It’s looking increasingly likely that the procedural vote Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) set up for Wednesday will fail — but that he still may win the long game with his gambit.
Cue thumbsucking pieces on Dems’ “haste” and Republican “concerns.”
The Bill that we are shooting for will help a lot of people
…but not necessarily the right people, thus Republican stonewalling concern.
Proper media messaging is such a huge downfall for the Dems. Every time the right whines and complains, they need to put examples of their actions right back at them. The MSM as well.
I know, easy for me to say, but git 'er done. Secure your place in US history.
Easy! Just include eliminating the debt ceiling in the reconciliation package. It should easily be accepted by the Senate Parliamentarian as a financial matter.
Done!!
It seems McTurtle is suggesting something along those lines…which I find odd…hmmm…
“I think the answer is they need to put it in the reconciliation bill,” he added.
And THEY didn’t worry or whine about the debt…or its ceiling when they were busy jacking it up.
Fuckers.
The problem, as the story notes, is that the debt ceiling will need to be raised before the reconciliation bill – which is a monster of a bill – is done. So there will be a gap.
And again with the messaging - McConnell wants to bring up the debt?
This!
Shorter McCornhole: fuck up the economic surge, watch people die, let a few more condos collapse, blame the Dems, start all over again in the morning.
" Even If Procedural Vote On Bipartisan Bill Fails, Schumer Appears To Be Winning The Long Game"
Manchin: “Hold my beer…”
More time to “write the bill” tells me the Goobers will vote no anyway. So the inescapable conclusion here is…
I wish Schumer well on his “long game”. America deserves an infrastructure week.
And there’s next to nothing about this that is “bipartisan”. Just grubbing politicians playing in the pig pen slop. I am so very glad I didn’t go into politics
My understanding is that reconciliation has to at least appear to be revenue neutral. The Parliamentarian would probably rule that the debt ceiling is, by definition, not neutral. Then it would come down to Joe Manchin (surprise!) who would have to agree to vote to overrule that finding.
McConnell sweating the debt ceiling is proof positive of the old guard losing control to the new. The so-called Freedom Caucus drove the last crapshoot, and now Mitch has to follow. The lunatics are in charge 100%.
Does anybody know Jeff Bezos’ phone number?
He’s done everything ELSE…of course, he would start blocking stuff using this excuse.
Josh has it right on this. Rs are pawns and they know it, but they know pawns be harass the opponent and structure to muck up the works, as in a real chess game. But ultimately, their efforts are futile since the Rs have as much to lose by being tagged as anti-infrastructure and not getting any credit for it when it ultimately happens, as to gain by delaying and being crybabies about the process.
The Rs’ easiest mode is delay, obstruct and complain to a media looking for drama and conflict, and to play up how much Biden promises to work with them (without returning the favor for real), and then just vote against anything no matter what they agreed to because their core voters don’t want anything positive or Biden and the Ds to brag about.
I don’t think the Rs can win the messaging war (except with the core FOX-watching voters) since the Ds plans are highly popular and the Rs have no standing left with swing voters to complain about anything. So Schumer is right to force their hand, but it needs to be backed up with messaging that the Rs voted against infrastucture and put them on the defensive. Let’s face it, demanding more time to strike a deal is not in the Rs’ wheelhouse since they haven’t ever shown good faith when there was any alternative. That’s why they put Mitt Romney and Susan Collins front and center – pawns more than willing to muck things up in the guise of “fairness” Rs as a whole view only with contempt.
In a larger sense, I see that the Rs know they are in very big political trouble. They took glee in Biden not reaching the July 4th goal – because they told their supporters to risk their own health and NOT get the vaccine simply to skunk hiim. They had hoped the Biden would take the blame for it, but most of the public just blamed the Rs and FOX for getting their own supporters sick or killed, and those who knew better and got vaxxed just went on with their lives. That’s pretty much what I expected. And now that the ploy has backfired, they have decided to try to keep their supporters alive no matter the hypocrisy, but the message is so muddled and with Delta it’s too late. Not even Florida can cook their COVID books fast enough!
So I expect the same will happen with their infrastructure tactics. As long as Manchin wouldn’t willingly join with the R pawns to muck up the works chasing bipartisan agreement that will never materialize (or, rather, only if a few R Senators decide it’s in their interests to support the final bill), The Ds will get the credit and the Rs will take the blame for being against infrastructure, since they didn’t do anything about it themselves when they had full control.
McConnell knows a fight over the debt ceiling is a political loser, but campaigning over deficit spending historically has been a winner for the GOP. He knows the ceiling has to be/will be raised; by having it done via the reconciliation bill, the Dems get to do what needs to be done AND Republicans can then pummel the tax-and-spend radical Socialist Democrats in the coming elections.
Errbody wins! (Except I don’t think the GOP will be doing all that well come next year.)