You don’t need a GOP decoder ring to know that “robust” amendments on the floor means ACA redux. Best of luck with your motion to end debate.
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All it is going to take is one ancient Democratic Senator to keel over and the whole country will be thrown into chaos again. The fragility of our system says we must expedite everything. We just don’t have the time to fuck around right now, and that is exactly what the Republicans want to do because they realize that every wasted minute is working to their advantage.
I will never forget Ted Kennedy dying before the ACA was passed and Mass electing the turd known as Scott Brown to take his place. This was after Joe Lieberman, a so-called Democrat, made the Dems drop the public option. ACA almost died 10 times and that was when we had 60 senators.
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McConnell is just looking for the most plausible excuse to scuttle the bill.
He’s probably got a focus group on speed dial so he can market test every idea that pops into his head.
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Hindsight is 20/20, but it would have been nice if the Dems had seen what idiocy the filibuster was bringing to the table and put the kibosh on the whole thing then and there. If you have an overwhelming majority, you should be able to pass your legislative agenda, end of story. Yes, the minority ought to have the ability to offer input, but at the end of the day, they shouldn’t be able to completely block a bill that has popular public support.
That’s a truly perverse system.
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Yeah, exactly what impact does he think the GQP dragging its feet on this bill will have?
He’s just itching for Schumer to work some magic on the filibuster. Just itching.
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Hasn’t Pelosi said that both bills need to be passed by the senate before she will even bring the bipartisan bill up for a vote in the house? There is no room for pulling any stunts. If the reconciliation bill doesn’t make it then the bipartisan one doesn’t either.
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Despite all the hoopla on this Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, I remain very, very skeptical that this thing will pass this week or this year. The only Bill with a chance of passing is the 2022 Budget Bill, and then only if Manchin has the crap scared out of him by POTUS Biden.
McConnell and the GOP wielding the Debt Ceiling as a cudgel is a very bad sign. Were I POTUS, I would have the DoJ challenge the Debt Ceiling as Unconstitutional right now to take that cudgel away.
The Democrats are STILL trying to do what they need to, to avoid the Fourth Reich via “Regular Order”. Thus is foolhardy. The GOP are traitors and insurrectionists. This is WAR and they need to be put down - whatever way works.
To wit, in concert with the DoJ filing suit against the debt ceiling law, VP Harris needs to declare the Filibuster as Unconstitutional and unilaterally strike it from the Senate rules. She is the President of the Senate and there is NOTHING in the Constitution from stopping her from taking charge of the Senate rule book. Who has standing to stop her ?
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Can’t. Eons-long precedent that you don’t have standing to sue over something unless someone is being harmed by a given thing. Can’t go for a theoretical that you might be harmed if they blow past the debt ceiling and default. You have to wait for them to default then people would have standing to sue.
Really great Catch-22. It’s highly likely to be found unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, but the only way to ever test that in the courts is to trigger the default, thus rendering all of the damage done before the courts get a say…
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Well then, the POTUS can tell the US Treasury to ignore the law and continue to print money. NO ONE really believes the United States, holding the World’s Reserve currency, will default. Once we are in “technical default”, file the suit.
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That’s not how the debt ceiling works.
And a default is a default, period.
It’s just a legal acknowledgement that the US will pay debts it has already incured.
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Let’s try it and see. Maybe the Treasury can simply identify debt it no longer recognizes and rebalances the books…like all the bonds the Chinese hold, for instance.
The party really needs to draw a clear line with this insufferable prima donna.
—Rewritten to replace even the explicitly figurative use of the phrase “knock some sense into.”
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And it had to be passed through budget reconciliation. We didn’t have 60 after Sen. Kennedy died.
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That would be galactically stupid.
Defaulting on any debt—something the US has never, ever done—would cause worldwide economic upheaval, destroy the US credit rating, and accomplish exactly zero.
China holds about 11% of US Treasury bonds, and they pose no threat to our country.
Perhaps you would do well to stop commenting on subjects about which you are utterly ignorant.
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I’m beginning to agree with those who believe she ran, lying about the party she was a member of.
I’d be looking into her background to see if she really is a Dem-fraud. She’s certainly behaving as one.
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Thanks for stating that. It’s my understanding as well. I don’t get what all the Gloomies here are missing? The only issue I see as troubling is Pelosi getting both bills passed when she receives them after the Senate has voted. She has very little room, but has the option of including amendments to the reconciliation bill that were nixed in the bipartisan legislation, in order to appease frustrated House members who want more $$$ for the environment and roads vs technology ratios, etc. Bernie has stated the Democrats have the votes so all should be sitting on Pelosi’s desk soon.
Both smug Joe and and backseat girl Kyrstan are in too deep to stamp their feet now. And let’s not forget the 17 Republican senators who are in way over their dumb heads. They’re all too committed and want to go back home ASAP and bask in the glory.
Moving on! Donald Who?
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But taxes cuts ALWAYS pay for themselves!
/s
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There are a lot of old GOP members of the Senate, too. Hate to see anything challenge their mortality.
Not.
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I’m sure I might be able to think of something that would make the dollar valueless a little faster than a nanosecond than declaring that we’re not going to honor debts, but having a little trouble coming up with an example that doesn’t involve nuclear winter.
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