This is perhaps the most important episode of Deconstructed we've ever put out.

I'm afraid it might also be one of the drier ones, but I hope the stakes keep you listening.

I'm Ryan Graham, and we're going to be talking about voting rights, campaign finance, and the corruption of our politics by big money.

We'll be talking specifically about a piece of transformative legislation that looks to address all of that.

It's called the For the People Act, and it's designated as HR1 in the House and S1 in the Senate,

which signals that for each chamber it's supposed to be their top priority.

Stopping it, meanwhile, is definitely Mitch McConnell's top priority, and it has been ever since it became conceivable it might pass.

What it really seems to be is a package of urgent measures to rewrite the rules of American politics for the exclusive benefit of the Democratic Party.

A Washington-based taxpayer subsidized clearinghouse for political campaign funding, a power grab that's smelling more and more like exactly what it is.

So the bill is actually a collection of dozens of pieces of legislation that Democrats have been working on for years.

One piece of it would require political donors to disclose their identities, trying to put an end to dark money.

Another element creates matching funds for candidates who agree not to accept big money.

That's the part McConnell was complaining about in the clip.

But this year's version doesn't use taxpayer dollars, but instead makes the matching payments out of a fund created by fines for financial crimes.

For every dollar a candidate raises in small money, the fund matches six times over.

Those matching funds would also be available to Democrats who challenge other Democrats in primary elections, which has led to a ton of consternation inside the Democratic Caucus, as you can imagine.

Why should we help fund our primary challengers many have asked?

But those objections have largely been beaten back as the stakes of the fight have come into focus.

The immediate stakes are these.

Democrats currently hold 223 seats in the House of Representatives. They need 218 for a majority.

When all the vacancies are filled, they're likely to have a cushion of six or seven seats, not much to sit on comfortably.

Once the census is released, House seats will be reapportioned.

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