Remember a couple weeks ago when Speaker Pelosi struck the deal for a date this week to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill (formerly the bipartisan infrastructure framework, or BIF) but not on the Democrats-only budget reconciliation bill? And seemingly the entire political commentariat, including gobs of people posting on Daily Kos, hailed it as some kind of genius win for progressives? That made no sense even at the time, because what it actually did was start to de-link the passage of the two bills, which opened up more space for corporate Democrats to pass the bipartisan corporate give-away infrastructure bill first and then eviscerate or deep-six the Democratic budget reconciliation bill.
Everyone knew that the progressives were acting in good faith and would pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill if the Democratic budget reconciliation bill passed through the House and Senate first. Everyone knew that the corporate Democrats were not acting in good faith and could not be counted upon for the budget reconciliation bill if they passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill first. Yet the deal that Speaker Pelosi struck with the likes of Rep. Gottheimer was to do exactly the latter.
And now:
House Democrats look for a sign from the Senate on budget billSpeaker says the House can no longer wait until the Senate passes the reconciliation package to vote on the infrastructure bill By Jessica Wehrman and Lindsey McPherson, Roll Call, September 27, 2021
[...] Progressive Democrats demanded, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., initially agreed, that both chambers would pass that [budget reconciliation] package before the House took up a Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill that provides for $550 billion in new spending. But Pelosi acknowledged for the first time Monday that’s no longer feasible.
There you have it: Speaker Pelosi goes back on the deal and now openly sides with the corporate Democrats, on not only the order of passage but also on cutting the size of the budget reconciliation bill. Note that she is not powerless to persuade corporate Democrats otherwise. Nor are Senate Majority Leader Schumer nor especially President Biden, with his commanding national megaphone, powerless to persuade them. Yet the play is to lean on progressives to knowingly throw away Democrats’ leverage over good policy, again. As suspected. Just like what happened with Obamacare and the public option, just like so many other times. This was all eminently foreseeable.
There is no good reason for having to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill right this moment, there are only bad reasons. Likewise with vicious cuts to the budget reconciliation bill. On top of which, progressives should use their leverage over all of that corporate give-away cash to also pass existentially-important voting and election certification protections, as Rev. Dr. Barber of the Poor People’s Campaign and Repairers of the Breach has been righteously advocating, without which the USA is very likely to fall to Republican fascism as of 2025 or earlier. (No biggie though!) And yes, that does mean making use of Biden’s “Build Back Better” promise to force an end to the cursed white supremacist filibuster… which, in a massive power shift toward the people and away from oligarchs, would unblock so much other essential governance.
Here’s Rev. Dr. Barber from a couple weeks ago, along with Speaker Pelosi’s response from the same podium:
Meanwhile the number of progressives who’ll hold out on the bipartisan infrastructure bill if the vote is held Thursday, namely the 23 and possibly more who the American Prospect has counted, may not be enough to maintain their leverage and overcome the number of Republican representatives who could change their minds and decide to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Which would mean corporate Democrats and Speaker Pelosi working with fascist Republicans (yes, all congressional Republican are at least de facto fascists now) to defeat progressives. Again.
Everyone please contact your congressperson and ask that s/he #HoldTheLine on making sure the House and Senate pass the budget reconciliation bill—as well as voting and election certification protections—before the House passes the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Use Biden’s “Build Back Better” promise, along with corporate Democrats’ corrupt greed, as leverage to force through good progressive spending policies along with monumentally vital safeguards for democracy. Or to put it another way, we’re in a standoff, and we need the bandits to release the hostages of our democracy, our very lives, and the well-being of the planet before we deliver the loot.
Fortunately the Progressive Caucus is holding strong so far:
Progressive Position on Infrastructure and Build Back Better Remains Unchanged Following Caucus Meeting, Congressional Progressive Caucus, September 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement after the 96-member coalition’s meeting about the ongoing infrastructure and Build Back Better negotiations:
“We remain fully committed to passing President Biden’s entire Build Back Better agenda and delivering the transformative change that people throughout this country urgently want, need, and deserve. Moving forward without the Build Back Better Act would put long-overdue investments in child care, paid leave, health care, affordable housing, pre-k, community college, climate action, and a roadmap to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS recipients, and essential workers at risk. Our Progressive Caucus members remain clear: we will not allow this process to be dictated by special interests and corporations at the expense of women, working families, and our communities. We will not leave anyone behind.
“This agenda is not some fringe wish list: it is the President’s agenda, the Democratic agenda, and what we all promised voters when they delivered us the House, Senate, and White House. It is supported by nearly every Democrat in Congress and is overwhelmingly backed by the American people. It was committed to in a deal among Senators when they passed the infrastructure bill in that chamber—a commitment reiterated just last week. We articulated this position more than three months ago, and today it is still unchanged: progressives will vote for both bills, but a majority of our members will only vote for the infrastructure bill after the President’s visionary Build Back Better Act passes.”
Addendum: This would be how progressives lose:
But Rep. Steve Cohen, a progressive who plans to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill regardless of whether there’s been movement on reconciliation, cautioned against waiting on the Senate rather than guaranteeing a win for Democrats.
“I’ve been a legislator for 44 years — longer than many of them were alive and on the earth,” the Tennessee Democrat said of his fellow progressives. “And I know politics. You’ve got a Senate, there’s certain realities, and we’ve got to pass both bills. But if we can pass the infrastructure bill, we need to do it.”
That’s not even an explanation, that’s just turning one’s brain off. “We have always forfeited like this”—y’know, perhaps that’s exactly the problem. Defeating fascism doesn’t come from lowering the stakes. That’s rediscovering appeasement, that’s “peace in our time.” Defeating fascism takes raising the stakes and open, moral confrontation.