Comedy Central or Who’s Bluffing Whom?
On August 13, I noted Nine House Democrats to Block $3.5 Trillion Bill Unless Infrastructure Passes First
A group of nine centrist Democrats told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the infrastructure bill must pass first.
Yesterday, Pelosi responded to the nine legislators.
No Time for Amateur Hour
It’s “No Time for Amateur Hour” Says Pelosi
Top House Democrats said the chamber would move forward with voting on the budget blueprint for a $3.5 trillion healthcare, education and climate package next week, rebuffing demands from a group of centrist Democrats to first vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and urging their caucus to stay unified around President Biden’s agenda.
Mrs. Pelosi in a letter on Tuesday night exhorted House Democrats to pass the budget measure next week, writing that “any delay in passing the budget resolution could threaten our ability to pass this essential legislation.” Once the House adopts the budget resolution, lawmakers will begin crafting the details of the $3.5 trillion legislation.
After the call, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.), one of the moderates, said his position hadn’t changed. If the infrastructure bill was “good enough for Bernie Sanders and 50 Democratic senators, why can’t we just move forward?” he said. “I’m hearing from local leaders—from the building tradespeople who build these tunnels, bridges and roads—they’ve got one message to me: Get it done now.”
Rep. Jared Huffman (D., Calif.) said progressive opposition to a stand-alone infrastructure vote outweighs centrist support for it. “Nine members who have that position is nothing compared with the probably five times that would just go ballistic if that’s the way our caucus would decide to proceed,” Mr. Huffman said. “It’s completely untenable.”
“This is no time for amateur hour,” Mrs. Pelosi said during a Monday call with the Democratic leadership team, according to a person familiar with the call.
Comedy Central
I find this more than a bit amusing.
19 Republican Senators voted with the Democrats to pass a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that even Bernie Sanders likes.
Now, 65 Progressives plus Nancy Pelosi demand the infrastructure bill be put on hold until a resolution to waste $3.5 trillion passes first.
Pelosi changed her tune saying both can proceed at the same time, but 9 moderates say no.
Fish In Hand
I suspect the 9 will not go along because they are uncomfortable wasting $3.5 trillion. Perhaps they think a fish in hand is better than two in the ocean.
Regardless (and perhaps both), the fact that 65 outweighs nine is meaningless.
The pertinent fact is Pelosi can only afford 3 defections and 9 disagree with the stance Pelosi is taking.
Who are the Nine?
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA), Jim Costa (CA), Jared Golden (ME), Ed Case (HI), Kurt Schrader (OR), Filemon Vela (TX), Henry Cuellar (TX) and Vicente Gonzalez (TX).
Those 9 wrote a Letter to Nancy Pelosi and turned the tables on the Speaker.
Some have suggested that we hold off on considering the Senate infrastructure bill for months – until the reconciliation process is completed. We disagree. With the livelihoods of hardworking American families at stake, we simply can’t afford months of unnecessary delays and risk squandering this once-in-a-century, bipartisan infrastructure package. It’s time to get shovels in the ground and people to work. We will not consider voting for a budget resolution until the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passes the House and is signed into law.
Ocean of Fish
The demand of the 9 are both clear and reasonable except of course to Progressives who demand an ocean of fish.
The Progressive demands for taxes, energy, free child care, free education and god knows what else are despite stated reservations of two Democratic Senators when the margin of error in the Senate is precisely zero.
What’s In the $3.5 Trillion Package?
On August 9, the WSJ reported Senate Democrats Outline $3.5 Trillion Antipoverty, Climate Plan.
At least a dozen mainstream articles referred to a plan or outline but I never located a plan.
I finally concluded there was no plan, not even an outline.
I discussed my findings in Investigating Missing Details In the Democrat’s $3.5 Trillion Antipoverty, Climate Plan
The short answer to my question above “What’s In the $3.5 Trillion Package?” is no one can really say for sure.
Why?
As noted by Speaker Pelosi above, “Once the House adopts the budget resolution, lawmakers will begin crafting the details of the $3.5 trillion legislation.”
AOC’s Threat
AOC threatened to kill the whole thing over climate.
For details, please see AOC Goes After Senator Krysten Sinema With a “No Climate, No Deal” Threat
Who’s Leading this School of Fish?
Pelosi and 65 Progressives including AOC want the House to hold off voting on a fish in hand in favor of fish in the ocean swimming in countless directions.
There are no votes to spare in the Senate and only 3 votes in the House where 65 petulant Progressives threaten to kill the fish in hand.
The House is effectively rudderless, swimming like a fish whose fins have been removed.
Don’t Fall For Joe Biden’s Big Lie On Inflation
The bills are all so flawed, many hope the fish now flops to the ground where deprived of oxygen quickly passes away.
For discussion, please see Don’t Fall For Joe Biden’s Big Lie On Inflation
Subscribe!
Like these reports? I hope so, and if you do, please Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.
Subscribers get an email alert of each post as they happen. Read the ones you like and you can unsubscribe at any time.
If you have subscribed and do not get email alerts, please check your spam folder.
Mish
Don’t they know all they have to do now to get this stuff done is to declare a national emergency and rob funds say from the border wall maintainece fund or the military? After all, that’s how Trump got it done…
It’s coming. The dangers of centralizing more power to the executive. I can’t wait for Sean Hannity to cry the Constitution doesn’t give POTUS such national emergency power and the power of the purse belongs to Congress.
The further to the right in each political party the less need the party has for you. This reminds me of last year when Trump was threatening to kick Thomas Massie out of the GOP for getting in the way of a massive $2.1 trillion spending bill. Massie’s crime? Actually being true to his conservative ethos. The norm in Washington, DC, is they will destroy you if you stand in the way of either party turning a once-free people into forever tax slaves.
Sounds fun, and if that doesn’t happen you are just another American tax slave to this government that has seen the last to presidents sign over $17 trillion in new debt into law (Obama $9 trillion and Trump $8 trillion). Here’s the best part. America has a baby problem. We aren’t having enough of them, so we are going to have to fill the need for new tax slaves soon in order to maintain this and not push the tax burden up to over 50% to continue paying just the interest on this debt. Guess that means the border gates will be open soon in order to help pay for this massive debt.
Sound familiar?
The problem in America is we think we are exceptional and were placed here by God and therefore have some kind of special blessing that will keep us from falling like Rome.
The Germans thought they were exceptional too. They called it the “German sonderweg.”