"Democratic leaders had linked the two: The infrastructure bill would pass only when the larger reconciliation package, which will take weeks or months to write, was ready for a vote. This way, the centrists, who want the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, would have a stake in the passage of the reconciliation package, which Democratic liberals and progressives want. As long as both are still on the table, each side has something big to lose if they fail to advance. The centrists are trying to break this linkage, and in so doing give themselves all the leverage in the upcoming reconciliation bill negotiations.
"Their
gambit is unlikely to work; far more than nine House progressives have
pledged to reject the $1 trillion infrastructure plan until the
reconciliation bill is ready. If the centrists got their immediate vote
on the infrastructure bill, it would likely fail. That would be a
disaster for the nation, which needs both investment in roads and rails
and assurance that the political system can still sometimes work.
Centrists’ energy would be far better spent negotiating the
reconciliation package than on insisting that progressives unilaterally
disarm." -- the Washington Post editorial board, explaining the tactics and the stakes involved, should the 9 "centrist" Democrats succeed in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by bollixing up the legislative process for passing the infrastructure plan and reconciliation bill. The 9 are Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Carolyn Bourdeaux of Georgia, Filemon
Vela, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Jared Golden of
Maine, Ed Case of Hawaii, Jim Costa of California and Kurt Schrader of
Oregon. If any of them is your congressperson and you haven't already contacted them to get on board with Speaker Pelosi, now is the time to do it.
BONUS: Here's how one progressive group is confronting them --
NEW: Progressives (@WorkingFamilies, @IndivisibleTeam, @sunrisemvmt, and Organize For Justice) launch six figure ad-buy targeting nine obstructionist Democrats blocking Biden infrastructure deal pic.twitter.com/hV8TIiNlox
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) August 23, 2021
