Biden Gains the Upper Hand on Mitch McConnell

[comradebillyboy]

https://politicalwire.com/2021/07/29/biden-gains-the-upper-hand-on-mitch-mcconnell/#disqus_thread

The bipartisan infrastructure deal cleared a key Senate procedural vote last night by 67 to 32. It’s surprising the bill attracted 17 Republican votes, but it’s even more surprising that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted for the bill.

Quite a few people — including me — were convinced that no bipartisan deal was possible. McConnell would never strike a deal, as Jonathan Bernstein explains our logic, “as long as the out-party opposes any bill it will automatically be seen as controversial, lose popularity and therefore fail to deliver any electoral rewards for the president’s party.”

Of course, last night’s vote does not mean the deal is done. Speaker Nancy Pelosi won’t even bring up the bipartisan bill for a vote until the Senate passes a broader $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. And many progressive Democrats are furious and dropping veiled threats of voting against the bill.

I never thought this was remotely possible. I'm pleasantly surprised. Good job Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden.

[mucifer]

1. They know their voters want infrastructure. They will campaign for their support of

this bill and against the bigger bill for the 2022 election and it might work for them.

You know because democrats are big spending liberals who don't want anyone to work.

[comradebillyboy]

2. If this thing gets through the Senate and the House

it will be a major political victory for Biden. With each passing day I continue to be amazed at Biden's political skills.

[mucifer]

4. As long as both bills pass. If only this one passes the repubs will claim victory

[TheBlackAdder]

26. Kentucky is one of the top socialist taker states, of course Mitch wants more money to them.

[Budi]

3. K & R !! Go ahead. Vote against it at your own political peril

Fools.

Biden, Pelosi, Schumer et al, dragged this bill thru the threats & bullying and this passage, tho partial, advances the goal set out just 6 months ago.

This vote is a culmination of all the years of experience in their arsenal.

On to the 3.5 billion final finish line.

Big Thank you, much trust & respect to our brilliant savy Democrats 💙



And WTEVER F is this populist postering about:

"And many progressive Democrats are furious and dropping veiled threats of voting against the bill."

My fking god. Grow up. 🙄

[Sibelius Fan]

6. So, you're buying the anti-progressive media narrative?

Rs/conservative Ds get a pass because, well, we expect them to block D legislation, but the progressives express concerns and they suddenly need to grow up?

[empedocles]

12. Dem energy needs to go into passing legislation, not promoting nina

[Budi]

14. Thank You

Stomp your feet somewhere else.

[mcar]

44. +1000!

[George II]

40. Not to speak for someone else, but I think she's "buying" the great progress against long odds....

....that "establishment" Democrats made in this bill and all throughout the spring.

So-called "anti-progressive media narrative" notwithstanding, what do the progressives have on their lists of accomplishments this session or, for that matter, the previous session?

I say it all the time, the root of the word "progressive" is "progress", and from what we've seen the last several months it looks like President Biden, Majority Leader Schumer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi are the TRUE progressives.

[NurseJackie]

20. I know! Politicians who engage in that type of grandstanding, showboating are generally WEAK...

"And many progressive Democrats are furious and dropping veiled threats of voting against the bill."
My fking god. Grow up. 🙄

I know! Politicians who engage in that type of grandstanding, showboating are generally WEAK and ineffective politicians. I've seen it all my life. It never changes. Those politicians who DO the least are the ones who TALK the loudest. Those who have accomplished NOTHING are the ones who threaten EVERYTHING.

All I'm trying to say is that politicians need to be MORE concerned about their constituents and our country and LESS concerned themselves, their fundraising efforts, their twitter feed, the number of followers they have, making sensational headlines, etc.

[Budi]

21. K & R THIS ⬆️

"Those politicians who DO the least are the ones who TALK the loudest. Those who have accomplished NOTHING are the ones who threaten EVERYTHING."

Why do the loudest have such a miserable congressional record?

Money & ME-dia

Thanks NurseJackie.
Nailed it.

[George II]

42. Hah, that's strange - "progressives" voting against bills and getting in the way of PROGRESS....

[mcar]

45. Right?

What bills have they gotten passed?

[True Blue American]

51. Like

Jim Jordan? All mouth, no accomplishments except to rant, rave and scream.

[NurseJackie]

53. Too many to name here... but people who follow politics know who they are.

[Fiendish Thingy]

29. Pelosi is aligned with the Progressive Caucus on infrastructure, and rightly so.

Pelosi, Schumer and The progressives know that if they don’t block the bipartisan bill until the reconciliation bill passes, Manchin and Sinema, along with the GOP, will sabotage the reconciliation bill, and the bipartisan bill will end up being whittled down to a $350 billion piece of shit bill that only funds bridge and road repair and steals funding from COVID relief money.

Pelosi’s strategy is the smart strategy, thinking big, not settling for whatever Mitch will consent to, and the progressive caucus is on the right track to support her strategy.

Sinema is whining about the $3.5T price tag being too big, but when the time comes, she won’t be comfortable being the lone Democrat to kill the reconciliation bill.

[Budi]

32. Sinema & the naysayers became irrelevant in the recent passage.

17 Republucans made Sinema's grandstanding irrelevant.

She's got nothing left.

[Fiendish Thingy]

33. You are correct- if the bipartisan bill isn't passed in house until Senate passes reconciliation

Otherwise, Sinema will grandstand and hold the reconciliation bill hostage.

[Tomconroy]

5. I think Mcconnell has decided he doesn't want Joe Biden

To be a failure the way he wanted Obama to fail. He knows the GOP will nominate Trump in 2024. And he hates Trump.

[TxGuitar]

11. Well, Biden IS a white guy so...

[wnylib]

25. Or maybe, as he sees TFG facing so many

investigations, including the House select committee, he also sees Trump's downfall coming and feels freed to take actions that he will sell as a Republican "victory" over Biden.

[NurseJackie]

27. Translation: Or maybe, as he sees Trump facing so many

[Hortensis]

34. :) McConnell's alter ego taking over? It'd sure be nice.

But white conservative Christian male domination is currently on life support. And that of the new kleptocracy built with it. Unless they can gain and solidify power that elections can't take away.

The battle for power, is enormous, and desperate. I believe these Republican decisions have to be seen in that context. That and of the extremism they've degenerated to, with its required irrational fear of Democrats/liberalism and inevitable ruthlessness and crazy incompetence. Certainly the authoritarian trumpist base, religious right, white power groups, culture wars zealots, many RW plutocrats, etc, are still in and demanding victory.

If that's the case, the existential need to gain Republican control of government in 2022 and 2024 still underlies all their decisions.

[mcar]

46. I'm thinking that because bridges are falling down in KY

and money is going to be spent on infrastructure with or without him, he wanted to make sure his state gets a piece of the pie.

[True Blue American]

52. Mitch did not vote for

The last bill. Biden caught him bragging about it, laughed at him for bragging about a bill he did not vote for. Mitch knows he is out numbered.

[malaise]

7. Just wait for the Slobfather to unload on MoscowMitch

and his wife - the fun is yet to come

[2naSalit]

47. +1

[dreamland]

8. This is the only way McConnell can give TFG a middle finger

TFG wanted an infrastructure plan passed so badly but didn't get it. Subtle ways to show TFG he's a loser.

[NurseJackie]

28. Translation: This is the only way McConnell can give Trump a middle finger

[GoodRaisin]

35. TFG wanted an infrastructure plan?

No. He just wanted to talk about it. Talk is all he was about.

[moonscape]

43. He did want it, to hand out contracts to

his corrupt peeps. Anywhere there is big $$ he figures out how to get in on the action.

The problem is, he doesn’t actually work to get anything done. He doesn’t know how to.

[GoodRaisin]

54. He's too lazy to work for anything. Announcing 'infrastructure

week" on his way out to a round of golf was as much work as he was ever going to do for his peeps. He didn't give a shit about them, infrastructure, or anything else. He was just one big bag of wind that cared only about how much he could grift for himself. There has never been a more flawed being in human history.

[True Blue American]

59. Agree!

Trump is not capable of negotiating. And his threats are useless now.

Shows the difference between an experienced person who knows how and has the experience to do so.

[lark]

9. Happy but distrustful to the max.

R's don't want the ads saying McConnell was against building the road, bridge etc. so they voted for it for PR reasons and will vote against it when it's real. They can say for real, I voted for it, but knowing in their heart they were always against anything that helps the American working class/poor. It's all just a destructomat game with them and we are what they want to destroy and steal all our little bits of $$.

[calimary]

57. Just remember: Republicans DON'T want to help you.

Republicans don’t want to help ANYBODY. They’re only there to be on the take, in other words, helping themselves.

[DFW]

10. A wise old French guy I used to work with once told me

„Il ne faut jamais pisser contre le vent.“

„You should never piss into the wind.“

Maybe Moscow Mitch got tired of having to change his trousers so often.

[question everything]

13. I hope that Pelosi will bring it to a vote

We need ro start working on roads and bridges with no strings attached. If the leftists will stall it then we will be the obstructionists and bye bye keeping the House in 2022.

Instead of us showing crumbling bridges that the R’s block from repairing, they will do it, pointing the finger at us.

Do we want to get things done, or do we want to score points?

[Budi]

15. They're stuck on "burn it all down!" Or some posturing media meme 🙄 idk

Be part of making this country a better place or don't.
Choice is theirs!

[KS Toronado]

17. Excellent question

[Deminpenn]

19. From what Schumer said after the vote, it

seems he also wants the bigger Dem-only reconcilliation bill to be passed before Aug recess begins.

[Budi]

23. Good. Stay all damned weekend & late nights if it has to be, before Aug recess.

Taxpayers foot the bill. Paychecks to premiun health care to retirement & investments.

Do your f'ing job for this country or get out.

Thanks Schumer.
Keep them their till it's done. Please.

[Fiendish Thingy]

31. Pelosi's strategy is the smart strategy, and the only path to Build Back Better

You seem to want any bill passed, no matter how shitty. Pelosi and the Progressives know that if they vote on the bipartisan bill first, Manchin, Sinema and Mitch will sabotage reconciliation, and the bipartisan bill will end up being a minimal roads and bridge repair only bill that steals its funding from COVID relief money- count on it.

Democrats are thinking big, and Progressives are promoting progress towards a better future. Biden has made it clear that he won’t capitulate on Infrastructure the way the ACA was weakened in 2009.

[questionseverything]

55. I am not sure that poster understands there are two bills being talked about

Post 15 and 23 seem to be opposite view points

[aocommunalpunch]

41. "leftists"?

What nicknames take hold for the opposite? Or are they just good Democrats, no matter how much of our own agenda they hold hostage?

[George II]

16. All spring people were saying Biden couldn't do it. Where are they now?

[comradebillyboy]

22. I'm here posting this article. I certainly doubted that

the bi-partisan infrastructure could get 60, much less 67 votes in the Senate. But seeing is believing. Biden truly is a masterful politician.

[dlk]

18. Biden has leverage

There was that criminal referral of Elaine Chao to DOJ.

[patphil]

24. I believe McConnell was sending a message to Trump.

He was letting him know that McConnell was the Republican in charge in the Senate, not Trump.
This was a low cost way for McConnell to do it. The Republicans could gain some credit for the $550 billion infrastructure package, which is very popular with all Americans, and is a neutral bill that doesn't need to be polarized as Republicans vs Democrats.
His best path was to bring it through as a bi-partisan effort.
It's a win for McConnell, and a defeat for Trump.

[CrispyQ]

49. And if Pelosi doesn't bring it up for a vote,

or it doesn't pass in the House because progressive dems want climate change addressed, McConnell & the media will blame the dems for not getting America's old bridges updated & repaired.

[Tomconroy]

30. And I don't mean to downplay Joe Biden's role

In my post 5.
Biden kept encouraging the bipartisan talks when many had given up. He had one of his aids constantly talking to both sides. It is masterful legislating!

[GoodRaisin]

36. McConnell's vote was surprising to me as well. Maybe this is a sign he is seeing

that he will not be able to peel away enough R votes when the cloture vote takes place. My fingers are crossed.

[NCjack]

37. McConnell is a roach. Just when you think you have him cornered

and lined up to stomp him, he jumps on your shoe and runs up your leg.

If you want the upper-hand on a roach, you have to build a roach trap. This bill is not a trap.

[happy feet]

38. I believe McConnell & Repubs

timed their agreement to get the Jan 6 hearings off the front page today to squelch the continuing coverage which exposed them for selfish, power hungry, Big Lie, hypocritical politicians they are. and what do you know? the press fell for it and it worked like a charm. Lack of foresight on Biden's part.

[dsp3000]

39. is this an insidious way to bring the bill to a vote only to just strike it down after ?

after both sides negotiate and so on. would all 17 still agree? or will they all band together and strike it down and blame the democrats?

[CrispyQ]

48. Maybe this is McConnell flipping the bird to TFG.

Stranger things have happened.

[StClone]

50. Sinema opposes it!

[WarGamer]

56. And I argued that Infrastructure was something we WOULD see bipartisan support

It's a win-win for the GOP (in their minds)

They get to tag more "debt" onto the opposition and bring home the bacon for the Home States.

And note: The Bipartisan pkg kills the broader reconciliation Bill which SandersCo loves.

So in reality, this Infrastructure is a "Moderates" Pkg.

[Blue Owl]

58. Meanwhile Mitch has the lower flipper

[True Blue American]

60. Mitch did not have a choice. 17 Senators went

Around or through him.