How Biden's big win in the Senate could change America and reshape his fortunes

[babylonsister]

How Biden's big win in the Senate could change America and reshape his fortunes
Stephen Collinson Profile
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN
Updated 3:07 AM ET, Mon August 8, 2022


(CNN)If the US House soon passes the Senate's landmark climate change and health care bill, it will help validate the Democrats' monopoly on political power in Washington and hand Joe Biden a notable presidential legacy ahead of November's midterm elections.

The measure finally squeezed through the Senate after an exhausting and dramatic round-the-clock marathon that stretched into Sunday afternoon -- a major breakthrough following months of Democratic infighting that gouged deep divides in the party.

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In a goal Democrats have been chasing for decades, the legislation will for the first time give Medicare the power to negotiate the cost of a limited basket of prescription drugs, thereby bringing down costs. In extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, it could save health care coverage for countless people. And in spending nearly $370 billion to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, it goes most of the way to reaching Biden's ambitious plans to create a clean energy economy. The bill could also help revive US global leadership in the quest to save the planet by prodding other nations to follow suit.

The victory is all the more remarkable since it was achieved against vehement GOP opposition in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats had no room for error. Democrats spent months negotiating with themselves, as moderate senators like West Virginia's Joe Manchin and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema extracted concessions that progressives had little choice but to accept to save the bill. Coal state senator Manchin revived the measure after reversing his opposition late last month and agreeing to a clean energy push in return for concessions on fossil fuels.

more...

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/08/politics/senate-bill-win-for-biden-analysis/index.html

[DFW]

1. Maybe it was just the converging of the stars into the correct alignment, but maybe more, too

The special election in Georgia in January 2001 that flipped the two Senate seats in Georgia to the Democrats was the last piece in the puzzle that unlocked what seemed to doom Joe Biden to a gridlocked, do-nothing Congress the moment he took office. Even McTurtle seemed dumbstruck for a couple of days, and it took him more than a few moments to grasp that he no longer was Majority Leader in the Senate.

But there was no one more versed than Moscow Mitch in the intricate workings of the Senate--except Joe Biden. He had been a Senator for decades, knew what buttons to press, and which ones were useless. He knew how much he'd probably have to give up, and knew when to stop gnashing his teeth, and draw the line in the sand.

Whatever Manchin and Sinema were up to, he'd been there, seen that--dozens of times. He had made his own mistakes, and learned from them, too. Finally, there was his own character, the secret weapon too often ignored. There was a good reason he was known for decades as "the poorest Senator." At age 79, he is certainly not looking out to amass some kind of fortune, waiting for him to comfortably live out a life of luxury for a couple of decades after his time in office. Bill Clinton famously said after leaving office, "I've been poor and I've been rich, and I like rich better." Joe Biden has never lived in deep poverty, as Clinton had, but he had never had wealth, either. The thing to remember is that he never aspired to it. Therefore, there was NOTHING that his opposition could tempt him with except going along.

After all the (admittedly clever) Republican-inspired media campaign that Joe Biden was just too old, too tired, too devoid of energy to really be effective as president, that he was just a one-term caretaker to give us a rest from the disastrous, incompetent chaos of Trump--the country and the world discovered something. There was a reason that Joe Biden wasn't at the microphone protesting that it wasn't true, the reason he didn't have his spokespeople denying it 24/7. That reason was that, since actions speak louder than words, that he would let the Republicans as well as his opposition from the left THINK that all their propaganda would have the Lenin-Göbbels effect: "a lie, shouted often enough and loud enough, becomes the truth." Instead, he just quietly played out his game, and waited for the right moment. This was his moment.

In 2017, in Germany, the opposition to Angela Merkel incessantly used the phrase "alt und verbraucht," or "old and used up," to describe her, in the hope that they could distract from the good job she was doing. There will be more lies about Joe Biden, and they will be shouted often and loudly, but this time, they weren't often enough or loud enough, and they didn't become the truth.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. Well stated

Joe has quietly gone about his plans without much fanfare. With a 50-50 Senate he knew radical policy change wasn't going to be possible, but that didn't deter him. It started with the American Rescue plan, he was able to get the moderates on board and that bill was kept mostly intact. Then the Bipartisan infrastructure deal passed with very little praise from the media. He brought the sides together for a bill that was sorely needed and long over due.

Then the magic started. The stars aligned for a couple weeks. A bipartisan semi conductor bill was passed. The largest investment in a single sector of the economy in decades. He had to know Schumer and Manchin were putting a deal together behind the scenes, but he pressured Reps into getting the Burn Pit Bill passed. Then the very night it passes, Manchin and Schumer announce a deal. The timing was a signal that Dems were done playing nice.

And then he kills Al Zawahir all the while beating Covid. Then a jobs report is released that signals recession talk was too soon. All the while gas prices continue to fall.

There is plenty to criticize in all of the bills. But together, those 5 bills (3 major, 2 medium sized) are the accomplishments of any 2 presidents combined since FDR, and Joe did it in 18 months. To have 3 of the 5 be bipartisan is what Joe promised he'd be able to do. Just remarkable. All with a 50-50 Senate, no other President could have gotten half as much done.

[babylonsister]

3. Yes, he's been criticized for everything under the sun,

was woefully underestimated, and BAM! I always liked Joe but did not really want him as prez, did not know how these 4 years would go, but am so damned happy his experience and steadfastness served him and us so well.

[calimary]

4. Hopefully some of those deniers will finall open their eyes

… and maybe stop intaking do much bad medicine from Pox Noise.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. Strange characterization: "Democrats' monopoly on political power in Washington"

A monopoly is characterized by being able to dictate its relevant market, regardless of would-be competitors. Last time I looked, Democrats have barely enough in the Senate to squeeze bills through even with exhaustive negotiations.

Elect more Democrats and see good things happen in your neighborhood.