Upgrade the Senate with filibuster reform!

Let's end his dark reign over Senate procedure. All of the Senate candidates Daily Kos has endorsed were asked to make this pledge: "If elected to the Senate, do you pledge to restore majority rule to the Senate and work/vote to end the filibuster?" And all of them did.

And all of them, along with a handful of others, have also made that pledge to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), who has been fighting for filibuster reform since he was elected to the Senate four years ago. In addition to our stars, Tammy Baldwin (WI), Martin Heinrich (NM), Mazie Hirono (HI), Chris Murphy (CT), and Elizabeth Warren (MA), Merkley has gotten the pledge from Richard Carmona (AZ), Heidi Heidkamp (ND) and, truly surprisingly, Tim Kaine (VA) and Bob Kerrey (NE). Here's what they agreed to with Merkley:

Merkley is calling for reforms that, among other things, would force the filibustering party to play a much more public role in obstructing the majority'perhaps making it politically less appetizing. The Senate hasalready adopted one proposed reform, the elimination of the secret hold.

Remember, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said last May that he should have allowed reform when Tom Udall and Jeff Merkley were pushing it. 'These two young, fine senators said it was time to change the rules of the Senate, and we didn't. They were right. The rest of us were wrong'or most of us, anyway. What a shame.' With leadership having seen the light, and with this new cadre of senators, moderates and progressives alike, pushing for reform, we're closer than ever.

And with the election of our Orange to Blue Senate candidates'all of them unapologetically progressive'we're closer to the Senate actually being a force for good in our political system. This new group will push for more progressive legislation, and with reform, Republicans will have a harder time blocking it.

But we have to get them elected, first. Please help do that by contributing to them here.