Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel appears on the Morning
Joe to discuss possible successors to Senator Evan Bayh and
consequences of his retirement for the Democratic Party. Host Joe Scarborough argues that Bayh’s departure leaves Republican Senator Mitch McConell well suited to become majority leader. Vanden Heuvel disagrees. “A lot of Democrats
may worry about losing this seat,” she says. “I think you need to focus
on the fifty-four, fifty-five senators who are a real majority, if you
can work with these filibuster rules, which have been abused to end
unnecessary wars and misguided economic policies.”

Vanden Heuvel proposes musician John Mellancamp as a possible
replacement–he has had a long track record with working for farmers
and demonstrates true populist politics. But beyond Mellencamp, the true
problem with the country must come from deep structural changes in the
Senate, that must focus on the working middle class. “How do you do
bipartisanship with a party that profits from obstructionism and that
mugs your agenda?” she says. “How do you do Kum ba yah?”

–Clarissa León