If even one Democrat holds out that no meaningful voting rights legislation will pass. And the president will, because he is president, get blamed for it—even though the fault lies squarely on the GOP and the obstructionist Democrats who are, for all intents and purposes, caucusing with them on this. And that will produce acrimony and divisions in the Democratic Party. And it may lead some people not to vote or work as hard for Democrats in November. And should the Democrats lose the House and perhaps also the Senate in November, the erosion of democracy in America will only accelerate.

While that sounds like a worst-case scenario, it is actually, right now, a most likely case scenario. It will take real leadership not just from the president but also from voting rights, civil rights and other leaders within the Democratic Party to ensure that perfectly reasonable frustrations and understandable anger with the situation do not become an accelerant that makes the situation even worse.

If voting rights legislation does not pass, the path to protecting democracy becomes much more difficult but above all else it depends on one thing: cohesion within the Democratic Party. Expressing criticism and debating strategies is inevitable and healthy. Blaming Biden for a crisis that began long before he took office and that he and Harris have actively combatted at every stage of their careers is unfair. So too is blaming them for the actions of the GOP or for their inability to transform the opponents of democracy into patriots overnight.