Finally dems are standing up to the lunatics on the left
WASHINGTON —
For all the ire directed by liberal activists at two moderate senators who in recent weeks scuttled President Biden’s most ambitious plans, Democratic members of Congress increasingly cast blame on another duo for the failures, raising questions about whether the party can resurrect the centerpiece of its agenda.
Some frustrated Democrats say strategic blunders by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain were, in large part, to blame for Biden failing to win passage of a massive social spending and climate plan. The men too frequently sought to appease progressives and their allied groups while antagonizing the moderates needed to pass the legislation, known as Build Back Better, they say.
After that bill died in December, leaving Democrats reeling, Schumer and Klain doubled-down on the same strategy, pivoting to a quixotic showdown over voting rights that further alienated the moderate lawmakers they still need to revive at least part of the spending plan.
The two leaders played “more to public interest groups than the needs of the U.S. Senate,” a Democratic senator said. The senator was one of 20 Democratic lawmakers and administration officials who were interviewed for this story, most speaking on condition of anonymity to candidly discuss what they described as the party’s legislative missteps.
Those officials said the progressive-first strategy ultimately soured many Democrats on Capitol Hill on the ability of the White House and Schumer to rescue the social spending plan and has left them feeling rudderless as they seek a path to resurrect portions of the plan in a new bill. They described Klain and Schumer as particularly tight partners who speak several times a day, share a disinclination to delegate responsibilities to staff and have guided the Biden agenda in lockstep in recent months.
To some involved in the negotiations, the Zoom call and Biden’s reality check wasn’t just an episode of mixed signals. It was emblematic of the same magical thinking that characterized Klain and Schumer’s approach over the last several months — a faulty assumption they would eventually win over the moderate holdouts in their own party without scaling down their policy goals, which would have meant disappointing progressive lawmakers and activist groups but potentially securing the 50 Senate votes needed to pass the legislation.
“They just won’t take the hits,” said a Democratic lawmaker. “They tell everyone what they want to hear and they’re afraid to take the hits from activist groups, whether it’s on voting rights or other policy areas. And if no one is willing to take the hits, it’s anarchy.”
The scale of Democrats’ ambitious agenda was always hard to reconcile with their razor-thin congressional majorities, putting Biden’s big plans on the precipice of failure from the get-go. In an evenly divided Senate — Democrats have a majority thanks only to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote — they could not afford to lose a single vote if they hoped to pass what started out as a $3.5-trillion wish list of Democratic initiatives.
www.latimes.com
WASHINGTON —
For all the ire directed by liberal activists at two moderate senators who in recent weeks scuttled President Biden’s most ambitious plans, Democratic members of Congress increasingly cast blame on another duo for the failures, raising questions about whether the party can resurrect the centerpiece of its agenda.
Some frustrated Democrats say strategic blunders by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain were, in large part, to blame for Biden failing to win passage of a massive social spending and climate plan. The men too frequently sought to appease progressives and their allied groups while antagonizing the moderates needed to pass the legislation, known as Build Back Better, they say.
After that bill died in December, leaving Democrats reeling, Schumer and Klain doubled-down on the same strategy, pivoting to a quixotic showdown over voting rights that further alienated the moderate lawmakers they still need to revive at least part of the spending plan.
The two leaders played “more to public interest groups than the needs of the U.S. Senate,” a Democratic senator said. The senator was one of 20 Democratic lawmakers and administration officials who were interviewed for this story, most speaking on condition of anonymity to candidly discuss what they described as the party’s legislative missteps.
Those officials said the progressive-first strategy ultimately soured many Democrats on Capitol Hill on the ability of the White House and Schumer to rescue the social spending plan and has left them feeling rudderless as they seek a path to resurrect portions of the plan in a new bill. They described Klain and Schumer as particularly tight partners who speak several times a day, share a disinclination to delegate responsibilities to staff and have guided the Biden agenda in lockstep in recent months.
To some involved in the negotiations, the Zoom call and Biden’s reality check wasn’t just an episode of mixed signals. It was emblematic of the same magical thinking that characterized Klain and Schumer’s approach over the last several months — a faulty assumption they would eventually win over the moderate holdouts in their own party without scaling down their policy goals, which would have meant disappointing progressive lawmakers and activist groups but potentially securing the 50 Senate votes needed to pass the legislation.
“They just won’t take the hits,” said a Democratic lawmaker. “They tell everyone what they want to hear and they’re afraid to take the hits from activist groups, whether it’s on voting rights or other policy areas. And if no one is willing to take the hits, it’s anarchy.”
The scale of Democrats’ ambitious agenda was always hard to reconcile with their razor-thin congressional majorities, putting Biden’s big plans on the precipice of failure from the get-go. In an evenly divided Senate — Democrats have a majority thanks only to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote — they could not afford to lose a single vote if they hoped to pass what started out as a $3.5-trillion wish list of Democratic initiatives.
With Biden's agenda hanging by a thread, Democrats question their leaders' strategy
Following defeats on big bills, Democrats on Capitol Hill are frustrated with their own leaders and uncertain who will step up to save Biden's agenda.
www.latimes.com
