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McConnell pledges battle over Biden infrastructure plan

36 Comments
By David Morgan

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To stop the never-ending, egregious mischief emanating from the Kentucky menace the Dems must prioritize putting Mitch back in his bottle of moonshine by nixing the filibuster, winning more seats in the Senate and, aiming high, pushing hard to abolish the EC and end the tyranny of the minority that for far too long has been making a mockery of American democracy.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

The Republican leadership are opposing this not out of any overriding principal or because they have a better plan, but simply to oppose it because it is coming from a President who isn't a member of their party. Don't forget Mr. McConnell is on the record as saying his job in Mr. Obama's first administration was to make sure he was a one term President. He is not interested in improving the lives of the people of the US or improving the competitiveness of the US economy. He is only interested in exercising power. Period.

Senate Democrats should restore the old rules for Filibusters that require a live Senator to physically occupy the dais and speak to prevent a vote from occurring, subject to a 2/3 majority vote to end debate. If the person on the dais cannot sustain the Filibuster, it ends. As it is today a Senator can simply state he or she is filibustering something. The founders of the US never envisioned a Senate where every legislative act required 2/3s of the Senate to concur. There were specific circumstances such as ratifying treaties and impeachment that require a 2/3 vote but the rest should be able to pass on a simple majority as the people who wrote the US Constitution intended.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

If there was ever proof that the Republican party are obstructionists, rather than an opposition with different opinions on how to meet the same goals, it's that even though the infrastructure package is extremely popular among the entire populace - even Republican voters - they pubs are going to obstruct.

Useless people.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

As a non-American I hope this passes as it will reduce America's competitiveness.

-9 ( +2 / -11 )

Remember when Republican Eisenhower funded the interstate highway system? Yeah, they used to believe in funding critical infrastructure both new and refurbishment (because they wear out.)

The public seems to agree with Joe and not w/ Mr. Mitch.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

So far this Infrastructure plan is connected to Infrastructure about as much as "COVID relief plan" was connected to COVID.

"Infrastructure" is now the following in Democrat land:

$400 billion for home- or community-based care for the elderly and people with disabilities

$180 billion for research and development, including investing $50 billion in the National Science Foundation and $35 billion "to achieve technology breakthroughs that address the climate crisis"

$100 billion in workforce development programs targeted at underserved groups, including $5 billion for violence prevention programs

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

Oh great, there is even a second part of this:

The White House on Wednesday released highlights of the $2.25 trillion proposal, with details expected to follow in the coming days. It is the first part of Biden’s $4 trillion package to create jobs and revive the U.S. economy. The second part, which is expected in April, will likely include a proposal for free access to community colleges.

Yep going to community college for free, totally "infrastructure".

-9 ( +2 / -11 )

Mitch McConnell is still driving an Edsel. Movin' up to a gas guzzling truck, someday. Love those fossil fuels, Republicans. More coal, baby, more coal.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

oh thats cute you already forgot about the "COVID" plan things having nothing to do with COVID.

Hey look, there is some "infrastructure" too....in the COVID bill.

The bill includes an $86 billion bailout for failing pensions.

But the bailout has been criticized for having little to do with the current health crisis, especially since many pension plans were on the verge of collapse well before the pandemic hit.

The bill adds a $10 billion infrastructure program to help local governments continue crucial capital projects.

The bill increases the total amount of Amtrak relief funding by $200 million.

>

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

Yep going to community college for free, totally "infrastructure".

Education should be free for all, except the wealthy.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

maybe so. But this is not "infrastructure" any more than a minimum wage increase was "Covid". its a liberal Democrat priority that they know wont pass on its own merits.

So call it "infrastructure".

Then anyone who votes against this "infrastructure" bill is a horrible human being who wants our roads and bridges to collapse and for innocent people to die. More political theater.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

GOP shills yesterday: I can't believe it's taken so long to get infrastructure done. Why has it taken the Dems so long to get around to infrastructure renewal?

GOP shills today: Infrastructure is bad and I don't want it and we should vote against it.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Republicans are rightly angry that money is being spent to improve Americas infrastructure instead of building a wall to keep out "others", and/or buying weapons of war and making the army larger, and/or creating massive tax-breaks for the most wealthiest in America.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

blacklabel: "Infrastructure" is now the following in Democrat land:

Actually "infrastructure" has always been a broader term than most people realize:

From Webster's dictionary: infrastructure - (noun) the system of public works of a country, state, or region. also the resources (such as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity.

They key word you're missing is "personnel." Getting key resources to Americans who aid in the functioning of the country is certainly part of infrastructure. So is removing barriers that limit our ability to perform duties related to infrastructure.

As for the COVID stuff, you lost that one. Already passed despite the GOP's disinformation campaign.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Education should be free for all, except the wealthy.

Education should only be free for the bottom 20%, you say?

Seems about right to me.

There is no “free”, people always pay, it’s a matter of which people.

The top 80% should certainly be able to pitch together evenly to help out the bottom 20% and make sure everyone has opportunities to get educated.

By the way, as a non-American voter reading this, it’s a riot how the opposing position is completely disregarded.

I can understand that the common ground is on things like roads and bridges. That could easily be passed on a bipartisan basis at a much lower cost to US tax-payers.

But what it looks like is extreme spending ideas are being lumped in with the infrastructure spending to get it through by stealth, because without the guise of infrastructure most of it would be completely partisan and controversial.

Frankly I doubt the US voters are dopey enough to not see that, given even us non-Americans who can read plain English can see that.

Opponents should fear not - come midterm elections there will be some kind of swing away from this spend-it-all direction, especially as the negative impacts of the reality that there is no Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy to pay for this.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

I can understand that the common ground is on things like roads and bridges. That could easily be passed on a bipartisan basis at a much lower cost to US tax-payers.

Do you? You said yesterday that you didn't know if roads and bridges were even necessary for transport and commerce. What changed your mind?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

McConnell is the poster-grandfather for term limits. He literally defines what is a swamp creature.

Along with Ms. Nancy.

Hopefully, this will be both their last terms and both can actually drop the politics and do what is right for the country. I won't be holding my breath.

I'd love for my internet connection to be reasonably priced for the bandwidth.

I'd love for DoD spending to be reduced 0.5% every year going forward so those experts think smarter, not more expensive. It would be great for DoD contractors to go on a diet too. Congress needs to help by stop mandating what is built and where it must be built.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

U.S. President Joe Biden infrastructure plan, will be dependent on an increase in aggregate demand.

Capital Expenditure will have to be weighed/balanced with transfer payments, ensuring the Biden/Harris election pledge of minimum levels of income.

A means of wealth distribution of income within society.

There is also a political/economic/fiscal downside, government capital expenditure policies are time consuming, years not months, have a tendency to be unproductive to implement or see any short medium-term fruition.

One of the inherent flaws of tax and spend, is the negative effect through possible inefficient and ineffective implementation.

Wealth is inherently, nigh on impossible, to measure.

Add in the current pandemic and partisan politics.

There are no guarantees that indirect taxation will not cut into Biden/Harris pledge that measures will not erode the $400.000 income threshold.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Do you? You said yesterday that you didn't know if roads and bridges were even necessary for transport and commerce.

I didn’t say that, what I said was that I have no clue about the need for more infrastructure work. I presume the US does have some roads and bridges already, but no idea of the state of them or how many more could be useful.

And simply by reading both sides of the debate it is clear as blue sky that both sides would be happy to fund some degree more for roads and bridges. Fine with me.

But not so much the stuff that the likes of the AOC are calling for - that’s the contentious stuff.

Why not do like Biden called for and unite around the things that Americans agree on, at least? Bipartisan deals tend to last longer than partisan ones.

I want to see the US clobber China, I want my S&P 500 investment to continue to do well, I’m on the side of the US. It would be great if more Americans were on their own side too!!

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

roads, bridges, airports, schools, public utilities. Infrastructure. No problems AT ALL.

But Dems need the narrative that everyone but them is against those to try to force through all the other stuff under "infrastructure" that people dont want.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

I mean, this was all decided before. What happened to the Obama "shovel ready" jobs?

Half a billion dollars from Obama went to Solyndra, remember them?

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/08/solyndra-what-a-mess/446784/

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Half a billion for that huh.

So there is going to half a trillion of that in the new proposal I guess.... that’s a thousand Solyndras, is it?

No controversy there, hahaha!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Filabuster for the next four years Mitch and maybe America will survive.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

 "infrastructure" that people dont want.

Like what?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

McConnell pledges battle over Biden infrastructure plan

"Infrastructure" sounds so nice, but a breakdown of this "plan" shows that very little of it has to do with rail lines and bridges. Most of it is slush money for stupid green projects, which fundamentally benefit CCP China (producer of much of the raw materials for the technologies needed).

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Half a billion dollars from Obama went to Solyndra, remember them?

I remember the billions and billions for Trump's wall where all you needed were ladders and shovels. But Internet will get better under Biden. Hey Trump people in Japan, notice how Japan's internet service is much better than in the US with better prices? Biden wants to do similar things to make it better quality service like Japan or Korea. Trump NRA people don't like that since it's Biden's policy even though they happily enjoy net neutrality in Japan. At least Biden stopped the Trump wall and Trump Care.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

very little of it has to do with rail lines

that’s right and even if they were to complete it, which they probably will never only poor people will take it, look at the LA redline and blue line*
-4 ( +1 / -5 )

that’s right and even if they were to complete it, which they probably will never only poor people will take it, look at the LA redline and blue line*

"Poor people shouldn't be allowed transport" - kind hearted humanitarians.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

McConnell and his Republican ilk have no agenda of their own. Their entire purpose in life is to block anything a Democratic president wants to accomplish. Biden could have a perfect plan for world peace and they would block it.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

McConnell and his Republican ilk have no agenda of their own.

They do, not to allow the Democrats to further run the country into the ground like the quicksand that we are on right now.

Their entire purpose in life is to block anything a Democratic president wants to accomplish.

Of have all the radical Marxist changes such a trying to do, yes and that resentment is picking up steam everywhere.

Biden could have a perfect plan for world peace and they would block it.

Oh, dear....lol

"Poor people shouldn't be allowed transport"

No, what I’m saying is for the money that they spent to build a transportation it hasn’t helped with the traffic congestion it hasn’t helped with connecting all the inner cities together, because no one wants to take it and no one will take it. Yeah, I can see myself getting on a train from Laguna Beach going all the way down to Santa Monica piercall me it’ll take about five or six hours, but what the heck....

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

No, what I’m saying is for the money that they spent to build a transportation it hasn’t helped with the traffic congestion it hasn’t helped with connecting all the inner cities together, because no one wants to take it and no one will take it. 

Poor people will take it, you said. Or do poor people not count to you?

Yeah, I can see myself getting on a train from Laguna Beach going all the way down to Santa Monica piercall me it’ll take about five or six hours, but what the heck....

You can get from Laguna Beach to Santa Monica Pier in just over three hours using the US' subpar public transport even today. Come back to this topic when you have some understanding of how transport in the US works.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

only poor people will take it

Even if true - So? Poor people can't afford cars and they need to get to work too. But it's so funny Trump people (in Japan who gladly use rail) say this. But in NYC millionaires take subways. Washington DC? All those professionals? Why would only poor people take it? If it's downtown then a lot of downtown professionals will as well.

what I’m saying is...

...I hate it because it's not Trump's policy because Trump lost due to his gross behavior.

Trump's idea for infrastructure is walls and coal plants and his evangelical followers liked that. I'm still trying to understand why Trump became president. I'm pretty sure he regrets it now because it hurt his business.

Trump people, this is important. You know Japan's Shinkansen roadmap is over 100 years? It take a long time to build these things that will benefit future generations. And the money will be paid back with subway ticket sales.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

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