Biden infrastructure/tax increase megathread

[7,052,770]

Well, he tried. Now he can just pass whatever he wants and not feel bad or partisan about it.

[7,052,770]

Well, he tried. Good for Biden to recognize the Republicans weren't looking to compromise in good faith.

[7,052,770]

Politically, it would be among the dumbest moves ever for the GOP to go along with this bill

Biden can

A) brag about getting infrastructure passed
B) brag about doing it in a bipartisan manner
C) pass all the other stuff through reconciliation

The dems made a brilliant play by not going along with Tim Scott’s criminal justice reform bill, knowing it would give Trump a win before the election

What in the world are republicans thinking?

Because doing the right thing for the country is more important than getting credit for yourself at the expense of Americans?

[7,052,770]

My read is that Democrats are going to pass everything they can get 50 votes for, but Manchin and Sinema will feel better about it if at least part of it is "bipartisan," and this way Republicans get to vote Yes on the stuff they like and won't look like fools like they did when they were touting the benefits of the American Rescue bill they all votes against. Seems like a reasonable compromise all around, and very gracious of Democrats to share in this victory.

[7,052,770]

Wow, a real beauty of a bill if early reports are to be believed. If they can pass this, Biden becomes the greatest American president since FDR.

How would this be that much bigger of an achievement than what W did with Medicare Part D

Combine it with the American Rescue, vaccine rollout, and the Afghanistan withdrawal, and probably upcoming voting rights bill to save American democracy and you can make a really strong case.

[7,052,770]

Hopefully they stop having a "parliamentarian" and just leave it up to VP discretion whether something is filibusterable or not

[7,052,770]

Wow, a real beauty of a bill if early reports are to be believed. If they can pass this, Biden becomes the greatest American president since FDR.

How would this be that much bigger of an achievement than what W did with Medicare Part D

Combine it with the American Rescue, vaccine rollout, and the Afghanistan withdrawal, and probably upcoming voting rights bill to save American democracy and you can make a really strong case.

Probably? Are you saying Manchin's going to nuke the filibuster or the parliamentarian will rule it doesn't apply to voting rights bills?

Manchin will agree to waive the filibuster on some kind of voting rights bill. Obviously he won't nuke it entirely.

[7,052,770]

Wow, a real beauty of a bill if early reports are to be believed. If they can pass this, Biden becomes the greatest American president since FDR.

How would this be that much bigger of an achievement than what W did with Medicare Part D

Combine it with the American Rescue, vaccine rollout, and the Afghanistan withdrawal, and probably upcoming voting rights bill to save American democracy and you can make a really strong case.

Probably? Are you saying Manchin's going to nuke the filibuster or the parliamentarian will rule it doesn't apply to voting rights bills?

Manchin will agree to waive the filibuster on some kind of voting rights bill. Obviously he won't nuke it entirely.

What makes you think he will?

If he really were going to derail a major Democratic initiative (something he never actually does, just performatively grandstands for a while, puts a change into it that it's as significant as its made out to be, and then votes for it), Biden, Schumer, and Pelosi would have stopped talking about it and focused on other priorities. It would be such an embarrassing unforced error to not get it done at this point.

[7,052,770]

To whom is this supposed to appeal?

No idea. She's a lock to lose in 2024 regardless if she won't allow voting rights to pass, but it seems like she's trying to lose in the primary instead...

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1420482523260411905?s=19

But guys you don’t get it we need to vote blue no matter who even if they block every bit of progress just like an R would

Um, in general elections, Yes. Had she lost to McSally, Biden would have accomplished absolutely nothing outside of executive orders.

It's likely that Sinema goes down in the primary in 2024, but if she survives somehow, you've got to still prefer her over Kelli Ward or whoever the Arizona GOP nominates. Her Republican replacement would be orders of magnitude worse.

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1420482523260411905?s=19

But guys you don’t get it we need to vote blue no matter who even if they block every bit of progress just like an R would

Um, in general elections, Yes. Had she lost to McSally, Biden would have accomplished absolutely nothing outside of executive orders.

It's likely that Sinema goes down in the primary in 2024, but if she survives somehow, you've got to still prefer her over Kelli Ward or whoever the Arizona GOP nominates. Her Republican replacement would be orders of magnitude worse.

I respectfully disagree. If I wanted to vote for someone who would obstruct the Democratic agenda, I would vote for a Republican.

Your vote is the most powerful tool you have to control a politician. With all of us together, Democrats can start acting like Democrats again.

We can't though. Democrats only get anything because Manchin, Tester, Sinema, and the other 47 won their races. Had any single one of them lost, there would be no infrastructure deal, no judges at all, lots of executive vacancies probably, potentially cabinet vacancies or at least concessions made to Mitch McConnell just to fill them.

I don't like Sinema. I hope she gets primaried out in 2024 since Arizona could elect a more progressive Democrat. But in the meantime I'm soooooooo glad she's in there over McSally and I'm grateful that every one of her voters who want someone who will fight for progressive causes more than she does (which is the vast majority of them) decided to vote for her anyway and give the Democrats a majority.

[7,052,770]

Yeah that's fair.

We'll see what happens. Obama got 2 heavy lifts through during the trifecta, and if Biden gets this it will be 2 heavy lifts as well. We'll see if he can do more.

I still think his agenda is essentially over after this and the probable passing of the reconciliation bill.

If Joe Biden gets the of the reconciliation bill I agree that it will be over, but that is mainly because he actually succeeded in doing, what he set out to do and not because his agenda was cut short like Obama or Trump. He basically would be 1 of the few presidents who largely succeeded in getting most of their agenda through Congress

1. A Covid relief bill that introduced major new polices like the child tax credit

2. A bipartisan bill that is the largest investment in infrastructure since Dwight D. Eisenhower began the interstate highway system.

3. A reconciliation bill that deals with everything from childcare to climate change

Biden would have accomplished in 1 year what most presidents fail to do in 4 or even 8 years

Normally presidents fail to get a lot of what they want in their first term, so they spend the next election, telling voters if they are reelected they will finally deliver on a lot of what they promise them 4 years ago, but in Biden case he would in the rare position where his accomplishments would actually make a second term seem kind of pointless.

Biden's got to get a voting rights bill passed that at least bans gerrymandering and rolls back the most recent state-level restrictions, or his whole presidency (and the whole American experiment really) was for nothing. I am confident that he will.

[7,052,770]

If this passes, Biden goes down as a top 5 President

https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1424727128944353283

Add a gerrymandering ban, voting rights, and DC/PR statehood (with an established path for the others if they want it) and Biden may end up on Rushmore.

[7,052,770]

If this passes, Biden goes down as a top 5 President

https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1424727128944353283

Add a gerrymandering ban, voting rights, and DC/PR statehood (with an established path for the others if they want it) and Biden may end up on Rushmore.

Let's add a public option too while we're at it.

Sounds good to me, but are there 50 votes for that, or at least 50 who aren't so strongly against it they'll derail the whole thing?

There should be 50 for voting rights stuff.

[7,052,770]

Would voting rights be counted as part of the budget, per the parliamentarian?

If Schumer, etc., can contrive a way to get all of the stuff from the Tweet in there, they can contrive a way to get voting rights in there.

[7,052,770]

Congrats America! Back from the dead and kicking ass again!

[7,052,770]

Universal pre-K is a complete waste of money and should be axed.

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

Universal preschool is one of the best investments we can make for children's' futures.

Research has shown that preschool does nothing to help children in the long term.

It helps the parents massively to not have to pay for daycare and/or stay at home with the kids all day.

[7,052,770]

Universal pre-K is a complete waste of money and should be axed.

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

Universal preschool is one of the best investments we can make for children's' futures.

Research has shown that preschool does nothing to help children in the long term.

It helps the parents massively to not have to pay for daycare and/or stay at home with the kids all day.

That's what daycare is for.

Daycare is so f***ing expensive. Universal public pre-K would be a financial godsend to millions of families.

[7,052,770]

Universal pre-K is a complete waste of money and should be axed.

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

Universal preschool is one of the best investments we can make for children's' futures.

Research has shown that preschool does nothing to help children in the long term.

It helps the parents massively to not have to pay for daycare and/or stay at home with the kids all day.

That's what daycare is for.

Daycare is so f***ing expensive. Universal public pre-K would be a financial godsend to millions of families.

Then do universal daycare, lol.

You think I don't support that too?

Let's help families by having universal public daycare. And the last 2 years of that can be structured like a classroom rather than just babysitting.

[7,052,770]

It's all theater. Both the bipartisan and budget bills are going to pass

[7,052,770]

Why though? What's his justification?

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1442991723194425348

Hold the line, Joe!

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1443215941270179842

Terrible. The optimist in me says she probably knows she's backed herself into a corner and wants a way out while still saving face, and it's up to Biden etc. to give that to her.

The pessimist in me says she's just torpedoing it for spite.

[7,052,770]

Remember when I said I’d throw anyone on this board $100 if DC statehood passed.

The Democratic leadership is paying a real price for dragging their feet on that. It's not like everyone told them so. Oh wait...

Lesson learned, I hope.

[7,052,770]

Remember when I said I’d throw anyone on this board $100 if DC statehood passed.

The Democratic leadership is paying a real price for dragging their feet on that. It's not like everyone told them so. Oh wait...

Lesson learned, I hope.

Are you still at 95% chance it passes and 100% if no one dies?

No, I'm higher than that.

(I mean, clearly Sinema has gone rogue, so who knows. Worse case scenario they bring it to the floor and dare her to curtsy again.)