Build Back Better Bill

[gab13by13]

I am a 10 out of 10 blue blood progressive Democrat. With that said, I beg Democrats not to fall into this trap. The right wing narrative is going to be that president Biden's bill has been gutted. I beg Democrats not to inflate that narrative. I voted for McGovern for crying out loud but I am a realist. We got what we could get and we should push what we got and not cry about what we didn't get.

We can do better next time when we add Democratic Senate seats.

Passing these 2 bills is good news not bad news, rejoice and be glad, or don't and join the GQP narrative.

[FalloutShelter]

1. FDR faced the same resistance during the fight for SS

Take half a loaf and make the populace WANT, and clamor for, the rest of the loaf. Run in 2022 on getting them that whole loaf.
We need a bigger majority to get everything we want to help the American people.
As Obama said: Let's not make the perfect the enemy of the possible.

[gab13by13]

3. Exactly, Democrats need to get better at messaging.

I just shudder when I see posts here at DU bashing the Build Back Better Bill, it's as if people don't realize they are pushing right wing talking points. A bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush. There was a time when I thought that we weren't going to get anything.

[calimary]

31. Messaging is EVERYTHING.

[aocommunalpunch]

11. The possible is the catch.

What can you offer that we will rid ourselves of the next Manchin or Sinema? With the donor class in play, there is literally nothing to guarantee that. So, we work our asses off, but can have the rug pulled out at any time. The possible becomes unlikely unless the money is taken out. Otherwise, our dreams ("the possible&quot become irrelevant. This same scene will happen over and over again.

[FalloutShelter]

28. What happens over and over again... is Democrats

Allow themselves to be convinced by the MSM That they are playing a zero sum game. Thus Democrats are always dissatisfied by performance and sit out the mid- terms. That is why we do not have a bigger majority in the house. Look back over the history of mid terms when Dems had the whitehouse.
Deliver something and run on getting more.

[Budi]

2. K & R Thank You for saying this.

Consider where we started out Jan 20.
All that has been accomplished.
Passing this bill moves us forward & farther away from the brink. It puts even more distance in our rear view mirror, the horror of RW & Trump.

This bil is a still BFD

There should be NO one voting to keep that nightmare still close to us.

[gab13by13]

5. Exactly,

It wasn't that long ago when I felt we were in danger of getting nothing, and then we were in danger of only getting the infrastructure bill. Hey, we got both bills at a time in our political history when GQPers vote in lock step for party over country, that should be our narrative. Sure, Manchin and Sinema held us back but where is the conversation about GQPers voting for politics instead of voting for country. Maybe some of those reporters should start interviewing Republican Senators instead of focusing on Manchin and Sinema.

[Budi]

10. Yup. They needed a 'bad guy' to focus on 24/7, & to hide those who...

...those who are the real & constant opponants of Democracy.
They shielded every one of those names from view.

Pres Biden had 13 dignitaries chosen to accompany him to the Climate forum this week. He will now be going without them because the Repubs like Ted Cruz refused to bring their names up for nomination.

Biden's strong US representation will now be a small paltry show for global support at the COP26 starting Sun, Oct 31, 2021 – Fri, Nov 12, 2021.

It went from strong & proud support by the US as of Oct 14th:
Exclusive: Biden sending 13 cabinet members, high-level officials to UN climate summit in show of force.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/10/14/politics/biden-cabinet-members-attending-cop26-climate/index.html

To just Biden & a small showing.
Because of the intentional sabatogue by the Republicans to nominate the 13.

😕

THIS is why the passing of BBB is critical. It is a shove back to the oppressive RW.

And it is also full of some very good things to use as a starting point to immediately BUILD from.

Call the vote & pass it.

[Lovie777]

4. At this point in time . ...

I can careless about the GQPs and corporate media narrative because they suck. As painful and disgruntle these negotiations are, capitalism is in high gear. That said, in my opinion that this is how "Democracy works" with all the good, bad and ugly.

The Democratic Party is a huge tent.

[gab13by13]

7. Don't underestimate the power of the narrative.

It sways how people vote, it stops progress. The MSM is right wing so that means that Democrats need to work harder to get their messages out. Democrats need to keep pushing the insurrection and start using the word sedition more often.

Look how powerful the narrative is, I have an example, I have only seen one other DUer who knows the difference between a wall and a fence. Just a tiny example, but if you call Trump's fence a wall you are falling for the right wing narrative. Does something that seemingly insignificant make a difference? Why doesn't it? It is harder to justify spending billions of dollars for a stupid fence that blows down in the wind.

[Johnny2X2X]

6. 100% agree

I don't think the public realizes how little has been done for progressives in the last several decades. This BBB Bill will be hailed as the most progressive piece of legislation in generations.

The narrative even on DU is to tear it down, don't do that. This is an amazing bill. It's a historic bill that will make the lives of regular people better.

And we have time for some smaller bills in 2022, minimum wage can get done in a bi-partisan way for instance. Bottom line is delivering these packages for the working people will help us expand our advantage in the Senate and hold the House in 2022

Biden will have gotten 3 massive pieces of legislation passed in his first 10 months on the job. Each one more significant and impactful than anything Trump got done in 4 years. Infrastructure week came finally. The American rescue plan halved childhood poverty in the US. And the BBB plan is going to give families a leg up on their lives going forward. This has been the most successful forst year of a Presidency in US history, period.

[gab13by13]

8. Also, with these bills passed,

president Biden and Congress can spend all of their time pushing for the voting rights bills. Getting all of this accomplished would be sensational.

We need to be celebrating these 2 bills and then get to work on the voting rights/election bills.

[CentralMass]

9. If it walks like a duck.

[gab13by13]

14. Are you talking about the BBB Bill?

I'm not sure what you are saying? Democrats got something for working class Americans, their GQP opponents voted to give working families nothing. Isn't it the GQPers who we should be mad at?

[CentralMass]

15. Yes I am talking about the BBB. Justifying letting two Democratic Senators

effectively gut the bill doesn't fly. This is a win for monied interests.

[gab13by13]

18. So you ignore the 50 Republican Senators

and focus on the 2 Democratic Senators. That, sadly, will be the right wing narrative in the MSM.

[CentralMass]

20. It is a given that the GOP is going to do everything in their power to thwart

Biden's agenda. Having two democratic Senators act by proxy on their behalf is not acceptable.

[gab13by13]

22. It is a given,

does that mean they get a pass? Wouldn't it be more productive if we bash Senators in purple states for voting against working class families? Why don't we bash Rob Portman in Ohio or Ron Johnson in Wisconsin?

[CentralMass]

26. If I have a soccer team team with players kicking the ball into

Last edited Fri Oct 29, 2021, 11:32 AM - Edit history (1)

our goal, I dont blame the other team for the score.

[gab13by13]

29. Frankly, I don't think we can get a better player

for our team out of West Virginia than Manchin and that is a sad statement. Do you think the next Senator from WV will be better than Manchin?

I don't know what to say about Sinema without getting an alert, we can do better in Arizona.

No one at DU has been harder on Chuck Schumer than me. I even suggested having Speaker Pelosi trade places with him for 3 months. I am very disappointed in Chuck.

I probably had your exact attitude 2 months ago, but time is growing short and there is no guarantee if progressive Democrats hold out for a better bill that we will get anything. I am saying this because I believe that Democrats should have prioritized the voting rights/election bills from the start. It will soon be Kornacki time and then nothing gets done. I hate to say this but we need to move on to focus on these voter bills or the infrastructure, BBB bills won't matter when the GQP takes over.

[CentralMass]

35. Don't get me wrong, I like Biden and the efforts he has made

to put people first, even if accomplishing any of it is like pissing into the wind. However I have become deeply cynical of a political process that is controlled by monied interest both foreign and domestic. Being complacent or content with status quo policies of what those monied interest are going to let pass is nothing that I'm signing up for.

[gab13by13]

12. Politically this was a win for Democrats,

Democratic House and Senate candidates can push the fact that their opponents voted against helping working class families.

[Aviation Pro]

13. Exactly, this is not a one and done

Own this one Democrats, it will pay huge dividends starting first in Virginia.

[gab13by13]

16. I laughed when I read another thread

where someone said this will hurt Democrats in the election. I have an analogy for that person to think about.

So I give a homeless person a dollar and he asks, can you spare a 5? I show him that I only have a dollar. Another person comes by and the homeless person asks him for a 5 and he says fuck off get a job. Which person is that homeless person going to like, going to vote for?

[Patton French]

17. Definitely! (n/t)

[Wounded Bear]

19. Hard to do when the media keeps calling it "huge" and "massive" and a "spending bill"...

It really chapped my ass when Dems didn't defend their work on the ACA back in 2010 and lost the House for it.

Time to celebrate the successes we do get.

[gab13by13]

23. Exactly,

Democrats have to work harder to control the narrative and get their messages out since the MSM is right wing.

[Fla Dem]

21. The whole point of negotiations. Start out with the impossible "want list". Work from there.

What's brought this more into the spotlight is Manchin's and Sinema's singular efforts to delay and perhaps even destroy the bill. Very little negotiations but kowtowing to Big Pharma and the wealthy. Had we had just 2 more senators in our ranks, perhaps they could have been thrown on the trash heap of history.

So negotiations have brought the BBB to a predicted $1.75 and $2 Trillion from the original $3.5 T. It will still be one of the largest bills of it's kind. If Dems prevail in 2022, they may take steps to build on the BBB and get more of what was proposed.

But right now pass the bill.

[gab13by13]

24. What about,

Rick Scott and Marco Rubio working to destroy the bill? Scott and Rubio, from your state, wanted nothing, right? Can't that be the message in Florida?

[Fla Dem]

25. Of course it can, just like it can be in every state with an opposing Rebublican Senator.

But the bill has to be passed before we can start pointing fingers.

[hamsterjill]

27. "Next time when we add Democratic Senate seats"????

There’s not going to be a next time if we don’t get something passed that people are happy with. Not some willy nilly crap that isn’t half of what was promised.

This is not like FDR. It’s a different time and different circumstance.

Republicans are waiting in the wings and there won’t be another election giving us the opportunity to add more Senate seats. Is anyone paying attention to what is happening in Texas? The Republicans entirely plan to instill Trump back in office in 2024 and it’s not going to matter who wins because they are fixing the election laws so that they just pick the winner regardless. Then, there will be no democracy.

Sound scary? Yes, it is.

[gab13by13]

32. Having Democrats bash what finally does get passed

will not help us win seats.

I agree that Democrats should have prioritized the voting/election protection bills, and I agree that if we don't get these passed it won't matter what kind of BBB bill we pass. I wanted Chuck Schumer to break up S1 into individual bills and bring them up for votes rapid fire one after the other and when Republicans voted down every reasonable bill I would have gone to Manchin and said we are doing a carve out for S1, you are either for democracy or against it.

If we do as you say and keep fighting for a BBB bill that every Democrat will like we won't have time to pass S1 and the John Lewis voting rights bills. I am a 10 out of 10 progressive Democrat but I will applaud whatever BBB bill Democrats are able to pass so we can move on to voting legislation.

[hamsterjill]

37. I'm not ready to move on.

There are things that interest me that were to be done and are being ignored in these bills and I intend to keep talking about that. I hope that’s okay with you. If it’s not, then you might want to put me on ignore.

I’m not very good at “moving on”. You go ahead. I hold people accountable for what they tell me they will do.

[leftstreet]

36. Well, there's the 16 cent savings on July 4 cookouts

Link to tweet

?s=20

A vote getter right there

[hamsterjill]

38. Well, there you have it then!!!

Sixteen cents? I am SO impressed.

Around here, however, I could have been promised 35-cents and been told that I should be elated when, after negotiation, I got 16. Or better yet, that my next door neighbor got 16 and I got nothing, but that Id better be a good sport and be happy for him.

Guess I’m just a greedy person for wanting what was promised.

That’s the way I feel about these bills.

[Sienna86]

30. Amen.

Agree totally. In early 2023, it will be so much better.

[zaj]

33. 💯

[traitorsgalore]

34. Good news for whom and for what? Read entire thread, not 1 thing mentioned

Name the good things in the bill.

[questionseverything]

39. There's the problem... no one knows what is actually in the bill yet

It’s still being negotiated

How in the world can people support passing it when no one knows what’s in it?

[Hortensis]

40. I don't believe all the Democrats reporting on agreements

they've arrived at in their area of legislation are lying or badly mistaken. And sure, there may well be adjustments anyway, but most people believe we have some very good ideas of what's liable to be in the bill.

There seem to be two repsonses to all the news of progress today and one is very happy and eager for the final bill and the other is...not. I'm sure, though, that the second, happily small, group wants Democrats to succeed every bit as much but are rejecting updates all day for self protection because they just can't bear any more disappointment.

[wellst0nev0ter]

41. Progressives appear ready to pass $1.75T

The only question is if the radical minority in our caucus will stop being bad actors and get in line with Biden's agenda.