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There is an old saying, sometimes attributed to former Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, which says: “When you have the voices, call the role. “ The opposite is also true: “If you don’t have the voices, don’t call the part.
Why put members of your own party at risk by voting for or against a bill that will never become law? It is a good and legitimate question. This is also where we are now in Washington.
The “progressive” of the Democratic Party want to vote on a $ 3.5 trillion bill to expand all kinds of social services. The problem is that there are no votes to pass it. So why put marginal and moderate Democrats at risk by voting on such a bill?
We already know that Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema (both Democrats) will vote “No” in the US Senate. Even if Nancy Pelosi can muster enough votes in the House to pass it, it would only be a “a house” bill, since there are not enough votes to pass in the Senate. With a tie between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, you can’t pass a bill there if even a Democrat desert the ship.
So why get him to vote? Because apparently that’s what the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is asking for.
What ideologically progressive Democrats don’t seem to understand is that putting such a single chamber bill to a vote in Congress will likely mean they are doomed to fall back into minority status in the midterm elections.
In my opinion, the only person able to avoid this political virtual certainty “Waterloo” is President Joe Biden. At least during decades of service in the United States Senate, he learned the arithmetic of the vote. It takes a majority in the Senate and the House to pass a bill to become law.
Somehow, Joe Biden will have to convince the strident progressives in his party to back down. The Senate has already passed (with some Republican support) a traditional infrastructure bill of around $ 1 trillion. This same or similar measure can easily be passed in the House, as long as the progressives do not hold it hostage to their hoped-for larger spending proposal.
“Common Joe” Biden is known over the years for his ability to compromise and get things done. After the debacle of the war in Afghanistan ends and the battle continues to get people vaccinated, he needs a victory in Congress on the lean, but important, infrastructure bill that has already been passed by the Senate.
It’s time for what old timers like me might call a “come to your senses” meet at the White House. Biden is expected to bring in progressive Democrats who could torpedo his traditional infrastructure bill. Promise Bernie Sanders and others like him to continue to support their quest for a wider expansion of social programs. But remind them of the current political reality they face: the biggest bill cannot be passed.
If they don’t take “half a loaf” with the reduced infrastructure bill, they are unlikely to get anything. Getting nothing is not going to sell well in the election campaign in 2022. Compromising now could make the difference in whether Democrats retain a majority in Congress in the next midterm election.
Rolland Kidder is a resident of Stow.
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