Patience Wears Thin As Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Hangs In The Balance | Talking Points Memo

[generalsternwood]

CNN:

GOP members of the bipartisan group negotiating an infrastructure deal announced they have an agreement on their major issues and hope to move forward with a procedural vote as soon as Wednesday evening, an optimistic sign for the group that has been seeking a deal for weeks. The Republican senators made the announcement after a meeting in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office on Wednesday morning.

Sorry, but they announced this after a meeting in McConnell’s office?

Betting this is tomorrow’s story:

Portman explained that the Democrats reneged on an an already agreed upon package, and that the GOP was not responsible for scuttling the deal.

“We had no idea that they intended to fund the package! We would never have agreed to a package with a funding mechanism, because then we might have to reinstate taxes on our wealthy masters.”

[becca656]

[tigersharktoo]

Well, I say increased IRS enforcement is going after unemployment fraud. 'cause a lot of those trust fund babies don’t have jobs.

GOP = Pro-Criminal!

[bcgister]

@becca656

You’re forgetting that most of those children have parents that are welfare frauds and people of color, who don’t deserve clean water. That’s how Flint got there in the first place.
I wish I were being sarcastic.

I have no doubt that’s how enough of the decision makers rationalize it to themselves.
Presumably, they also have an inflexible and impervious belief that their children will never suffer because they’ve been judged to be among the undeserving.

[LeeHarveyGriswold]

Bwaahahahaa. Rs can’t do a pay-for that involves chasing down tax cheats for billions, but they’re onboard to chase down unemployment cheats for mere hundreds.

An ass clown circus par excellence.

[bcgister]

@callmeeric

I do not believe Graham would ever base his decision on what he reads in a bill. I don’t think he would even read a bill, I mean, why bother?

He knows that ALEC’s legislation is invariably impeccable.
And if it’s not from ALEC, well, it’s never going to pass muster.
These two simple understandings strip his job of any requirements of reading.

[steviedee111]

“The topline of the bipartisan infrastructure deal is $550 billion in new spending, a decrease from the $579 billion that lawmakers and President Biden previously agreed to.”

So we’re going to spend on infrastructure about 1/3 the lifetime cost of the F-35 fighter jet.

Seems legit.

[paulw]

@teenlaqueefa

A three hour tour
A three hour tour

I prefer the version that’s set to Stairway to Heaven.

[tpr]

These are precisely the same numbers as in the June 24 agreement https://static.politico.com/0a/08/398515524e38ab4807521dcfbd92/bipartisan-infrastructure-framework-two-pager-final-7.pdf What exactly have they been doing?

This seems to validate the widely-held suspicion that Republican demands to slow things down were in fact a cynical attempt to run out the clock, rather than any sincere desire to draft or debate the substance more carefully.

And, BTW, they probably have run out the clock long enough to doom democracy: this (badly-needed) infrastructure bill is going to consume most of the Senate’s time, so there will not be time to force the issue of the For the People Act, which is the only thing that would have prevented GOP-run statehouses from implementing Project Redmap Pt 2. Last I heard, map redrawing starts “in a couple weeks.” We have lost a month that could have been used to pressure two corrupt Senators into carving out a tiny exception to the filibuster to pass this bill. And what we gained is: we are exactly where we started.

Stringing Dems along on infrastructure all summer has all-but-guaranteed that the Dems will lose the House in 2022 because of gerrymandering.

This will be the last Infrastructure Week. All federal government action for the rest of our lifetimes will be done in service of dark money billionaires. If that situation turns out to not be permanent, it may well be because the United States is itself disbanded (or even defeated).

[thunderclapnewman]

@sniffit

just put the fucking IRS enforcement in the reconciliation bill

It’s there!

[steviedee111]

@tpr

Stringing Dems along on infrastructure all summer has all-but-guaranteed that the Dems will lose the House in 2022 because of gerrymandering.

Careful! More than a few here look askance at any notion Dems flail aimlessly when it comes to battling the GOP. They walk on water. But they do it at night, when no one is looking.

Everyone agrees.

[noonm]

• Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
• Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
• Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
• Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
• Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
• Sen. John Thune (R-SD)

With those eight Republican senators indicating that they are inclined to move the bipartisan infrastructure bill forward, it seems likely that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will be able to reach the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold needed to advance the measure in the upper chamber.

Pardon my math, but 50 Dem/Ind votes + 8 GOP does not equal 60 votes.

I think this presumes that Romney and Collins will also vote for the bill, but until they give their Aye on the Senate floor, none of their votes can be taken for granted.

[steviedee111]

@noonm

I think this presumes that Romney and Collins will also vote for the bill, but until they give their Aye on the Senate floor, none of their votes can be taken for granted.

Collins is thinking about it. Long and hard. Pondering. With furrowed brow. Talking to others. Sort of. Kind of. A little bit.

[stradivarius50t3]

@danny

Here’s a wild idea: is there any possibility that Biden could mentor Sinema a little bit and show her the ropes?

I’d rather someone kicked her in the chops.

Arizona, you all better be prepping a primary challenger to this twit. She is a female Trump: the only thing she is concerned about is her personal advancement. She has no visible principles that I can see aside from that.

[littlegirlblue]

@tpr

Stringing Dems along on infrastructure all summer has all-but-guaranteed that the Dems will lose the House in 2022 because of gerrymandering.

Predictions made on fear and speculation and the assumption the Rs have all the power are nihilism at its worst.

[steviedee111]

@littlegirlblue

Predictions made on fear and speculation and the assumption the Rs have all the power are nihilism at its worst.

Nihilism and realism are close cousins. If it’s a cold, shitty, rainy day and you’ve planned a picnic it’s not nihilism to say it’s a cold, shitty, rainy day.

[blandsten]

stuart stevens (stuartpstevens)

[castor_troy]

@tpr

For the People Act, which is the only thing that would have prevented GOP-run statehouses from implementing Project Redmap Pt 2.

Minimal real impact. If/when that law passes, Republicans will go to their regular federal judge in Texas who will put an injunction on it being implemented and it’ll start the years-long process of going to the Supremes.

2022 is and was always going to be about the ground game of GOTV

[seamus42]

Plus Romney and Collins, minus Sinema still ain’t 60. She’s the Democrats’ Concern Senator. I guess at least ours wears amusing outfits?

[LeeHarveyGriswold]

Gonorrhea.