“Politics is the art of the possible.” This quote is attributed to Otto von Bismarck, the prime minister of Prussia and founder and first chancellor of the German Empire. Bismarck’s 1867 observation about politics and policy remains apropos today. In a representative democracy, officeholders can usually only bring about substantial policy change when they enact legislation. The ability to pass laws is traditionally hampered by political opponents who have a different policy prescription to the problems faced. Therefore, in an effort to capture the votes necessary to pass a proposed measure into law, officeholders must compromise with opponents on the details of legislation. This process of negotiating with opponents and reaching a compromise is the “art” of politics. Lawmakers must set aside what they consider perfect policy for the reality of what can get passed.
Over two months ago, on August 10th, the Senate passed a historic $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The legislation would rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure with funding for roads, bridges, rail, transit and the electric grid. In addition, the legislation would fund new climate resilience and broadband initiatives across America.
At a time when division and polarization are at record highs, the infrastructure bill passed the Senate with a vote of 69 to 30. 19 Senate Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), voted for the legislation.
Senator McConnell, who previously said he was “100 percent” focused on “stopping” Biden's agenda, said he was “proud” to support the infrastructure deal and, “prove that both sides of the political aisle can still come together around common-sense solutions.”
No sooner did the Senate pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that could reshape America for decades, did House progressives kill a vote on the bill in their chamber. Revolting against Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), liberal Democrats said they would not vote for the infrastructure bill until the Senate passed a larger social spending package.
“We’re in the same place we’ve always been,” explained Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the leader of the Congressional Progressive. “We will not be able to vote for the infrastructure bill until the reconciliation bill has passed,” she said.
Back in June, Senate Democrats released the framework for their $3.5 trillion social spending package. The legislation included funding for Medicare, paid family and medical leave, free universal preschool, free community college, climate initiatives and much more. Knowing they would not get any Republican votes for the package, Senate Democrats planned to pass the legislation through a process known as budget reconciliation. Budget reconciliation allows certain spending bills to pass the Senate with just a simple majority vote and not be subject to the filibuster. With the Senate even divided between Democrats and Republicans, Democrats need every vote in their caucus to pass their social spending package.
Here is where the rubber meets the road. Moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) said the proposed $3.5 trillion social spending package was too expensive and they would not vote for it. As a result of Manchin and Sinema not supporting the $3.5 trillion bill, House progressives dug in their heels and refused to vote for the Senate passed bipartisan infrastructure bill.
House Progressives hoped that by holding off voting for the infrastructure bill after it passed the Senate, they would force Senate Democrats to pass the $3.5 trillion social spending bill first. This bold and aggressive move does not appear to have paid off.
Yesterday, President Biden reportedly told Democrats in a private meeting that they should aim for a social spending package between $1.75 trillion and $1.9 trillion, far less than progressives were calling for. Biden’s proposed price tag is right in line with what Senator Manchin called for in June, when he told Jonathan Karl of ABC News that he would likely vote for a package between $1 and $2 trillion.
In the four months since Senator Manchin outlined what he was willing to vote for, he has faced a barrage of attacks from liberals on cable news and progressive members of Congress. Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) called Senator Joe Manchin "the new Mitch McConnell" and The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson authored a piece headlined, "Manchin is setting himself up to be the villain in this fairytale." Of course, neither of these attacks are accurate and now it looks like all Democrats will be voting for is a package inline with what Senator Manchin had been calling for all along.
Of course, the attacks on Manchin never threatened to hurt him politically. Senator Manchin is the only Democrat elected statewide in West Virginia - a state former President Trump won by almost 40 points in 2020. Getting attacked by Democrats is gold for Manchin. It shows his mostly White, Republican, working class base that he is standing up for them and preventing socialism from overtaking their communities.
Instead of liberals attacking Senator Manchin, they should spend their time trying to get more Democrats elected to the Senate. Democrats should be grateful that Senator Manchin caucus with their party, because without him, they would be in the minority and Republicans would likely prevent Biden’s entire agenda from getting passed.
While liberals likely helped Senator Manchin by attacking him, their refusal to pass the bipartisan infrastructure deal has negatively impacted President Biden. A new Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday, shows President Biden’s favorability rating falling below that of Donald Trump’s. Just 37% of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing as president, with 52% disapproving. Back in February, 52% of registered voters approved of Biden’s performance as president.
While there are many factors that can explain Biden’s decline in favorability - from the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan to a surge in COVID cases this summer - Biden would have undoubtedly benefited from Congress passing his infrastructure bill. Even though the $1.2 trillion package does not include Biden’s entire agenda, Americans of all political stripes say the U.S. needs to fix its roads, bridges and public transportation systems.
Biden could have spent the two last month campaigning around the country touting the new investments being made in communities large and small thanks to his leadership and historic vision. Instead, because progressives refused to go along and vote for the infrastructure bill, the President is squabbling with members of his own party as Americans question if Washington can get anything done.
While it remains very unclear whether Democrats will reach a deal on a scaled down social spending package, House progressives would be wise to vote on the Senate passed, bipartisan infrastructure bill. The legislation includes historic investment in infrastructure that would benefit all American communities. The legislation would provide $65 billion to expand high-speed internet access; $110 billion for roads and bridges; $25 billion for airports and the most funding for Amtrak since it was founded in 1971. It also includes $73 billion to update the nation’s electricity grid so it can carry more renewable energy, $7.5 billion to build electric vehicle charging stations, $17.5 billion for clean buses, and $15 billion for removing lead pipes.
I admire progressives fighting for their communities, but they should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Just as Otto von Bismarck said in 1867, “politics is the art of the possible” and now is the time to show the American people what is possible by passing this bill. By passing the infrastructure bill, Democrats will show Americans that when you put them in power, Washington goes to work for the American people.
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