The GOP had everything in 2017, the White House, the Senate, the House. Yet they failed to govern. By the end, nearly a half million Americans were dead, institutions national and international dismantled, and failure at every turn. Yet “Democrats in Disarray” is the only thing that matters. Is it that the press has decided the US is ungovernable? Does the “coming civil war” trope sell soap or psoriasis cures? Really, the only issue facing Democrats is that they have a lot of stuff to fix and can’t decide where to start. That is not disarray or ungovernability.
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See my post just up thread.
Seem to me both parties are doing their best to put the wrong foot forward. Neither wants their “big boy pants”, never mind putting them on.
Why don’t Dems pound on fact it’s not 3.5T in one giant bite… it’s spread out over TEN YEARS.
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Sinema is torpedoing Biden’s agenda.
Jaypal is trying to ensure it passes.
The progressives are the flip side of the “moderates” the way a firefighter is the flip side of an arsonist.
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Wow, that a really impressively dumb take. It’s like you haven’t been paying attention to the conservative democrats throwing a tantrum with no real demands for the past month.
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They delivered tax cuts for the rich, they governed exactly like they wanted to.
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Okay. I’ve had it with you and your little band of troublemakers. Get on board or you will be looking at Speaker McCarthy. What the hell is wrong with you people? Hopefully your district has better sense than you.
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I agree, Manchin and Gottheimer really need to get in line with Biden’s plan.
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Punching a $2.2 trillion-a-year hole in the federal budget isn’t governing.
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The notion that progressive Democrats are always expected to be the ones to “compromise” (i.e., cave) is not sustainable. There is zero assurance that if the “physical” infrastructure (i.e. the so-called bipartisan bill) is passed, the “human” infrastructure bill will be passed, despite the overwhelming public support for both bills. In fact, given the stance of the conservative Democrats like Manchin, the latter will almost certainly not be passed without being cut drastically, quite likely to the point of our losing out on the greatest chance we have had in my lifetime to create a truly better society. If that happens, if Biden is unable to deliver on the promises he made, I think it is likely that the Democrats will not only lose big in the midterms, but that they may also lose the presidency in 2022.
It just feels like this historic opportunity is being squandered by conservative Democrats and self-proclaimed realists who are playing the same-old game of corporate male-oriented politics.
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Because any message that takes more than 5 seconds to explain (or think about) is lost on the vast majority of voters. Far too many people are constantly screaming far too loudly for most people to be able to ponder anything, or even hold a train of thought for more than a few seconds.
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Really, this is what shit always looks like on both sides right before they’re about to do something big. There’s always this last minute, “will they or won’t they” scramble where different factions start making demands and the whole thing looks as though it could blow up at any moment. Then, suddenly, calm and it all passes. This is the storm before the calm.
That’s 100% my read as well. Jayapal is trying to get the damn thing done and holding the moderates’ (because that IS what they are) feet to the fire by demanding they stick to the deal they made. It’s not the progressives threatening to blow anything up this time. It’s the other side. How funny is that? It’s the progressives fighting for Biden’s agenda. A year ago if someone had told you it would be AOC fighting Manchin for Biden’s agenda, you’d have laughed them out of the room. It’s a wild, wild world.
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Thanks @pluckyinky. I’ve been watching Jayapal for awhile now (I have lived in Seattle, and while I never voted there I always follow the politicians) and she has always seemed to be very level-headed and a straight-shooter. I would be shocked if she isn’t doing what she thinks is best to advance this thing.
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If the Democrats pass this bill and don’t keep the Congress, it’s not a $3.5T dollar bill over 10 years, it’s zero dollars over 10 years, because the Republicans will never appropriate one cent of it as long as they control the Congress, let alone the White House.
The hubris of a 10 year bill is, in itself, without precedent in American history. The Democrats are trying to pass the most aggressive social legislation package in American history with basically no Congressional majority. To compound this hubris, they are threatening (!) to commit suicide by not passing the hard infrastructure bill which, if it isn’t passed soon, will be a bystander to their suicide because basically no money will get into projects before the election.
[cross-posted from the new Booker thread]
There’s absolutely no way that Jayapal and Booker didn’t coordinate with Madame Speaker.
She’s got this. Everything calm the FUCK down.
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Performance art is great…
Playing be-bop (which I am familiar with)
Govt.?
sure…as long as the right people are listening to the happenings…
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Do I see a question in the back? Ah, yes, senator Sinema, gnawing,chewing, chipping and chiseling the tent poles are also to be avoided. Thank you.
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The “hard infrastructure” bill isn’t gonna do Dems any political favors.
- It’s tiny. It’s about $500Bn.
- It’s $500Bn of spending over 5 years.
- Hard infrastructure spending takes years to start. As we found out during the 2009 crisis, there is no such thing as “shovel ready” infrastructure projects. Even projects that we know need to be done, take time to kick off as the government has to go through various approval and tendering processes.
- It’s even tinier than its headline number because it takes money away from already approved pandemic response funding.
- The infrastructure improvements, even if they happen in a timely manner, are rarely noticed, because they are largely under the surface repair work.
- The bill is designed to NOT give Dems a political advantage. That’s why it’s being promoted as a bipartisan bill.
The whole point of the bipartisan bill was to split Biden’s agenda into 2 parts. 1 that actually contained the bulk of the agenda and would actually give the majority of Dems a political advantage (i.e. the reconciliation bill), and another that picked a few items out of his agenda and could pass with Republican support so Manchin, Sinema, and a handful of house Dems could campaign on having passed a “bipartisan” bill.
What the dozen House Dems, and 2 Dem Senators have suddenly decided is fuck Biden and Dems’ agenda. Fuck their ability to improve the country and fuck giving Dems a political advantage heading into 2022 and 2024. They want only what they need and screw everything else.
The progressive House dems, and many Dem senators are calling them out on this self serving BS and the fact that they are the ones breaking the deal that they agreed on.
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I have heard a number of talented observers opine that the bills will pass…along with Voter Rights.
And, yes, we must pass these. My Mom used to say that “adulting” is a necessary skill in today’s world.
Even the one we are in now.
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Is there a chance that this wonderfully ‘Big Tent’ Democratic Party can, for once, not self-sabotage.
“You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.”
I am a progressive but also a realist. And, this shit ain’t bean bag, but for crying out loud, when the R’s are holding firm under the thumbs of a bunch of crazy and/or old white fucks, pull your heads out your ass, pull yourself together, and get with the short term best outcomes. It is never about the ‘sprint’ and ALWAYS about the long haul.
To quote George Meany of the AFL-CIO, “We never give up the fight-how tough the odds- no matter how long it takes.”
We are not going to give up the fight, but there are some who need to understand, at this moment, it is about being unified. Trust Nancy.
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