Our majorities in the House and Senate are already tenuous.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

They are contingent on Joe Biden's agenda being passed. The rest is commentary. "We must stand together or surely we will hang separately."

[Voltaire2]

1. however, 'stand together' has to be about transformative change.

If instead we only pass a roads and highways bill and ditch climate change/healthcare/etc. we will once again be the party of no spine that does nothing and we will once again get crushed in 2022.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I can't believe we are in a position where one party is no longer committed to democratic norms

And we are an election or two going the wrong way from becoming an authoritarian regime.

[Voltaire2]

3. the corporate kleptocracy is indifferent to authoritarianism.

So they are apparently fine with our descent into one party rule as long as they can keep feeding from the trough.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. They are committed to the status quo for sure.

Nothing would upset the status quo more than a slide into authoritarianism.

[Voltaire2]

6. I disagree on that.

As I said, as long as they can keep feeding off of the government they are just fine with one party rule. But please cite one example of the corporate elites standing up against a descent into rightwing authoritarianism. I can't think of any.

[Hortensis]

4. Our PARTY is committed to transformative change. The idea is

that a few elements on both the right and left who don't appreciate that, insisting the large majority are commited to either too much or too little, should not sabotage our chances to create great betterment for our people.

Given how dreadfully late it is, and how many years it takes to enable huge legislative efforts, many environmental experts worry that this is likely our last real chance to pass the legislation needed to combat climate change before it overwhelms us. Healthcare and every other issue will fall to climate devastions.

[Voltaire2]

7. Who on the left is opposed to passing climate change

legislation? Healthcare legislation?

This is not a both sides do it thing. There is opposition to the 3.5T build back better bill only from the right.

[Hortensis]

8. No one on the left is opposed to THAT. Some, tho, have opposed

what we might have gotten passed in the past and insisted on more than we could get because they felt it wasn't enough. Of course it wasn't -- scientifically.

Looking at congress, a very old and real pattern is a tendency for some among the more ardent left and right to see compromise as corruption, to push for more than others may agree to, and, if it doesn't work, sometimes to choose failure over settling. Sometimes the failure has happened not out of choice but because they didn't realize that, with the help of Republicans, it would turn out that way.

That's the single main reason our house liberals are separated into two very large caucuses, the New Dems and Progressives. Most are willing to compromise more if needed to achieve and unwilling to let opportunities die and come away with much less or nothing.

Pelosi's a very strong progressive warrior but one who always insists on achievement. She couldn't be speaker otherwise. She's a famously excellent cat herder, but everyone says congress has gone crazy, like nothing they've ever seen. We'll see.

Blowing up such truly historic legislation like this, something that could conceivably damage all our futures forever, would not be a normal working of the pattern.