Vee

It's important to note that Politico and many other Beltway outlets always make a point of talking to centrist or Blue Dog Dems and prioritizing their voices in a relative minority to suggest they are the prevailing winds in the party and should be listened to first, to give the Republicans primacy at all times. It's certainly possible, but I don't buy it this time. Often Politico stories about Dems go searching for the Blue Dog needle in the haystack and then blow it up in headlines or language to make the statement seem bigger than it is, but when you look at the details they don't hold up. Meanwhile:

Zeke Miller, who never heard a Trump Admin line he couldn't uncritically parrot while being held in semi-open contempt by many of the WH Press Corps, tries and fails to play gotcha:

No one seems to be falling for the Mitch spin this time. I have no idea if we'll nuke the filibuster (I doubt it atm), but as to the larger agreement Schumer's office is holding pretty firm on not budging to what McConnell wants as terms for power sharing (despite the cries of Rose Twitter who don't understand how that works, and are irrelevant). Meanwhile:

Cannot believe this was apparently real:

This is good for us, in that it may actually compel Manchin's hand to agree to abolish the filibuster. That is not a take from Beltway neophytes unfamiliar with Manchin, it's the actual working calculus.

Thread:

I haven't watched it all, but Hillary sings Ellen Bethea's praises near the end. I haven't been able to find signs of Bethea online since shortly after Obama's inauguration, when she was a very visible and proud supporter on Facebook or something. I don't know if she's still acting. Daphnee Duplaix was very good (and I think Hillary said in print she was the only Rachel that had the same spirit as Bethea) but EB was still the best for me.

Did we all see Joe bouncing his grandson on his arm (named for Beau) and dancing with him during the very cheesy musical number at the end of that lovely inaugural special? My God, I can't imagine Trump ever interacting with his grandchildren.

This press conference is refreshingly normal, competent, intelligent and sane.

Remember actual press conferences? We're getting one at 4 PM my time (7 EST).

In case you missed this:

Harris swearing them in. That Dancing in the Streets montage was beautiful. I'll have to find a clip. Don't forget the inaugural special on TV tonight with Hanks, etc. 8 PM EST.

Oh, and Nile Rodgers and Sister Sledge. In case you need a link for the Parade Across America (I still can't believe they did the Fleetwood Mac meme):