Unfortunately Biden seemed to prove he couldn't manage his own party. What confidence would voters have he could manage anything as complex as a $3.5 T transformative plan which would impact so many Americans? Even if the initiative were brilliant?.
Joe bit off more than he could gum.
Had the bill passed, it would not have been Joe managing it, it would have been the responsible agencies which have handled far more money.
"Can't handle his own party" = Schumer not being able to handle two senators out of 50. No, Joe couldn't, either. I suspect he either had more confidence than he should have in himself or in Schumer, though possibly Manchin just flat out lied when he said what would bring him into the fold. (I would not be surprised by that last at all.)
If Biden was lied to, he has few avenues of response in the current Congress. Should he have never believed Manchin to start with?!
Had the bill passed?
"Balls", said the Queen, If I had two, I'd be king".
What might have been.
The point was Joe thought he was lead dog in this shit-show.
Except he's been sniffing Manchin's ass for the past 6 months.
Biden told us he could negotiate with the other side and get stuff done.
But he couldn't negotiate successfully with his own party.
That was the message he sent to voters.
And American's saw its alpha-dog rolling over.
It wasn't a good look.
Can you tell us why Manchin is cockblocking the Biden agenda?
You act as if the party is dysfunctional because of Manchin and Sinema who would be irrelevant if there were a couple Republicans with a set of balls gave a shit about the nation.
Joe Manchin rewrote the Voting Rights Act because he swore he could get 10 votes from the GOP.
Well?
I imagine he is an obstacle to a bill that he feels his constituents do not want.
And he is accountable to them.
Or perhaps he feels it contains certain elements his sponsors do not want.
And he wants their financial support.
Or he feels it is a financially and politically bad bill.
Manchin is leveraging the power he has to get the bill he wants or can support.
I'm not a fan of Manchin I think he's an annoyance to be dealt with.
And he's a threat to pull a Shelby and jump House boats.
I put more of the onus on the 96 House Progressives who stalled the infrastructure bill because they want what they want.
And they want a lot.
So do I.
Just not al at once, but maybe over 2-6 years as coaltions are built and elections won.
But those dumb fucks could have put self-interest aside and given Biden the infrastructure bill that he did successfully negotiate with Repubs.
But they chose not to for their political reasons.
Those 96 Progs probably come from progressive area and maybe a lot safer than the more moderate Dems who have less leeway for controversial bills.
I can't image a less useful job than being a progressive Dem in a a Repub House run by House Fuehrer McCarthy.
The Dem party is dysfunctional because the various factions are acting in very narrowly defined arcs of perceived self interest and not looking for areas where they can agree.
I still hold out hope these morons see the big picture and deliver something tangible to the American middle class out in the near-term and turn momentum around and run on the Biden plan in '22.
Or you can yell GO BIG, bang your head against the wall, and watch Dem's lose in '22 and '24 as voters are sick and tired of a party that can't manage a fart at a bean dinner and turn to the New American Fascist Party for their solutions.
that should scare the piss out of you.