4230

Good question. The Federal Reserve’s debt holdings aren’t doing anything or held for anyone. They’re a result of the Fed’s monetary operations over the last 10-12 years: buying up bonds with magicked-into-existence dollars in order to boost the economy.

4231

I’d definitely do it if Congress didn’t raise the limit, but that’s something you want to keep the powder dry on until you need it.

4232

There is at least a theory, I think, that the $10 billion the Fed pushed into the market should come back out when the time is right. Isn’t the long term plan for the Fed to start selling back those securities so they can pull that liquidity out of the market over time, and safely?

4233

Why? It’s not like Congress and the White House are going to pass a bill revoking the ability anytime soon.

4234

This is exactly why Manchin and Sinema should be on board with getting rid of the filibuster and allowing Democrats to get a ton of shit done over the next three years.

Simply showing them this, along with similar video of McConnell and other GOP members saying a SCOTUS judge should never be appointed in the last year of a Presidency (2015) followed by saying that of course it is the President’s duty to fill a SCOTUS vacancy in the final year of his Presidency (2020), should be all the proof they need that McConnell and the GOP will gleefully eliminate the filibuster themselves the moment they regain control of the Senate. They have proven time and time again that they will say one thing when Democrats are in control, then do the exact opposite the moment they themselves have control again.

We all know it’s coming. Why not use the power ourselves right now for GOOD, and maybe build momentum for 2022 and 2024 to keep the EVIL at bay? Take this McConnell bullshit, throw in some concessions in the Reconciliation Bill for West Virginia, and convince Manchin to play ball for the good of the country and the economy. Sinema doesn’t have the guts to be the lone dissenting vote, if you flip Manchin, she will get in line.

4235

The problem is that it isn’t clear that Manchin and Sinema actually think that allowing people to vote and preventing climate catastrophe are good things. Or maybe they think they would be good things if you could do them for, say, $2 trillion, but $3.5 trillion is too much to pay for them.

4236

The question remains: what is it that Manchin wants? He doesn’t seem to be convincible by pointing out that Republicans are hypocrites, and he isn’t advertising what it takes to buy his vote.

4237

Manchin wants to play the moderate to keep his seat. He will be happy with a reduction in the amount of the Reconciliation Bill and/or a clause that explicitly protects West Virginia interests (like coal mining) from climate change reform for another decade.

Sinema just wants attention. When everyone on the right is united against her, and everyone else on the left is united without her, she will vote with the left because then she can claim her vote was some grand deciding factor. That’s really all she wants.

4238

She wants to be liberal John McCain, imo.

She even tried to steal his most famous move.

Thing is, McCain could be McCain because people respected him. Literally no one respects the derpy new person RPing Charlie screaming “Wildcard” from Always Sunny.

4239

This may well be true, but it’s pretty amazing that he apparently hasn’t told anyone that this is what he would be willing to agree to.

4240

Liberals want Manchin to suicide his political career to push their agenda. Just because he’s a Democratic technically doesn’t mean that’s what his state represents. It’s worth remembering that Democratic control of the Senate is due to a political aberration - they shouldn’t control the Senate considering the makeup of West Virginia voters. If that’s what you want, what do you offer in return for him?

A better way of thinking about it is that Manchin could justify switching parties mid-cycle to his constituents, and flip the Senate. That’s the kind of leverage he has.

4241

I’m a liberal, and this is not what I want. I recognize that Manchin as the Senator from WV is the very best we can probably hope for from that state, and that anything else from there will be far worse for the liberal agenda.

4242

I’ve become convinced that what Manchin wants is to keep the filibuster. Period. Why? I can’t say for certain and at this point I don’t care. He seems to me to be hung up on the principle.

As to what he wants in a reconciliation bill, it’s either no spending at all or maybe just this much spending (holds fingers a half inch apart). Similar to the filibuster he has made the debt a shibboleth.

Folks always assume self interested calculation but I think one of the biggest problems in the US right now is not the cynics but the sincere fools, and I place Manchin in that category.

And that’s basically it.

4243

I think conservative voters like the filibuster, not because they actually understand it, but because getting rid of it is something that liberals want and so it must be bad for them by definition.

4244

I think this is probably right. That’s why I said I thought he might just be running out the clock on the reconciliation bill. ‘No bill’ is probably fine with him, and the bill he would support is probably pretty close to ‘no bill’, or worse.

4245

They know that it’s the only way to keep minority rule alive, and that demographics mean they are likely to be a minority for a while.

4246

Not necessarily you but a lot of people don’t seem to understand that he’s a Democrat by suffrage, not by nature. When people want “the agenda” pushed and he’s the bottleneck, they get frustrated and want him on board.

But it’s not like you primary him with a better Democratic. He gets replaced by a Republican.

4247

Republicans will absolutely kill the filibuster the very first time they need to.

4248

Yes, that’s fair. You’re right.

4249

Look, man, the habitability of the planet might be worth $2 trillion, but not $3.5 trillion. I mean, let’s not go nuts here.