Biden infrastructure/tax increase megathread

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

Why can't Schumer just tell Manchin hells strip him of his chairmanship on the energy committee if he doesn't start voting like an actual Democrat. Start being mean to these people!

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

Joe Manchin is a giant piece of crap

https://twitter.com/GarrettHaake/status/1400572523985747976?s=20


No actual objections, just strait up ‘I won’t vote for anything Republicans don’t’

Strip. His. Chairmanship

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

https://twitter.com/jakesherman/status/1415659236546289668?s=21

I wish someone would tell him that if his constituents wanted a Republican to represent them in Congress, they would have voted for one.  They want a choice, not an echo. 

It’s probably Kurt Schrader

Our majority is small but its not so small one or even two people can prevent a bill from passing. Golden and Schrader wouldn't be enough so there has to be a third. Spanberger maybe?

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

Maybe this is discussed above, but here is a good summary of the state of play on reconciliation and infrastructure. The two bills have been effectively decoupled it seems to me. Pelosi was forced to fold. The Dem moderates held firm.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/house-moderates-provide-even-more-leverage-joe-manchin-reconciliation-n1277592

Most moderate Democrats supported the two track strategy.  This nine nitwits aren’t moderates, they’re a handful of ***holes who are trolling for attention by adopting some position - anything, it doesn’t really matter what b/c these folks have no real ideology - to the right of the Democratic leadership. 

Calling them moderates is like saying Allen West or Larry Elder represent the average AA voter’s political views.  That’s not hyperbole; the “mods vs. Pelosi” framing really is that inaccurate.  Folks like Sinema, Gottheimer, Schrader, and apparently Manchin are basically just Lieberman-esque trolls whose schtick is arbitrarily opposing whatever most Democrats support just for the sake of doing so. 

What’s new about this recurring problem is that this time - unlike Obama, Schumer, Reid, Pelosi, etc who generally did what they could - Biden has been proactively enabling these trolls - whether it’s b/c he’s doing everything he can behind the scenes to help them or he’s just a hopeless incompetent who is in over his head, I can’t say - to the point that in his way he’s almost as complicit as the trolls are.

I think this is because of Sinema, not the nine. She's just really really stubborn and there's not much we can do

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

Hopefully Schrader gets a bluer district and gets thrown out in 2022. The others are probably harder to beat though.

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

Kill the infrastructure bill then if they won't cooperate!

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

On the bright side, this whole saga must be pushing tons of former moderate Democratic voters into the progressive wing. If moderate concern trolling is what’s keeping the party from passing reforms that are already too-diluted moderate compromises, people are going to pick up on it. It’s already converting a ton of people on this forum, myself included.

What does the Democratic Party stand for if it can’t even stand for this?

I can personally attest -this entire Build Back Better fiasco is what eventually converted me.  And I recall being quite hard on Bernie Sanders supporters in the aftermath of the 2016 election.    

Progressives during election season:  Every single Dem senator except Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is a moderate ghoul and they all need to be primaried out.

Progressives during congressional session:  Every single Dem senator except Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema is a progressive and Manchin/Sinema are the entirety of the moderate caucus.


Repeat for the house with the Squad and Gottheimer/Golden.

Manchin, Sinema, and the rest of the spineless centrist branch who you have been insisting for years were the reasonable adults in the room have effectively killed this administration and are responsible for a Republican Party that is openly embracing authoritarianism coming back to power but sure blame the progressives again 🙄

It's people like Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Hakeem Jeffries who are the adults in the room.  I've never had much love for the right-most Congressional Dems.  In fact I think you'll find I supported Marie Newman against Dan Lipinski.

I approve of Manchin/Golden/etc. mainly because they are singularly capable of winning their districts, and I have ridiculed the Paula Jean Swearengin types who think you can replace Manchin with a braindead progressive and not lose the seat in a landslide (as Swearengin only got 27% against Capito).

I have almost zero patience for right-wing Dems like Lipinski sitting on seats that could go to someone much more in step with the party (read: not a Swearengin type).

Hakeem Jeffries does not act like an adult. He is a rabble rouser and loves stirring up conflict

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

Paging compucomp and macarthur

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

LOL @ people like Russian Bear actually arguing the congressional leadership was acting in bad faith and not Manchin. Must be satire!