A watered-down bill that does more for the petroleum industry than anyone else.
Much was promised, little delivered.
Typically Democratic in its lack of scope and foresight.
I have to disagree, my friend. The Democrats tried to make it better, the Republicans (and Sinema) watered it down and added gifts to corporate sponsors...
Will it end Biden's tumble in the polls? Is this where Dems turn it all around and surge to a Blue Wave in 2022? Biden is an inept old fool. THAT is the problem, not Manchin or Sinema's efforts to keep spending under some sort of control.
Again, I completely disagree. I know that it is a "media narrative", but that is because there is substance to it. Manchin and Sinema want to have outsized influence - it's ego - and they know they have leverage. Biden has the thinnest of margins. It is probably too late to make a dent in 2022's conditions through legislation, but if the perception becomes the economy is turning around, the Democrats should improve their odds - but they are not good. Virginia's governor's race is probably a good indication of where they are now - because the same dynamic will play out in 2022. Dems did not get out their base, and Republicans did. If they don't in the mid-terms, the same scenario will play out up and down the ballot.
This is the bill that should have passed months ago with little fanfare. This should have led to other targeted popular legislation, which should have attracted bipartisan support, which would have lessened division and brought the country together, and made future legislation possible.
Here, I do agree. The problem was, it wasn't going to pass because of progressive interference. They cut off their noses to spite their faces. It was "tactical", not strategic. The fact that so many Republicans joined to get it passed was actually, in my view, a good sign.
American voters don't want any major changes to happen too fast. This is the reality of the situation.
Americans are fools. There is an urgency to reality that they just haven't grasped.
Manchin and Sinema read the voters better than Biden did. That's a fact.
Back to disagreement. Manchin and Sinema are pissing off their own voters. They are counting on the fact that they don't have to campaign in 2022. They are hoping that conditions will change on their own before 2024. In that, I think they are terribly wrong. If Democrats are seen as inept as Republicans in passing legislation - which they certainly do now - then people don't have a good reason to vote for them. If they can demonstrate they can get things done, even if not everyone agrees on every particular measure, they will do well. They should have strong-armed progressives, gotten the first bill passed, and used the good will that followed to push for more of their agenda. They squandered that opportunity.
But Dems are driven by their "extremists" just like the Republicans are. They can't see it because they are also driven by the mainstream media narrative that says Manchin and Sinema are the enemies!
More disagreement. Dems have two factions that are entrenched. Manchin and Sinema have outsized influence right now, but if the Democrats picked up seats, that influence would fade. As I said, progressives are being tactical when strategy is called for. They're not extremists - actually, pretty mainstream if polls are accurate - but they are not particularly savvy.
