Timex
3746
I mean… this is in fact a really big bill.
RichVR
3747
I’m sure that Mitch the Lich was thrilled. :P
Turtle Mitch and Grampy Joe get along way better than it would make supporters of either guy comfortable to know about.
RichVR
3749
You’re probably right. I shall not dwell upon it.
I week or two ago. I saw Senator Dr Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on the Laura Ingrahm show debating the infrastructure bill. Laura asked Bill why are supporting this bill. Cassidy said why wouldn’t you support this bill, it is got all kinds of great things and proceeded to rattle off the bills main points in a Mayor Pete fashion. Laura, acknowledge that some of this things were actually good for Republican voters.
Then the fireworks started. Laura accused supporters of the bill of being sucked by Schumer and Biden, and this would make it more likely that 3.5 trillion socialist bill would pass. Cassidy argued the exact opposite. He pointed out that by opposing the infrastructure bill, Laura was on the same side as AOC and the squad. He didn’t want to be allies with AOC and Bernie. This back forth went on for about 5 or 10 minutes. They both made decent points.
So do to directly answer your comment. “I don’t understand the GOP Senate”. About 1/2 of GOP senators (far less in the House) are not bat shit crazy people. They actually ran for the office in part to do useful things, like infrastructure. Now they certainly deserve all of the adjectives you want to use about their political courage. Coward, craven, spineless, pathetic etc. They got some strength from numbers and Mitch supporting it also provided political cover. This is a bill that is going to more popular over time. Their talking point, “well AOC and Bernie oppose the infrastructure bill” also I think will pretty effective for the base.
Remember, boys and girls, if a government provides benefits to the general public, that’s socialism. Not so if it shovels “shloads” of money to corporations owned and controlled mainly by the wealthiest among us. That’s called Americanism!
For years, I’ve been watching the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE appear on the PBS to discuss their latest D+/C- report on America’s infrastructure. It is always doom and gloom.
One of the things they talk about is the cost of having a shitty infrastructure. The ASCE estimate that cost each American household $3,300 per year for our shitty infrastructure. That’s the obvious things the blown tires, cost of realign your car. But mostly it is lost time, your time stuck in traffic. The cost of containers of goods stuck at port for two weeks, or a railroad siding for a week, or the bridge with lower weight capacity causing truck rerouting. Last year, we got a vivid reminder of the cost of rural America not having broad band. We spend just over $12K per year on K-12 student. The cost went up not down during Covid. For the parents of kid without broadband, it is doubtful they got more than $3,000 worth of education, based on education testing.
This time the ASCE president was very optimistic, he thinks it address about 1/2 the shortfall in our infrastructure. He also thought that will spur, state, local and private infrastructure. All in all he thiinks at the end of the ten years, we will have B infrastructure, and big step up from today.
My back of the envelope calculation is if saves 1/2 the $3,300/per household that’s saving of $200 billion per year. That’s not including the economic benefit from jobs. As Mayor Pete says this bill investment and the ROI is great on it and only insane people would argue differently.
Menzo
3753
I’d like to introduce you to the House Republican Caucus. They have a beer they’d like you to hold.
So yup the bat shit crazy house members will vote against bill as did more than 1/2 the Senators.
I’m not a Dan Rather fan. But I have to say I admire a mind that can come up with clever puns like that and being able to do at 89 is impressive as a hell. I just hoping I’m not drooling at the age.
Alstein
3760
Apparently the Republicans did get one poison pill in the infrastructure deal. The FCC can’t overturn state bans on municipal broadband now.
This shit makes me so angry. It’s transparently, obviously an anti-citizen law. Taking away local authority where they don’t like it, so citizens can be forced into buying overpriced, shitty products from their campaign donors.
Everything* wrong with Congress in a neat little package.
* not actually everything :(
This is basically McConell performatively demonstrating to Manchin and his ilk that “the senate works and no change to the filibuster is necessary.” It’s smart, cynical strategy since if a bill to protect voting and elections doesn’t get passed, we’ll have a permanent Republican majority soon enough, so what does something like this matter?
KevinC
3763
Not to mention that as a lich, McConnell can play the long game.
I think you are giving him waaaay too much credit for mastery of high level arcane magic. I don’t think he has any spell slots above 4th level max.
Dude is clearly resistant to turn undead, and has the face capacity to eat an entire baby in one bite when his jaw unhinges. Clearly a ghast.
Beyond this, the bill doesn’t do anything that harms Republican goals — there are e.g. no tax increases in the bill and no spending for the poors — so presumably McConnell reasons that it can’t harm their midterm election chances. If anything, it might help them, since their constituents are bound to like some of it and they can run on their reasonableness.
