The House and Senate are finally both back in session, kicking off a tumultuous period when Democrats try to defend their legislative agenda from obstructive Republicans, institutional obstacles and themselves.
So basically, kindergarten is back in session?
From Joshâs EdBlog post:
The establishment DC outlets are practically giddy with each new threat from the Senate and House âmoderatesâ to torch the whole agenda. Joe Manchin is back to his demand for a âstrategic pauseâ to delay consideration into a reconciliation package â a gambit that is basically guaranteed to bring the whole program down in flames. Kyrsten Sinema meanwhile, allegedly, threatened in a conversation with the President that sheâll vote against reconciliation if her bipartisan mini-bill doesnât get a successful vote this month. So she has to get her bird in hand and then sheâll decide if anyone else gets hers.
In short: Passing the bipartisan bill through the Senate first was a mistake.
Edit: Before the reconciliation bill, I mean.
We can all console ourselves the Sun will eventually flare outward in its dying stage, enveloping all the planets and rendering these various concerns moot.
Not at all. Because Nancy knows how to play hardball. So sheâs just not letting it come up without the accompanying reconciliation bill.
Had the House gone first and passed both, there would be zero pressure on the Senate to pass both, since they could play Lucy and take the ball away after passing the âbipartisanâ one.
Sorry, I meant passing the bipartisan bill through the Senate before the reconciliation bill was a mistake. At a minimum, both bills should have been brought to a vote in the same session.
Yeppers. Itâs easiest to despise Schumerâa fun game in which I myself have often indulgedâbut what matters is what happens, not whatâs said about it.
See, also, âManchin, Joe.â
President Manchin would not have permitted that.
Bills have to go in succession, one was always going to be first and the other second. Thatâs why the agreement to have Nancy hold the decision on whether the kids can go to play after having both their chicken liver and baked beans and having completed their homework.
And grinding out the details of the reconciliation bill was always going to take time, you donât fill that one in overnight, lots of drafting to do, accounting of costs of provisions, all that.
As it shrinks, it will burn hotter. It will boil the water in our oceans dry. But thatâs a billion years away.
Iâm somewhat doubtful mankind will be around when it happens.
Then postpone the Bipartisan bill vote till the reconciliation one is finished.
Obviously, one vote has to physically go before the other, but hold them during the same day and/or week. Leaving months between the two votes just greater increases the chances that only the Bipartisan bill gets done.
Rats, cockroaches, flies and the Heritage Foundation will be the last survivors.
As long as our dumb monkey brains canât objectively evaluate the relative risks of wearing masks vs getting covid-19 vs being hit by a mile-wide meteor, youâre probably right.
Nancy only pledged to bring up the bipartisan bill for a vote by Sep. 27th, as part of the agreement with the moderates.
What she didnât do is promise to pass it that day if the accompanying reconciliation bill wasnât done on the promised schedule.
Remember the national motto on your bank-notes (not that anyone uses cash or coins anymore): In Nancy We Trust. She knows what sheâs doing.
Do we have a pool on how many days national parks will be closed before Rs cave on the debt ceiling?
Whelp, sure looks like weâre either going to smash through the filibuster finally, or straight into a shutdown for at least a couple of weeks. Since itâs likely mid-Oct that the debt ceiling comes into play, thereâs a chance to play shutdown for a bit to squeeze folks.
One of these days republicans will realize that they invariably get blamed for shutdowns and just stop with the nonsense.
the proposed policy change âsubstantially outweighs the budgetary impact of that change.â
As a taxpayer, I was kinda hoping everything brought up could fit this criterion?
Nope. Burning it to the ground is the right and proper move if the hostage-takers donât release their captives. I am 99% confident that Sinema and Manchin will cave when they get their last-chance opportunity to count coup.
Whatever youâre smoking, hope you brought enough for everyone in class.
Itâs something like 0/12 depending on where you start counting, yeah.