
The Democrats are on a real roll, as a version, albeit watered-down, of the Build Back Better bill is going to be signed by President Biden once it moves through the House. It includes all sorts of good stuff, including much-needed monies to address climate change.
This is a nice cherry on top of a tasty sundae that the Democrats have been eating for almost a month now. The fortunes of the Democratic Party have certainly changed.
The generic congressional polling average is looking up for Dems.
And President Biden’s rating are on the rise as well.
These are averages, so they do show some real trends. Republicans apparently are reduced to curling up in the corner in a fetal position while screaming out random talking points.
Democrats want a permanent pandemic.
Democrats want permanent inflation.
Democrats want permanent control.— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) August 7, 2022
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. I think you are going to have to do better than that. All the Republicans have been doing in response to this is things that are objectively awful if you have any sense of ethics or empathy. First, there was the screwing over of vets that got Jon Stewart raging mad at them.
Then, they decided to go after the cap on insulin prices. The Dems managed to get seven Republicans to vote with them, but it failed 57-43 because we have the only system in the world with four veto points and therefore need 60 votes.
Ken Klippenstein of The Intercept summarized both the human cost, and the potential political cost, of such a loathesome move quite well here.
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) August 7, 2022
This is a pretty united front by the Democrats. As Democrat’s Dad Chuck Schumer pointed out, senators from There are, of course, people who are trying to continue Dem Fights, such as Enthusiastic Defender of Sexual Harassment Lis Smith. Lis is, of course, defending the kind of stuff that 10 years ago she’d dismiss as babbling of radicals that had no chance to pass.
The far left votes against infrastructure, turns attention to student debt on same day Dems pass biggest investment in clean energy, landmark prescription drug negotiation bill. But remind me how it’s the reasonable wing of the Dem Party that’s the problem? https://t.co/5eb4QDffRP
— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) August 7, 2022
Now, about the stuff such as insulin, student loan debt relief, and other important things like a voting rights bill. Biden has already pulled off quite a list of accomplishments, especially when you consider there were two senators in 50-50 split that gave Democrats fits and caused much of the political headaches for the president over the last year-and-a-half.
Between infrastructure, gun safety, CHIPs, and the PACT Act, all passed in less than a year, I can't recall a period of so many big and substantive bipartisan accomplishments for Congress.
With a 50/50 Senate.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 2, 2022
Keep in mind that the rule of thumb is 1-2 big legislative accomplishments over a single presidental term. The Democrats likely are planning on building on this momentum. There is no reason why Biden should slow down if the Dems gets big wins in the midterms. If George Dubya Bush talked about “political capital” after a close win in 2004, then Biden should talk about it if indeed he gets election gains.
As good as we are feeling now, there is still plenty of work to do. We need to secure voting rights, and if we can get a solid majority in the Senate that is ready to kill the filibuster to save it, then all the better. Because the Republicans are not winning at the moment and will not soften their hard-line moves toward a Christian nationalist state. And, for those disappointed about what is not in this current bill, there really is no reason why we cannot push for those things to be in another bill.
The last word goes to a real oldie, Annette Hanshaw, with the unofficial Democratic anthem.
Nobody seriously engaged with the climate issue recognizes as anything other than a Potemkin greenwashing exercise. So Joe better be ready to shut down all permitting on those tens of millions of acres that he just agreed to lease