I’ve never figured out a way that Bernie Sanders can prevail over Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in their battle to frame President Biden’s Build Back Better bill. Sanders has just insisted that the legislation include an expansion of Medicare (including hearing, vision and dental) which Manchin opposes, and provisions to lower the price of prescription drugs, which Sinema opposes. I fully agree with Sanders’ positions on both issues, but he’s not going to cajole or pressure his way to victory here, so I really wonder what he’s trying to accomplish.
Biden is supportive of these provisions, too, but he’s already admitted that the Medicare expansion isn’t going to make the cut. He’s really the only one with the clout to make an impression on Manchin and Sinema, and if he’s been unsuccessful, I don’t think Sanders is going to do any better. When he was a candidate for president, Sanders continuously argued that he could pass his platform through Congress by creating a groundswell (revolution) of public support. That was always horse-hockey, as the present situation makes abundantly clear.
The job now is to make the best deal that can be made and then sell it as the substantial achievement it really is instead of painting the whole effort as a major letdown. There are still major areas where strong negotiating can make a difference, but drawing a red line on parts of the bill that have next to no chance isn’t going to result in better results. If Sanders is actually serious, he’s considering spiking the whole effort and that would be an enormous disaster for progressives.
I am tired of nonsense. I’m tired of virtue signaling. I want this bill wrapped up, and I want progressives focused on what they can still get, not what they can’t.
Can’t we just push this over the end line and begin selling all the very real good things in the bill?
Yes. This.
Part of what’s frustrating (and exhausting) is the utter opaqueness of the process. For all we know, Sanders is making such a fuss so that Manchin and Sinema can say in the end, “See how hard we had to fight to keep Sanders & company at bay! This really is a centrist bill!”. Or not.
In either case, please just get it done soon, claim victory & move on to the next fight.
I’ve no problem with Sanders making a fuss and threatening to spike the result. To see if it’s really true that Manchin and Sinema would be willing to walk away from their beloved bipartisan bill. But if either really is willing to do nothing, then Sanders needs to back off. He can’t destroy his legacy the way Nader did. It’s important to recognize half a loaf and Sanders has every right and reason to take a big share of the credit. None of this would have been possible without his strong runs for the nomination.
No, we cannot, because everyone has allowed Joe Manchin to dictate the terms of the bill when that is not what should be happening. He can’t even lay out his own bill or what he wants; he has no “red lines” so everyone keeps scrapping parts of the bill in fruitless negotiations (negotiations where he keeps pocketing gains and leaving his party with nothing).
If the bill resembles what has been discussed it’s possible nothing would be better than something. Stop passing garbage plans that don’t work and instead show everyone government can’t solve their problems. We can’t get trust back if our programs suck and don’t make people’s lives better. Health care was an understandable compromise: you’re building on top of an already existing system and it’s hard to start from scratch. From this point of view, the paid leave parts are worse than nothing. And that’s why it’s hard to pass a bill. The things interlock and work together. But they can’t when you’ve destroyed the bill for a coal baron.
Joe Biden should have already forced a choice. If Joe Manchin wants to make him an unsuccessful president then that is his prerogative. But that’s not Bernie Sanders’ fault.
“…everyone has allowed Joe Manchin to dictate the terms of the bill when that is not what should be happening.”
But we’re in the world as it is, not the world as it should be. And in the world as it is, the person who’s most willing to walk away from a negotiation always has more power.
I don’t agree with this premise, but even if I did, as I said…the answer would be to walk away.
From my point of view, does Manchin actually want zero things? He doesn’t want BIF? He doesn’t want universal pre-k (a program he championed in WV?).
The point isn’t that he doesn’t have a lot of leverage over the bill. The point is that he doesn’t have a veto over every provision and doesn’t get to write his own bill. There are progressives in the House who will also advocate walking away given certain conditions of the bill.
Either way as we see tonight, the paid leave parts have been dropped. Which is good because they were garbage and unworkable.
Yeah, I haven’t always been happy with Bernie, but in this case I don’t get why you are blaming him. The fault is with Manchin and Sinema. They agreed to the $3.5 trillion and to tie the two bills together. Pelosi, Schumer, and Biden all believed the caucus was all on the same page. There was momentum. Even you were writing about Biden as Roosevelt. Am I remembering that incorrectly? Then Manchin and Sinema started to sabotage the Build Back Better agenda just when Biden’s poll numbers started to sag. They kept delaying, chipping away, not saying what they wanted or standing for anything. Do you really believe they have been motivated by their constituents? Sinema won’t even meet with constituents. Both seem to be more influenced by individual interests and the big donors backing them and the No Labels group, founded by Mark Penn’s wife, which keeps praising them and the House conservatives.
Seems like we are giving the 50 Republican senators a pass.. no one is asking them why they are against passing legislation that will improve the lives of their voters.
The Republicans are united in their obstruction.. the Democrats are not in their will to do better for the whole country…
It is time for a parting of ways… poorly written constitution + large fraction of incredibly anti-science and irrational voters == impossible to govern territory!
I agree with you but I think we are about to crash. It is not clear to me that the two hold outs will ever agree. Now we are arguing about taxing the top 600 people in the country. That sounds like it could even be illegal. And Manchin objects. So it will go nowhere. So can we just back off and include a small bill with no pay fors but with a way to raise the debt limit plus the infrastructure bill. If we get another chance in 2023 (doubtful) we can pass another bill but if and only if we can get beyond these two. ( I am giving up on a voting rights bill.)
And then there is McAuliffe. Looks like he is also about to crash and burn too despite Biden and Obama coming to his aid, including my money.
And this is our political party? You’re kidding. Can we throw those two out???