where were you?

'Where is the president?': Progressives lament Biden's approach to the likely doomed For The People Act

The For The People Act, Democrats' sweeping election and voter reform bill, is expected to collapse in the Senate on Tuesday — much to progressives' chagrin, Politico writes.

The left is reportedly "steaming" that President Biden neglected to employ his "bully pulpit" to encourage a deal within Congress or further the bill's progress. Democrats want to know, Politico reports, how leaders can say "in one breath that democracy is in jeopardy — and in the next let [the For The People Act] crash and burn."

Progressive activist Ezra Levin criticized Biden's lack of activism surrounding the bill, highlighting how former President Barack Obama debated "with House GOP on the [Affordable Care Act]" or how former President Bill Clinton "gave 18 speeches on NAFTA" because that is "what legislatively successful presidents do!" As protestors mobilize and state legislators call on Congress to pass the bill, Levin simply wants to know, "Where is the president?"

Added Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), if Congress fails to "meet the moment": "We are going to lose the opportunity to basically enact legislation for the people for a decade, or decades, to come." It's, as he puts it, "very, very, very bleak." Read more at Politico.