Back from the dead. It was a stunning development today when it was announced that the Senate had agreed on the language for a $1.2 trillion hard infrastructure bill, including $550 of new spending. And just to show that they weren’t fucking around, the Senate voted 67-32 to move the bill on, with the one missing GOP voter being in favor of the bill, which would make the final total 68-32.
Here’s why this is so important to both Biden and the Democrats. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared at a closed door meeting on Inauguration night of 2008, and swore to make then President Barack Obama a one term President. And the key to that was in obstructing anything that Obama tried to do. And while he failed in his mission, McConnell spent 8 years obstructing every single thing that Obama tried to do.
In 2016, McConnell was gifted with the ultimate prize. Control over not only the Senate, but the House and the White House. Universal governance. But the GOP House was totally incapable of governing, and all that McConnell could get through was a shitload of judges, and Trump0’s uber rich giveaway via budget reconciliation.
And then came Biden, with the promise of bipartisanship in Washington, promising to make Washington work for the people again. And McConnell’s only path to 2022 was obstruction. And McConnell tried, Lord knows he tried. Nut then he ran up against a wall.
After the Capitol insurrection of January 6th, the Democrats proposed a 9/11 style non partisan commission to investigate it. This was sunlight to the GOP vampire, since it would expose Trump’s role in instigating it, McConnell personally begged his caucus to vote down the measure with a filibuster. And they did.
But McConnell burned his last favor. He has a caucus with several vulnerable Senators up for reelection in 2020, and they have nothing to take home to campaign on. And along comes Biden, and the Senate Democrats, with a proposal for a massive bipartisan infrastructure package. Infrastructure is something that everybody can agree on, because it brings home the bacon to every state.
The GOP Senators voted in droves to pass the legislation, and even McConnell himself voted to advance it. And in doing so, McConnell raised the white flag of surrendered on his dictum of nonstop obstruction. Because the passage of this bill through the Senate is going to be wildly popular with the constituents of his Senators.
In order to keep your faith intact, make sure it remains unsullied by fact. McConnell’s faith was pure obstructionism, but now he has been forced by Biden to let the Senate function as it was intended to. The GOP Senators are going to be lauded in their home states for getting something done. And many GOP Senators such as Collins, Murkowski and Rubio actually joined the Senate with a desire to govern.
From where I’m sitting, McConnell’s vote to advance the legislation today was a ceremonial bow that the era of GOP obstruction was over. It won’t be quick or painless, but once the Senate gets used to actually passing legislation, Senators like Murkowski, Collins, and Ernst are going to feel emboldened. Tonight, Mitch McConnell lost control of his caucus.
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I get it, lets face it people like things getting done and 12 years of fuck all getting done because of trump and mcturtle. mcturtle has to bend a little, the contractors in kentucky need the mcturtle contracts. the asian contractors his wife depends on are waiting for their payouts. mcturtle cant keep the spigots of money off for too long or his masters will be upset.
McConnell is effectively finished as a political force going forward. Since his fall two years ago, he hasn’t really been the same since. Worse yet for him, he bet it all on Trump and lost it all and now has no successor to his power. With that development does the last true leadership among GOP congress critters die. Wonder who Liz Cheney has in mind for his successor.
Perhaps he finally gives a damn about the safety of his constituents and knows crumbling roads and bridges will kill them along with everyone else’s. Nah, there’s something in it for him or he wouldn’t do it.
The failure of the GOP to pass an infrastructure bill in 2017/2018 will remain to me one of the biggest unforced errors in modern political history.
There are plenty of shrewd GOP Congressmen who had to know that Trump was too incompetent to build his own plan, and that the path was to write their own and let him take credit and then leverage it as a group win.
How…hooooooooowwwww did McConnell not get that done? He loves being a behind the scenes puppet master. He could have written the bill in closed door discussions, let Trump present it in Trumpism fashion, then have a solid win to run on in the midterms.
There’s a decent chance of they got that done, and if jobs were being created in PA, WI and GA, we’d be in a second Trump term…and as scary as that is for those of us on the left, I think that’s a solid political calculation that they could have increased their odds of winning through infrastructure.
Whatever…we’ve picked up the ball. Let’s pass this, then use it to win seats for our side. Their loss, our gain.
I’m pretty positive after this bill gets signed by President Biden, Yertle will revert to his true form. It’d be great to be wrong on this one but I doubt I am.