I have been fighting to end the filibuster for over a decade now, and President Biden's comments this week didn't really bother me much. Here's why:

Friend, 11 years ago, in the summer of 2010, I was hired to start the activism department and email list for Daily Kos. Here's the amazing part: 11 years later, the very first campaign we ever ran--ending the filibuster--is still going on. I'm not making this up. [You can read the article I posted about our first campaign on Daily Kos, way back in August 2010, by clicking here]( (although, as a warning, the links to signup pages in the article no longer work). We were trailblazers back then, helping form the first inside-outside coalition of grassroots activists and experienced Capitol Hill advocates to reform Senate rules. Three years later, we ended up receiving a lot of credit from the news media when Senate Democrats invoked the nuclear option to end filibusters on executive branch and judicial nominations. Again, I'm not making this up-[-just read this CNN article from 2013 about how our efforts were key](. I remember the early days of the campaign well--the sweltering walks on Capitol Hill wearing a suit in the summer, the looks on the faces of skeptical Senate staff who thought we were crazy, the ever-growing size of the rooms for our coalition meetings as more and more advocacy groups realized that changing Senate rules was necessary in order for them to achieve their policy goals. I still remember how split our own community was on ending the filibuster back in those days, but also how those in favor of abolishing took hundreds of thousands of actions to support the campaign. And I most definitely remember attending the first victory party on Capitol Hill in November 2013 when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invoked the nuclear option. I bring this up now in the context of President Biden's remarks at a town hall event last week when he explained why he was not going to pressure Senate Democrats to abolish the filibuster once and for all. [You can read the Daily Kos article about what Biden said here](, but the short version is that he seems to believe it would backfire politically and not actually help us achieve our policy goals. We can--and will--quibble with President Biden--and ourselves--over whether or not that is true. However, I was struck by just how far this discussion has come since our campaign started 11 years ago. Back then, a lot of Senate staff were opposed to any changes in Senate rules, much less just ending all filibusters forever. Now, by contract, the majority of Democratic U.S. senators favor abolishing the filibuster, and even the Democratic President of the United States is defensive when asked about it. Let me assure you that we are going to continue waging this campaign, no matter how long it takes, until we win. Momentum is overwhelmingly on our side. Three years ago, only one Democratic U.S. Senator, Jeff Merkley of Oregon--our long-time champion in this fight--was on record in favor of ending the filibuster. [Now 28 are in favor, and 18 have not ruled it out](. It's just that sometimes--in fact, usually--campaigns with audacious goals take a really longtime to win. This fight, which is no exception, is now older than my third-grader. In order to win long-term campaigns, you need long-term support. In order to win long-term campaigns with a goal of restoring democracy by taking away power and privilege from entrenched interests, you need long-term grassroots support. At Daily Kos, your small donations and consistent drumbeat of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions of actions to end the filibuster have given us exactly this for over a decade now. It is how we have been able to take a radical, even fringe idea and turn it mainstream. With your continuing support, it is how we are going to one day achieve democracy in the U.S. Senate. [Please, make a $5 monthly donation to Daily Kos to support our long-term advocacy efforts, including abolishing the filibuster. Campaigns that can only be won over the long-term require long-term support.]( [Can't donate monthly? A one-time donation to Daily Kos still helps keep us in the fight.]( Keep fighting, Chris Bowers Executive Campaign Director, Daily Kos If you wish to donate by mail instead, please send a check to Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612. Contributions to Daily Kos are not tax deductible. (Please note that we may be slow to process checks during the coronavirus outbreak.) Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Daily Kos, please [click here](.