I am more than a little puzzled by Mona's insistence on blaming Democratic Party gridlock on Progressives. Last I checked it was 2 moderate-to-conservative Senators and 9ish moderate-to-conservative House members who were gumming up the works. That's 11 people. Am I seriously to believe that when the entire rest of the Democratic Part…
I am more than a little puzzled by Mona's insistence on blaming Democratic Party gridlock on Progressives. Last I checked it was 2 moderate-to-conservative Senators and 9ish moderate-to-conservative House members who were gumming up the works. That's 11 people. Am I seriously to believe that when the entire rest of the Democratic Party in DC is for this bill and these 11 people are holding it up, that it's somehow someone else's fault other than those 11 people? Are you kidding me? Is there no one on staff at the Bulwark that can point this stuff out?
Not a single one of the "2 moderate-to-conservative Senators and 9ish moderate-to-conservative House members" would have hesitated (in fact the latter group practically begged) to vote promptly on the "bipartisan infrastructure bill", delivering to Biden a most desperately needed win - the delay of which has now cost him and his party dearly.
They (the 2+9) would have loved to get that vital piece of business done without utterly unnecessary and damaging delay. They would have then been glad to take up sober negotiations on the "BBB" package, with a needed sense of calm and rational discourse - which is to say, absent threats from the Progressives (whom Mona rightly chastises) to "kill the puppy" (in this particular case, taking hostage the infrastructure bill already passed by the Senate, a tactic aimed at forcing the hands of the "2 moderate-to-conservative Senators and 9ish moderate-to-conservative House members", who, it turned out, did not particularly care for being bullied like that).
So yes: it is "someone else's fault" that the strong-arm tactics employed by the Progressive wing (some of whom ended up voting against the infrastructure bill despite obviously supporting it - a surly gesture befitting today's GOP) turned into one of the major factors in the shared misfortunes of Terry McAuliffe, Joe Biden and all who wish to keep the barking mad Republicans as far as possible from the levers of power.
I am more than a little puzzled by Mona's insistence on blaming Democratic Party gridlock on Progressives. Last I checked it was 2 moderate-to-conservative Senators and 9ish moderate-to-conservative House members who were gumming up the works. That's 11 people. Am I seriously to believe that when the entire rest of the Democratic Party in DC is for this bill and these 11 people are holding it up, that it's somehow someone else's fault other than those 11 people? Are you kidding me? Is there no one on staff at the Bulwark that can point this stuff out?
Not a single one of the "2 moderate-to-conservative Senators and 9ish moderate-to-conservative House members" would have hesitated (in fact the latter group practically begged) to vote promptly on the "bipartisan infrastructure bill", delivering to Biden a most desperately needed win - the delay of which has now cost him and his party dearly.
They (the 2+9) would have loved to get that vital piece of business done without utterly unnecessary and damaging delay. They would have then been glad to take up sober negotiations on the "BBB" package, with a needed sense of calm and rational discourse - which is to say, absent threats from the Progressives (whom Mona rightly chastises) to "kill the puppy" (in this particular case, taking hostage the infrastructure bill already passed by the Senate, a tactic aimed at forcing the hands of the "2 moderate-to-conservative Senators and 9ish moderate-to-conservative House members", who, it turned out, did not particularly care for being bullied like that).
So yes: it is "someone else's fault" that the strong-arm tactics employed by the Progressive wing (some of whom ended up voting against the infrastructure bill despite obviously supporting it - a surly gesture befitting today's GOP) turned into one of the major factors in the shared misfortunes of Terry McAuliffe, Joe Biden and all who wish to keep the barking mad Republicans as far as possible from the levers of power.