basquebromance
Diamond Member
- Nov 26, 2015
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April Fool's came early for these 2 liberal publications!
jacobinmag.com
excerpts:
Joe Manchin is an odd Democrat.
This is true in a banal sense, in that the West Virginia senator is far more conservative than the median member of his party on a whole host of issues. At present, Manchin is directly blocking the passage of progressive gun safety, voting rights, and minimum wage bills, and indirectly obstructing just about every other item on President Biden’s agenda, by opposing substantial reforms to the legislative filibuster.
But on infrastructure, Manchin is a different kind of strange. Whenever the subject comes up, the man’s mood grows lighter, his eyes grow wider, and a wee bit of socialism creeps into his heart. Manchin has a keen appreciation for how important the New Deal’s public-works projects were to his region’s development, and how much his constituents stand to benefit from federal investment in rural broadband, roads, and bridges. For months now, he’s been touting his interest in a “$4 trillion” infrastructure bill — a figure markedly higher than any Biden floated on the campaign trail or since. In an interview with the Bipartisan Policy Center in February, Manchin likened the scale of his desired infrastructure package to that of the New Deal or Dwight Eisenhower’s federal highway bill.
At the time, it was unclear how seriously to take Manchin’s pronouncements; in the very same interview, the senator expressed reservations about the American Rescue Plan’s $1.9 trillion price tag. Meanwhile, Manchin was insisting that Democrats take a bipartisan approach to the infrastructure package. And yet, he was also insisting that the multitrillion-dollar bill be “paid for” with large tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, a requirement that would render bipartisanship impossible.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/03/joe-manchin-may-be-pulling-biden-left-on-infrastructure.html
To Save America, Help West Virginia
Wielding a pivotal Senate seat at a moment when the Biden administration is prepared to spend trillions on fixing the climate, West Virginia is now in a position to make huge demands of the Democratic Party. We can’t let a blend of woke neoliberalism and elite condescension get in the way.
jacobinmag.com
excerpts:
Joe Manchin is an odd Democrat.
This is true in a banal sense, in that the West Virginia senator is far more conservative than the median member of his party on a whole host of issues. At present, Manchin is directly blocking the passage of progressive gun safety, voting rights, and minimum wage bills, and indirectly obstructing just about every other item on President Biden’s agenda, by opposing substantial reforms to the legislative filibuster.
But on infrastructure, Manchin is a different kind of strange. Whenever the subject comes up, the man’s mood grows lighter, his eyes grow wider, and a wee bit of socialism creeps into his heart. Manchin has a keen appreciation for how important the New Deal’s public-works projects were to his region’s development, and how much his constituents stand to benefit from federal investment in rural broadband, roads, and bridges. For months now, he’s been touting his interest in a “$4 trillion” infrastructure bill — a figure markedly higher than any Biden floated on the campaign trail or since. In an interview with the Bipartisan Policy Center in February, Manchin likened the scale of his desired infrastructure package to that of the New Deal or Dwight Eisenhower’s federal highway bill.
At the time, it was unclear how seriously to take Manchin’s pronouncements; in the very same interview, the senator expressed reservations about the American Rescue Plan’s $1.9 trillion price tag. Meanwhile, Manchin was insisting that Democrats take a bipartisan approach to the infrastructure package. And yet, he was also insisting that the multitrillion-dollar bill be “paid for” with large tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, a requirement that would render bipartisanship impossible.
