Sen. Schumer vows to hold a record vote on Build Back Bonanzalooza in January so certain people will have to vote in the Senate and "not just on television." Somehow I doubt that Sen. Manchin fears
blowback from the West Virginia voters who supported Trump, and now oppose BBB, by about 70%.
Manchin and his voters apepar not to be impressed by the repeated claims that the Election Fraud Enabling Act is necessary to combat voter suppression, either.
I'll still be on tenterhooks about both of these pieces of garbage legislation until the November 2022 midterms are over, but three months ago I wouldn't have dared to predict that things would be going this well.
Sounds like a ploy to lure Romney or Murcowski into individual McCain-style "bi-partisanship" heroics.
ReplyDelete@ J Melcher - that is my greater fear.
ReplyDeleteAs for Schumer and the accusation of playing for television, he should buy a fucking mirror.
More than once I've heard it said that the most dangerous place to stand in in D.C. is between Sen. Schumer and a TV camera.
ReplyDeleteLittleRed1
On Schumer's quasi-promised January vote, the Senate does it by roll call in alphabetical order. Manchin votes, and Sinema votes after him. If he votes what he said Sunday (about which I'm not sanguine, as I've said before), it'll be interesting to see how Sinema votes, given her haziness on the matter, and it'll be interesting to see how many Progressive-Democrat Senators who vote after him vote with him rather than with Party. There has, after all, been some whistling past the graveyard about a few more of those who supposedly don't like the reconciliation bill but lack the courage to say so.
ReplyDeleteLR1, along those lines, it was erstwhile Republican campaign advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer who said Never get between a dog and a tree. Could she have been talking about the same pair?
Eric Hines
Eric, it's quite possible. I leave the determination of which is which to the reader.
ReplyDeleteLittleRed1
JMelcher, it worries me, too. Every time I hear a D complain about Manchin, I think of how I feel about Romney, Collins, and Murkowski. A majority doesn't mean much if it's a slim one with spongy spots and you overplay your hand.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Joe can’t get anyone on the R side speaks to how bad he is at persuading folks.
ReplyDeleteKevin Williamson said it well this morning: “ If your whole political agenda goes off the rails because you cannot bring around one mulish senator from your own party, then perhaps you need to rethink your political agenda. You might even think about how you might win the support of six or seven senators from the other party. Don’t tell me they can’t be had — Ted Cruz came around to champion the cause of a guy who called his wife ugly and suggested that his father had been involved in assassinating President Kennedy. Lindsey Graham is . . . Lindsey Graham. These aren’t exactly Doric columns of unmovable moral commitment we’re talking about here."
I'm not that worried about Romney. He's more anti-Trump than he is a spending or taxing profligate. If there was nothing in that reconciliation mess before, there isn't anything now that Manchin is claiming to be a No.
ReplyDeleteI'm not at all worried about Collins. She's a rarity--a politician who actually considers that she works for her constituents, and she checks with them. Then she votes in accordance with what they tell her. And they're telling her No as firmly as West Virginians are Manchin.
The only question mark is Murkowski. She's more anti-Trump than Romney and petty enough to flip on the reconciliation mess just to bother Trump. Then make a pretty speech about why she flipped.
Eric Hines
So, let's strip Murcowski of her ranking minority job on the Senate committee of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies -- awarding it to Bassarro of Wyoming, now ranking member (2nd chair) of the Energy committee. When the GOP becomes the majority, BOTH Bassarro and Manchin (representing coal producing states) become chairmen of Energy and Environmental committees. Murcowski can have a pick of committees, but can't be rewarded with a chair.
ReplyDelete