While negotiations over the reconciliation bill continue at an agonizingly slow pace, some major pieces fell into place this week.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1392718
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1392718
“What makes Manchin and Sinema act like they’re so special?”
I know! I know!
It’s because they have veto power.
25 Likes
You know…I think this whole mess has been made worse because they have each other. They keep each other charged.
If it was just Manchin or just Sinema, I think this would all be over by now.
44 Likes
This. And because neither of them expects or desires to be re-elected.
Both are cashing out. (Yes, Sinema thinks she’s going to run as an Independent–but she knows if she gets stomped, she’s still cashed out).
31 Likes
Nothing in how Sinema and Manchin have behaved suggests that they were ever negotiating in good faith.
Their request for continued ‘good faith’ negotiation is a demand that they.be allowed to screw American voters even more.
.
35 Likes
One is a very conservative Dem representing a very conservative state. The other is a showboat who basically only talks to Republicans.
29 Likes
Q: “What makes Manchin and Sinema act like they’re so special?”
A: "They suffer from a form of drunkenness. Donnie suffers from it too. When they suffer, others suffer."
6 Likes
Occam’s Razor says the answer to your headline question is that they don’t want it to pass. Full stop.
24 Likes
What I’d like to see is not a reporter from the regular Congressional press corp., but a reporter from outside that beat push in and ask, why do they feel that they have the power to diminish what others have already voted on? That their restrictions and limitations that only they deem is necessary is not going to help the most, and not even those that need it the most.
These two’s behavior wouldn’t bug me as much if there were more than two gumming up the works.
7 Likes
These two have totally won the intra-caucus D negotiations. They got a “bipartisan” infrastructure bill–which just means it was much smaller and stripped of pretty much all the progressive stuff in Biden’s original proposal–all the stuff the entire rest of the D caucus wanted. And now they’ve managed to shave the reconciliation bill to about half of its original size, again stripping out much of the stuff most valued by progressives. Now is the time when any normal ruthless successful negotiator would sweep their fat pile of winnings off the table, and say perfunctory polite things about their opponents (I mean the rest of the Democratic party), and sign the fucking deal.
That they won’t means they’re personally bent. In whatever way–they can’t bear having the spotlight turned off them; they’re high on their own supply of believing that the more they piss off their fellow Ds, the more virtuous and heroic they are; they’ve got some weird grudge against Elizabeth Warren, or something. They’ve won! But they’re too messed up to just declare victory and go home. It’s very bitter.
39 Likes
A nice word for jerk.
8 Likes
They both want to be the Democratic Senators that Republicans voters are willing to tolerate. And that means they have to obstruct everything and make sure that Joe Biden is a one term president. So no, neither Manchin nor Sinema are going to vote for anything that would allow Biden to claim victory. And sure as hell they are not going to vote for anything that would make the progressive happy.
4 Likes
Self-entitled gall to ask for 'good faith negotiations is laughable. If Sinemanchin feels out of the spotlight for ONE second, they will suddenly demand more. The goalposts are on wheels for these two, especially Sinema, who won’t engage withg press/voters at all. Only the top $ lobbyists have hear ear. It and the filibuster mae a mockery of ‘representaative govt’.
10 Likes
From the article…
“Sinema, who has decided that it’s not a mandatory part of her job to talk to reporters, sent out a similarly vague statement Thursday morning.”
… … … …
She doesn’t communicate with her constituents either. Out of several emails to her office over the last year or more I got one “canned” reply that had words but said nothing.
I hope in the next election (a third of the Senate is up for reelection) that democrats pick up a good 4 or 5 seats. I l know it’s a pipe dream but I can still dream.
29 Likes
I think there is at least some chance that Manchin or Sinema is captured by McConnell and is using his strategy of stringing along the Democrats with no intention of ever passing BBB. I’m not saying I’m sure that’s the case or if it’s even likely, but it’s possible.
At the same time, I think both do legitimately want to pass BIF. Perhaps more than they want BBB to fail.
They are also bad faith actors and not trustworthy. We cannot make a deal that would give them the opportunity to pass BIF and then refuse BBB. Jayapal understands this. Now we find out whether the two horrible people in the Democratic caucus care more about tanking BBB or passing BIF. We need to cut things for their votes. We need not cut our leverage before the vote.
Or in other words:
I would do anything for a deal
but I just
won’t
do
that.
19 Likes
I have no idea why Sen Sinema does anything she does. I don’t think anyone else does either. Probably including Sinema herself.
Sen Manchin has surrounded himself with yes men for years. And everybody else in DC needs his vote. So nobody ever tells him if he’s wrong. Nobody ever tells him if he’s being a jerk. So he has no idea what the rest of the world thinks of him.
Much the same dynamic has made Trump the way he is. Manchin is the Trump of the ignorant center. That is the best way to think of him.
12 Likes
Unfortunately they are special, and know it. If they didn’t know it, they wouldn’t in fact be special. But that’s why reconciliation is still ongoing.
3 Likes
We think we are dealing with Manchin and Sinema but in reality we are really dealing with their donor groups. The two senators are merely fronts for some powerful industries or billionaires invested in things Build Back Better is trying to change. I would like to see stories on those folks and organizations. Throw light on them and see the cockroaches run.
29 Likes
It’s my plan to support Kyrsten Sinema’s primary opponent, probably through the Primary Sinema PAC, though I’m not sure yet. I’m not the biggest donor, but not insignificant either. She’s not up until '24, but it’s not too soon to start.
As for Manchin, I’m not sure it would do any good, since he’s got a lock on WV. If he loses the primary, which is unlikely, WV will then have two Republicans. And he may not run again, but my money is on that he will.
Updated to add: I just made my first monthly contribution to Primary Sinema PAC. There are a couple others I’m going to donate to as well.
20 Likes