform movement. On Sunday, one of the main opponents of removing the obstruction, Senator Joe Manchin (DW.Va.), expressed will to make some changes to the rule, generating a wave of jubilation among progressives who have been pushing for reforms.
The president’s reluctance to go as far as one of his party’s more moderate members puts him at odds with civil rights leaders, labor and social justice advocates, as well as with an increasing number of Democrats inside and outside Congress. In the end, they say, Biden will have to address the issue more directly, instead of sticking to carefully crafted statements.
“My question is how can President Biden stay out of the debate, when obstruction is preventing him from delivering on his promises to the American people, how is that possible?” said Aimee Allison, president of She the People, which focuses on pushing women in politics and has joined other progressive groups in the fight for a $ 15 per hour of salary. “Sooner or later, the government will have to deal with the obstruction.”
Rev. Al Sharpton said he “respects” Biden’s views on the obstruction, but expects the “outdated” rule to appear during a regular meeting between major civil rights groups on Tuesday.
“We can’t get out of this period without legislation,” said Sharpton. “We need to get out of this with voting legislation and police reform, and an obstruction is a tangible deterrent to doing both.”
Psaki’s comments did not rule out the possibility that the president would support obstruction reform, only saying that his “preference” was not to do so. And officials from progressive outside groups who have spoken to government officials about their agenda items and the ways in which the obstruction complicates them, say the White House has never explicitly said that the obstruction must remain in place, nor has it said it wants to abolish it. it completely.
Activists who met with the White House on obstruction reform were also not told to be quiet, even as they stepped up pressure campaigns. Instead, government officials asked defenders to give them time to find ways under existing Senate rules to approve a minimum wage increase, voting rights, police reform and other major items that Biden promised during the campaign.
When Psaki reiterated Biden’s position on Monday, she pointed to Congress’ ability to approve the president’s Covid relief plan without detonating the obstruction as justification. “See what we have accomplished in the past six weeks,” she said. “He is about to pass a historic relief bill that will cut child poverty in half and create 7 million jobs.”
Psaki added that Biden wants to work on a “bipartisan basis” while the government is looking for an infrastructure package.
But opponents of legislative obstruction quickly pointed out that the broad coronavirus aid bill will hit Biden’s table “it was only approved because it was exempt from obstruction,” as said Eli Zupnick, spokesman for the anti-obstruction group Fix our Senate .
At the moment, the obstruction debate is “an abstract issue,” said Zupnick. But as bills that expand voting rights and establish universal arms background checks lead to the Senate blockade, he predicted that the government’s calculations could change.
“President Biden and Senate Democrats will quickly face a choice as bills come from the House to the Senate and are subject to obstruction,” said Zupnick. “They will have to choose between protecting the obstruction – an outdated and abused Senate rule that President Obama called a Jim Crow relic – or making more progress on President Biden’s agenda – they can’t have it both ways.”
And it is not just the activists who defend the case. Last week, the two Democratic senators from Minnesota, Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, said they support getting rid of the obstruction. On Monday, Hillary Clinton told the Washington Post that she also felt that the party needed to break the rule, more than six months later Barack Obama said it must be closed if Republicans use it to block voting rights legislation.
“I would vote to end the obstruction,” said Clinton. “I think it has outlived its usefulness.”
While progressive activists were excited by Manchin’s remarks about obstruction reform, they described it as a “half step” or “first step” that will not ultimately resolve the Republican obstruction to Biden’s agenda. Manchin appeared to endorse a “talking obstruction” proposal on Sunday, which would allow opponents of a bill to block it only as long as they remain physically in the Senate floor. Others have raised changes in the obstruction that would make it applicable to fewer pieces of legislation, rather than eliminating it altogether. Democrats currently have no vote to abolish the obstruction, as Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) Said they will protect the 60-vote limit.
“What we need from the White House is a plan for how they are going to deliver on all of these campaign promises – they have not made that clear,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, a group that represents service employees who receive a sub salary .
Opponents of obstruction inside and outside the Capitol see the issue coming to a head when the Senate resumes the review of voting rights that the House recently approved. No Senate Republicans are expected to support the bill, which includes an automatic electoral registration mandate, restoration of voting rights for those previously convicted of a crime and more access to the polls.
“The right to vote is not even a campaign platform, frankly, there is no future for elections or the Democratic Party without the right to vote,” added Jayaraman. “There are simply no 10 Republicans who are going to move on. If the president is not going to move forward in reforming the obstruction, then what is it, what are they going to do? ”
Progressive MP Mondaire Jones (DN.Y.) said he understands why an “institutionalist” like Biden is using “delicate language” when discussing obstruction. The freshman legislator was not discouraged by the government’s latest comments on Monday, but emphasized that the president’s endorsement of the reform could significantly influence cautious moderate Democrats in the Senate.
“I suspect that one of the few people in the world who can convince Joe Manchin to make changes, if he doesn’t fully support the lifting of the obstruction, is President Biden,” said Jones.
“What President Biden’s press secretary said today was not inconsistent with the conclusion that the obstruction must be reformed or lifted,” continued Jones. “She was simply expressing the president’s preference; the president also prefers his bills to be enacted ”.