Well, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are pretty much dragging their feet on a COVID relief package because it could give President Trump a legislative win before the election and better the chances of the GOP keeping the Senate. It makes sense. Democrats say they’re for the working man…by totally screwing him. Yet, a new development has occurred that could give Trump a legislative win before Election Day.
Moderate Democrats might go forward with a discharge petition to force a vote on a relief bill. These Democrats are from competitive districts, ones that are right-leaning that broke ranks during the 2018 Midterms. These Democrats are feeling pressure at home to get something done. The Senate game plan for Democrats has been blown up with the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, the conservative base will be jacked up as Republicans move to fill her vacancy—and nothing unites the GOP base more than getting a conservative judge on the Court. And everyone on the Hill knows the GOP will succeed. All loose ends are tied on the GOP side. All the more reason to pass the bill. I mean, it should’ve been done weeks ago, but RBG’s passing now upends any reason for delay. Trump is going to come out on top before Election Day, no matter what. Might as well give suffering families relief to make yourself look less of a total a** (via The Hill) [emphasis mine]:
A number of moderate House Democrats are on the cusp of endorsing a GOP resolution to force a vote on emergency aid for small businesses, according to sources familiar with the plan.
The centrist Democrats — currently numbering about a dozen — are "strongly considering" the act of signing on to a procedural measure, known as a discharge petition, designed to force floor action on legislation extending the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), said a senior Democratic aide associated with the Democrats' moderate wing.
That figure falls a handful short of the number of Democrats the Republicans need to reach 218 signatures on their discharge petition — the tally required to force legislation to the floor.
But the number is growing, said the aide, as party moderates — including front-line members facing tough reelections in November — become increasingly frustrated with the inability of party leaders to reach a deal with the White House on another round of coronavirus stimulus.
If those centrist Democrats do peel away to join the GOP's gambit, it could also have the political effect of undermining the hard-line negotiating strategy of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is seeking a comprehensive, $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package — and has refused to break it apart to vote on any piecemeal provisions.
Republicans have proposed extending unemployment benefits, signaled that they could be flexible on new spending, and there is unallocated money for food and school programs in past COVID relief packages. PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff brought this up in August, which triggered Pelosi. It exposed her position as being entirely political. She’s a horrible, horrible woman. Evil, really. And now her plan just got a bullet to the face. It’s dead. Her party will lose a SCOTUS fight before the 2020 election, and now there’s a growing revolt in the moderate wing of her party that could bring a legislative win to Trump as well.
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