After months of D.C. Democrats being in disarray, they finally got a win last week for President Biden's agenda when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was, at last, able to bring Biden's infrastructure plan to the floor for a vote and deliver it to successful passage.
But Pelosi's win is not her own, nor solely a win that can be credited to Democrats. No, 13 Republican members of the House of Representatives crossed over and voted "yes" on the more than $1 trillion package that's full of woke nonsense aimed at institutionalizing the left's ludicrous dream for the future.
The Republican cooperation with Pelosi in the House last week mirrors what Republicans in the U.S. Senate did in August — they handed Biden a win when he really needed one. They rescued Pelosi from months of being bogged down with infighting between the progressive members of her caucus and more moderate Democrats after she'd lacked the support necessary to pass the bill for months.
Even worse, the GOP's turncoats in the House gave Pelosi a win while simultaneously handing the Squad and congressional Democrats bigger wins for them to flaunt to their disparate supporters.
For the six far-left members of the Squad who voted against their party on the infrastructure bill, 13 Republican "yes" votes gave them the cover they needed. Thanks to those Republicans, Squad members were able to vote "no" in order to preserve their frequently touted ideological purity while the bill could still pass. Now, the wokest of the woke members of Congress don't need to defend their actions to their leftist constituents. They can say they stayed true to their principles, however flawed they may be, and didn't help pass something that wasn't woke enough to appease their radical base.
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For Pelosi, Biden, and Schumer — really Democrats anywhere — the 13 Republican "yes" votes also needlessly handed them the ability to say in perpetuity that the infrastructure bill had bipartisan support. Republicans — even those who held the line and voted "no" — can no longer pin blame for the infrastructure bill's negative policies or lasting impact on Democrats alone.
Moving forward, as Biden continues pushing his agenda in Congress — namely the gargantuan social spending bill — he can claim that Republicans once supported his policies and so they must again. It seems there are some Democrats in the Senate who apparently care about the costs of the left's tax-and-spend legislation — namely West Virginia's Joe Manchin and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema — who may end up doing more to stop the Biden agenda than Republicans in the House when the budget is taken up.
Unfortunately, what's done is done. Republicans — both those who voted for Biden's infrastructure bill in the Senate in August and those in the House who voted with Pelosi this week — have given the Democrat House and Senate leadership and President Biden a win on infrastructure.
These Republicans who voted "yes" now own the new spending, useless projects, and nonsensical approaches as much as Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer do:
Senators Roy Blunt (MO), Richard Burr (NC), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Bill Cassidy (LA), Susan Collins (ME), Kevin Cramer (ND), Mike Crapo (ID), Deb Fischer (NE), Lindsey Graham (SC), John Hoeven (ND), Mitch McConnell (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rob Portman (OH), James Risch (ID), Mitt Romney (UT), Dan Sullivan (AK), Thom Tillis (NC), and Roger Wicker (MS), and Representatives Bacon (NE), Fitzpatrick (PA), Garbarino (NY), Gonzalez (OH), Katko (NY), Kinzinger (IL), Malliotakis (NY), McKinley (WV), Reed (NY), Smith (NJ), Upton (MI), Van Drew (NJ), and Young (AK).
In less than a year, the House and roughly one-third of the U.S. Senate will face voters in their districts and states who will decide whether they wish to have a Republican or a Democrat acting as their voice in Washington, D.C. On a larger level, voters will be choosing whether they want Republicans or Democrats to have control of the House and the Senate, both of which currently have slim Democratic majorities.
Sure, there's the logical argument that Republican voters should want their party in control of Congress to act as a check on Biden's agenda and to limit the damage Democrats can do. But for Republican voters who've watched the events of the last few months — especially those currently represented by Republicans who voted "yes" in line with Democrat leadership — will they still be confident that an "(R)" vote will stand against Biden's radical agenda?
This is not to say that Republicans would be better off voting for Democrats, but instead to say that enthusiasm to vote for Republicans is lessened each time a GOP member acts like a Democrat. The trust that's been lost can't be immediately replenished, but all Republicans now have slightly less than one year in which to make their case to the American people that they deserve to — and are able to — lead in Congress while standing up to President Biden, the Squad, and Democrats who want to accomplish fundamental change in our system of government.
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