While the bipartisan infrastructure bill hovers in limbo between life and death, Democrats are looking ahead to the reconciliation package which may ultimately subsume that hard infrastructure piece, should the bipartisan deal fail.
I’m good with dropping the “GOPers won’t vote for their own negotiated bipartisan bill” into the reconciliation package as is. We agreed to the negotiated changes, so don’t be classic GOP dicks about it.
A frog ferried a scorpion across a stream. The scorpion stung the frog in its back midway across. Why!? “I couldn’t help it,” the scorpion explained. “It’s in my nature.” [Aesop’s Fables, truncated]
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” [MayaAngelou]
This is the republican politics in the modern era, you negotiate for certain things that’s for the common good but your base hates because it gives the Democrats too much credit. Then you back down from your position to appease your base knowing full well that the Democrats are grownups and will do the right thing.
Another point to be made here: both Schumer and Pelosi understand how to use GOP intransigence as a means of (a) coalescing public support and (b) beating up R congresscritters.
Dr Fauci also understands this. He bitch-slapped Rand Paul into next week this afternoon.
But let us not forget that they pulled this crap with the Affordable Care Act, getting the Democrats to drop or change a lot of stuff, then still didn’t vote for it, leaving the act the poorer for it and giving the Republicans a set of sticks to beat the Democrats with going forward.
So, if compromises have been made to get their vote and they don’t vote for it, feel free to reverse any decision where it would make more sense.
As but one example, want more IRS enforcement? Put it back in and let the whingers whinge. After all, you can’t make an omlette without breaking a few eggs:
It really is beyond belief that Democrats would take the reduced spending figures negotiated for the “bipartisan” deal that probably never had ten Republican vote (and certainly does not now with multiple faux moderates reneging on the deal they made) and insert them unchanged in a reconciliation bill. Well, actually it is believable–all hail King Joe Manchin.
The “loyal opposition” is going to claim this is being rammed down our throats no matter what and the only thing they care about is running out the clock to 2022 when they fantasize that they’ll be taking back control of everything. Their reaction to this is already carved in in leaverite.