Biden infrastructure/tax increase megathread

[Virginiá]

Really setting up an inverse of the Obama years here. Fabulous!

[Virginiá]

What is the point of this? Republicans have made it clear their ceiling on spending is nowhere near the Democrats, and their method of paying for it, to the extent they even have one (because the modern GOP largely doesn't pay for its policies), is the polar opposite of what the Democratic Party promised to do.

And even if you put aside these policy disagreements, you still have the fact that the last time Democrats tried to work with Republicans from a position of power, Senate Republicans just dragged out negotiations, watered the legislation down, and finally, when it went to the floor, they voted against it even when many of their amendments passed. Once you engage in this level of bad faith lawmaking, there is really no way to trust you again, particularly when the same Republican who is responsible for that scorched earth strategy still leads their caucus!

This is just the dumbest, most nonsensical charade we could have, all so we can placate one or two Democratic Senators who care more about their own image than actually making law.

[Virginiá]

https://twitter.com/jstein_wapo/status/1397256316574445574?s=21

Corporatists showing their true colors.

What pisses me off about this is the seemingly indifferent attitude towards actually making investments the country desperately needs and, more importantly, paying for it in ways that we should be doing anyway. Unless they have a better, more viable way to pay for it that isn't politically toxic or totally unrealistic, they should stop complaining and stop bending over backwards to protect rich people and corporations, who have taken advantage of the system for way too long as it is.

[Virginiá]

dems struggling to pass INFRASTRUCTURE of all things.....should pour so much cold water on any hope that america will be getting universal healthcare in the near future.

I mean, even in the past, many big programs like that only happened because of large Democratic majorities and/or bipartisan support. The second it became clear the Democrats were either going to have no majority or just a bare one, any hopes of major healthcare reform basically died right then and there.

Parties can do more now with less seats because of polarization, but there are still limits.

[Virginiá]

I can't believe people are here are actually buying into Sinema BS lol
I don't for 1 second believe that she will vote against the reconciliation bill if even Joe Manchin ends up supporting it in the end

I mean, when January came, there were a quite a few users convinced Manchin and Sinema wouldn't actually block FB reform / HR1 when push came to shove, and block it they did.

Not saying she will vote against it in the end, but to be so sure about it is not appropriate. There is a decent amount of evidence at this point that Sinema is an opportunist and far from the leftist she pretended to be rising through the ranks in Arizona, who is completely fine with blocking that bill and others if she thinks it will benefit her (possibly post-political career) or otherwise make her life easier.

[Virginiá]

This is the consequence of 555B for clean energy. Tangible, substantive mitigation of climate change. Which most people don't notice of course, but we govern to govern--not to win elections.

That's always been a problem with Democrats. There's nothing wrong with occasionally being flashy in the way you govern, or structuring policy simply instead of the past 20 years of complicated policies with a million caveats and expiration dates. It's how you signal to the people that you are actually doing something about the issues they care about. If you try to fix everything in ways that no one actually notices or understands, you'll just end up getting booted out of office and being replaced with people whose #1 goal is literally to undo everything you did. This country isn't exactly overflowing with erudites who religiously and intelligently follow government policy. We need to stop pretending like it is.

If you're locked in a system of dueling agendas and philosophies, and you believe the other party's agenda is driving the country into the ground, then winning elections has to be part of your governing philosophy. It doesn't and shouldn't be ALL of it, but it has to play a part.

[Virginiá]

You realize there’s literally no reason to trust that Sinema and Manchin will vote for BBB if the vote on bipartisan infrastructure comes first, right?

Passing the bipartisan bill “right now” and never getting BBB would be way worse for Biden’s presidency than kicking the can down the road for another week but getting both bills. And make no mistake, those are the choices, unless and until those two senators commit to supporting Biden’s framework.

A question for naysayers should be why Manchin/Sinema seem so resistant and reluctant to just get all this done together in the first place. If they agree with what has been negotiated, it should not be an issue.

They are the primary reason why everything has stalled, and it's on them to stop nickle and diming everything and just come to an agreement that they can publicly get behind and actually vote on.

It's really pretty disgraceful that they can't make their case, negotiate for some of what they want, and just give their support to the rest, like the vast majority of the caucus does. It's not worth tanking the entire bill and damaging their party in the eyes of the public, and yet they don't seem to care about any of that.

[Virginiá]

Its too damn bad. 2020 was a rare moment where Democrats could have won seats in GA, AZ, NC and ME.

2021-2023 was really the last time Democrats could have won 52-53 senate searts.

The party's failure isn't squarely on one election, in my opinion. It's a string of failures dating back to at least 2014, where losing one or two races in each election that really could have easily went the other way given varying levels of different circumstances has added up to the current predicament. If you give PA + MI to Democrats in 2016, FL + TX* in 2018, and NC in 2020, you're left with a much safer Democratic Senate majority that might actually hold until 2026. More so if you throw in Maine 2020, although one could argue that was never truly in play. Democrats actually had a good run in Senate elections for a while, but starting in 2014, it's been mostly downhill. The shifting coalitions have only made it worse.

* TX is a reach state even in 2018, but it was close enough to believe there was a chance of it going the other way with somewhat different actions/strategy.

[Virginiá]

https://twitter.com/TonyRomm/status/1454529786521477121
Incredible, that Dems Manchin prioritized "humane" immigration system over this.

Literally posting a tweet about how one guy is blocking paid family leave but you still used Dems to imply the party is united on it

[Virginiá]

https://twitter.com/stevemorris__/status/1454535774502785030?t=FDXtiHphB08sBK0HN...