What’s Happening:
Biden and his cohorts in Congress talked a lot about unity. But they don’t seem to be putting the concept into practice.
Unity means we all work together and are in agreement, right? That’s not what Democrats in Congress are doing.
Clearly, they want to rule by brute force. They are forcing a new budget proposal through reconciliation, without input from Republicans.
But, because they are using the “nuclear option,” it gives old Mitch McConnell a trick up his sleeve.
From Fox News:
Senate Republicans are set to force Democrats to cast votes on a variety of potentially uncomfortable topics in the coming days, taking advantage of the rules of the budget reconciliation process Democrats are using to advance President Biden’s coronavirus stimulus plan while getting around a filibuster.
Because Democrats are using reconciliation to force a vote on the budget, it lets Republicans call for votes on a variety of issues.
McConnell and Senate Republicans will be hosting a “vote-a-rama” to force Democrats to take an official stance on issues that might hurt them politically.
Among the issues being voted on will be taxpayer-funded checks for illegal immigrants, taxes on small businesses, funding for schools that refuse to open, and so much more.
The point of these votes isn’t to get these issues passed, but to force Democrats to take a stand before the country.
Many of these issues are controversial or largely unpopular among Americans, even in blue states. Also, many Democrats come from red states and would rather not have to vote on these issues (including Joe Manchin and Sinema).
If they vote in favor of these issues, it could upset folks back home. But if they vote no, they will be outraging the growing leftist wing of the party.
Their best bet is to not vote, or vote “present” to avoid taking a stand. But that will also be like voting no on issues leftists support.
They stuck between a rock and a hard place, but hey, they did it to themselves.
Republicans wanted to negotiate a new budget and relief bill. Pelosi and Schumer just wanted to ram their agenda through.
Funny, how they kept talking about unity, huh? Unity only happens when people join around a common issue or belief.
But when Democrats refuse to even negotiate, unity looks more like a pipe dream.