McConnell is not the top of the senate, Kamala Harris will be. As vice president she will be the Senate president. And as president she can break McConnell’s gridlock by recognizing any senator to bring any House-passed bill to the floor. She can do that without altering any Senate rule. No procedural vote is required. The Biden administration’s success depends on it. If Harris exercises this power, Republicans will never win again. If she does not, Biden will be one term.

To be successful, the Biden administration must come out punching.

Sometimes Democrats seem afraid of their own shadow. This issue of Senate presidency and its power came up regarding the Merrick Garland debacle under President Obama. Obama just sat on it. Blocking a twice elected sitting president from appointing a Supreme Court justice is an un-American form of nuclear hardball. Obama just cringed and ducked. Democrats didn’t even waive their powder puffs in their usual ineffective, foot stomping way. Perhaps Obama simply made the terrible risk calculation that Clinton would win the election 9 months away. Instead, he could have had Biden, as president of the Senate, get a Senator to put the issue on the floor for deliberation. Deliberation was what the Senate used to do until McConnell got his ruthless grip on power. How did Obama pulling his punches work out? He, and we, got decked.

With their broad support of the attempted overthrow of the U.S. election, Republicans have lost all claim on moral authority, or indeed, on governing our democracy at all. They are not interesting in democracy, Republicans are solely interested in power. It could not possibly be more plain. Reaching across the aisle, as Biden claims to want to do, is only putting American’s arm inside the bear and tiger cage to be torn off. If Biden and Harris do not come out punching, McConnell will throw them to the curb, smirking all the way.

To succeed and set America free the Biden administration needs to have Harris exercise her Constitutional position as president of the Senate.