And if Biden makes it to the spring of 2021 without new big-ticket laws on the books, these allies widely think it would be time to force the issue by daring Republicans to block a barrage of popular legislation, perhaps on climate, health care, or immigration. To convince enough moderate Democratic senators to sign on to eliminating the filibuster, they would first have to make it politically unavoidable: It would "require there being an effort to pass something two or three times and making Republicans look completely unreasonable for blocking it — exposing that the Republicans are acting in bad faith," said Brian Fallon, a Democratic operative and former Schumer aide.
Though few will yet say it out loud, some Democrats close to Biden think they know which issue might end up being the final straw. It's a matter of clear moral authority: the sprawling voting-rights legislation now named after Lewis. Which Democrat would oppose going all out to enact it, especially after a brutal election marked by historic voter suppression and after Obama's speech? That eulogy may as well have been written in part to force this conclusion. "I served very closely with Barack Obama," Reid said. "Barack Obama doesn't do anything impulsively. He's a very thoughtful, deliberate person."
