bluewater
bluewater's JournalPresident Joe Biden knows where the center of gravity of the Democratic Party is
That's always has been one of his strengths as a politician.
When Democratic politicians like Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema obstruct and object so strongly to President Biden's Build Back Better agenda, they are attempting to pull the entire Democratic party off center and away from the policy consensus of the vast majority of its members.
The further that President Biden has to move to appease these two Senators is a measure of how much those Senators are damaging our Democratic agenda and our chances in upcoming elections, like the 2022 midterms.
That's my opinion in any case.
Mitch McConnell writes a letter asking Joe Biden to tell Democrats to lift the debt ceiling
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1445044902123945988https://twitter.com/frankthorp/status/1445042543125803008
I think the appropriate descriptor for McConnell's behavior is unmitigated gall.
Senator Sinema provides us a glimpse into her unique political identity
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1444657725976334336Biden told House Democrats behind closed doors Friday that he has spent "tens of hours" speaking with Sinema, according to Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who was in the room.
The pro-Sinema mailers are addressed from New Jersey and sent by the centrist group Center Forward, which has ties to the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate House Democrats that Sinema was part of during her tenure in the chamber.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sinema-plugged-iconoclast-arizona-she-threatens-biden-s-agenda-n1280600
"Center Forward, which claims to seek bipartisan, common ground on drug policy and other issues, got $300,000 directly from PhRMA and another $179,000 from a PhRMA-backed group called the Campaign for Medical Discovery, according to tax filings."
https://khn.org/news/drug-trade-group-quietly-spends-dark-money-to-sway-policy-and-voters/
"Democrats have grown nervous by reports in The New York Times and Politico that Sinema has privately said she won't support increases in individual or corporate tax rates, and that she opposes the party's plan to lower prescription drug costs by letting Medicare negotiate prices."
Are these actually positions that centrist Democrats support?
Serious question.
Did you know that Sinema had voted 50.4% of the time supporting Trump?
Let's give everyone the full picture on why she was ranked the "47th most conservative Senator"
How often Sinema votes in line with Trump’s position: Career 50.4%
How often Sinema is expected to support Trump based on Trump’s 2016 margin: Career 39.8%
Difference between Sinema’s actual and predicted Trump-support scores: Career: +10.6%
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/kyrsten-sinema/
Hmmm.
Sinema voted 50.4% of the time supporting Trump's policies according to 538.
That was +10.6% greater than projected, again, according to 538.
Sinema's career voting record paints a different picture, don't you think?
So is the definition of a "moderate Democrat" someone who votes with Trump 50.4% of the time and +10.8% more often than expected based on Trump's performance in their state?
In fact, looking at the 538 data, Sinema voted with Trump "more often than expected" than any other Democratic Senator. And was the only Democratic Senator reaching double digits in that regard.
How's that for a "moderate Democrat"?
Just a bit too much mavericky, perhaps?
Psssst, Just between you and me, I don't think that Senator Sinema is actually a moderate Democrat.
Can we please stop calling her that?
It reflects badly on all the actual moderate Democrats who are supporting the President and our Democratic agenda.
Loud and Proud Appreciation thread for President Joe Biden!
President Biden showed decisive and bold leadership this week with his handling of the impasse over passing the Infrastructure bill and the Reconciliation bill.
Yesterday he made it clear to all Democrats in Congress and the American people that passage of both bills are linked and that both bills will be passed. No excuses.
He also made it clear that there is no artificial deadline for getting this done; he said it doesn't matter if it takes six minutes or six days or six weeks, both bills are going to be passed.
He said exactly what needed to be said and he said it loud and clear, publicly.
Thank you, Mr. President.
A Happy Jayapal: Biden Fully Endorsed Two-Track Plan
A Happy Jayapal: Biden Fully Endorsed Two-Track Plan
Jayapal told reporters after the meeting with President Biden that he fully endorsed keeping the bipartisan infrastructure plan and reconciliation package linked.
“Look, he said ‘I support the BIF entirely and if I could do it right now I would, but we need to get this reconciliation bill and you know it’s gonna be tough, like we’re gonna have to come down in our number and we’re gonna have to do that work,'” she said.
“The President said we’re gonna get both bills done and in order to get BIF done, we have to get this agreement on the reconciliation bill,” she added.
Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) told reporters that he feels “great” after the meeting with Biden, adding that the progressive message all along has been to uphold Biden’s plan. He said that the President did not push for a BIF vote today or over the weekend, but did warn the group that they’d likely have to come down from $3.5 trillion on reconciliation.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/bidens-two-track-infrastructure-plan-is-back-on-track
KATE RIGA 5:09 p.m.
Excellent.
How does Sinema get labeled as a "moderate Democrat? Please read before responding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrsten_Sinema
I realize that the labeling conventions for elected Democrats are arbitrary and change over time, but how does the 47th most conservative member of the entire Senate get labelled as a "moderate Democrat'?
Serious question.
Jayapal Says She's Spoken To Sinema, Who's 'Very Engaged'
The progressive leader told “Meet the Press” that she talked to Sinema about infrastructure last weekend.
“I do think she’s very engaged,” Jayapal said. “I know she cares about climate, and I know she cares about some of these other things.”
The Democrat said that she’s “going to assume the best of” Sinema and Manchin “and say that we need both of them.”
“Just like we need every single member of the House,” Jayapal added, noting that her chamber only has a three-vote majority.
CRISTINA CABRERA
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1:57 p.m.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/bidens-two-track-infrastructure-plan-is-back-on-track
Can we please stop labeling the infrastructure bill the "bipartisan infrastructure bill"
since (edit added: almost) ZERO House Republicans are going to vote for it?
It's a bill that will do a lot of good and it's time we Democrats take more credit for it.
It's one of the two bills that are the foundation of President Biden's "Build Back Better" plan and the ONLY thing Republicans have contributed to it are cuts.
Edit added for greater clarity:
But over the years that standard has eroded to the point if you get a handful of the opposing party to support a bill it gets labelled "bipartisan", but it's actually not.
Silent "Thank You" Thread for Senator Manchin
This is a silent "Thank You" thread for Senator Joe Manchin for announcing today that he could support a 1.5T Reconciliation Bill.
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