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Progressives See Victory As Friday Ends Without a Vote on Biden's Agenda Items

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 01, 2021 11:59 PM

After a week of disarray, disunity, and confusion among the Democrats, there was no vote on the infrastructure bill or on reconciliation, on Thursday or Friday. And to think that at one point people thought the infrastructure bill might come up for a vote even earlier in the week, on Monday. 

This comes after President Joe Biden went to the Capitol on Friday afternoon to visit with House Democrats after they called on his help. As is apparent from how there has been no vote, it was a dud. The president himself even said to reporters that "it doesn't matter when" these items get passed.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday did pass a 30 day stopgap measure by a vote of 365-51, Cristina Marcos reported for The Hill. The short-term extension is necessary to fund construction programs for actual infrastructure items like highways and transit, which expired on Thursday.

A "Dear Colleague" press release from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) herself referenced the expiration when announcing on Sunday night that Thursday had been for when the vote was supposed to take place.

Considering that it was Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who has been consistent that the infrastructure bill did not have enough votes from progressives to pass, it makes sense that progressives would be considered victorious. They definitely have leverage. That wing of the Democratic Party considers infrastructure and reconciliation to be linked, as a matter of that leverage.

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In his memo for The Hill, "Progressives exult in new-found power," Nial Stanage discusses further what the progressives are working with:

Progressives don’t want to back the more modest infrastructure bill unless they can be sure there will be action on the larger package. This stance has placed them in stark opposition to centrist House Democrats led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) who have long sought to de-link the two proposals. 

President Biden went to Capitol Hill to talk to Democrats on Friday afternoon, but he is said to have applied no real pressure to pass the smaller bill immediately.

The bottom line is that the progressives have won this battle of wills — at least for now. 

“For the first time in a considerable period we have seen progressives stand together and demand something,” Corbin Trent, a former communications director for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), told this column. Trent now runs a progressive political action committee, No Excuses.

People across the left praised the head of the Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and her colleagues for standing firm — or as their own slogan put it, holding the line.

Mark Longabaugh, who worked as a senior adviser to Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, told this column: “One of the things that progressives have lacked in the past is a certain toughness in their political game. Now progressives are displaying it.”

Longabaugh added: “A lot of us were worried that they were going to blink — and they didn’t. I think they have the upper hand now.”

...

“You can trace and track the change for at least 20 years,” said progressive strategist Jonathan Tasini. “But certainly the two Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns have emboldened and strengthened the progressive hand.”

Tasini added that, with respect to the big social spending bill, “you could not have imagined Joe Biden producing this kind of bill 20 years ago.”

There are many hurdles yet to clear. But progressives believe they are on the cusp of a huge win.

Another progressive, Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), who doesn't even believe having a price tag on reconciliation is important, certainly seemed happy based on his tweets and retweets.

Jones also mocked the reaction from Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solver's Caucus. Gottheimer had called the delayed vote "deeply regrettable" and said that the speaker had "breached a firm, public commitment."

Another moderate, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who has called out progressive Democrats on their anti-Semitism, actually apologized for being optimistic that there would actually be a purpose and a point to negotiations. 

When he says he was being "optimistic," he wasn't kidding.

Mike Lillis and Scott Wong mention disgruntled Democrats in their own reporting for The Hill, a piece aptly titled "Progressives cheer, moderates groan as Biden visit caps chaotic week." The progressives are the ones with "a clear victory," according to Lillis and Wong. 

As they reported:

And Biden’s message was met with exasperation from the party’s moderates, who had twice been promised an infrastructure vote this week, only to see Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) punt on both occasions. Leaving the meeting, they weren’t mincing words in expressing their disappointment.

“Manchin and Sinema — should we just call them co-president at this point,” said one frustrated Democrat. “Is that what it’s come down to?”

...

“It was a good meeting; I just wish it happened a month ago,” said a House Democrat, noting that Biden did not stay to field any questions. “The White House Legislative Affairs team leaves a lot to be desired.”

A moderate Democrat pushing for a quick infrastructure vote was less generous, suggesting the pep rally with Biden was pointless.

"Why are we having a conversation again if there's not a change in status, right? Why would we sit, why would we have an hourlong meeting to talk about all the things we agree on and then not decide on doing anything new?" said vulnerable Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).

Asked what the point of the meeting was, Spanberger replied: "I'm unsure."

Speaker Pelosi's office released a "Dear Colleague" press release on Friday night. The opening is so full of fake cheer it's actually kind of terrifying:

Today, President Biden honored us with his first in-person visit to our Caucus.  He received a hero’s welcome!  His presentation on the values of the Biden vision was warmly and enthusiastically received.  We look forward to a successful enactment of the Build Back Better Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.

While great progress has been made in the negotiations to develop a House, Senate and White House agreement on the Build Back Better Act, more time is needed to complete the task.  Our priority to create jobs in the health care, family and climate agendas is a shared value.  Our Chairs are still working for clarity and consensus.  Clearly, the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill will pass once we have agreement on the reconciliation bill.

In the Senate all eyes have been on Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who dare to have misgivings about so much spending. It's not merely about fiscal responsibility; one could say it's about fiscal sanity. Townhall has also covered some of the particularly ridiculous hot takes and reactions to Manchin and Sinema.