Quick update on the state of The Discourse, as Democrats grapple with the reality of "Build Back Better" potentially slipping away. Some are simply asserting that it must be passed anyway, which accomplishes nothing. Others are leaning into other battles like killing the filibuster (including this "moderate") or packing the Supreme Court. Still, others are trying to persuade Joe Manchin. But being persuasive requires accuracy, and Sen. Dick Durbin is really struggling on that front:
He added: “For you to speculate, ‘what will this cause if these are extended for 10 years?’ It's just that — it's speculation. It's not really the reality of what we're doing,” per @morgan_rimmer
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 16, 2021
(1) They absolutely have not paid for everything they've scheduled. Even under the manipulated CBO score Democrats themselves engineered with numerous gimmicks, the scorekeepers still determined that hundreds of billions of dollars in the planned spending is unpaid for. Democrats simply declared this math wrong.
(2) Their claim was that the bill would cost "zero dollars" and add not a dime to deficits. That is not even close to true. This is the opposite of "keeping faith" with the American people.
(3) Based on the latest CBO score, the proposals in BBB would add three trillion dollars to deficits over the next decade alone. That's on top of existing debt and structural deficits.
(4) American voters simply do not believe trillions in new, unpaid-for spending will have no negative impact on the inflationary problem they're feeling every day. That's part of why BBB is now opposed by most of the country, with independents leading the stampede away from the reckless plan.
(5) It's not "speculation" to assess an honest scoring of a "transformative" spending plan that Democrats say out loud they want to make permanent. That's not a claim invented by Republicans for political reasons. It's something that's been stated openly by Democrats, including in leadership:
So @PressSec claimed that @CBO estimate of making Dems’ bill permanent was a “fake” estimate.
— J.P. Freire (@JPFreire) December 10, 2021
Okay. Here’s Democrats calling to make the most expensive provision of their bill permanent. https://t.co/2JgtJwaNBF
And, I mean, c'mon:
Manchin has been talking about budget gimmicks as a problem for literally months. Durbin is either quite dim or is being dishonest. https://t.co/3fDRiAa33T
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 16, 2021
But aside from all that, Durbin makes a good point. I'll leave you with another senator named Dick making a very interesting choice:
Some highlights of Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and his introducer at the Connecticut People’s World Committee, an affiliate of Communist Party USA. pic.twitter.com/w5CvV7tGzy
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) December 15, 2021
Blumenthal has come a long way – from repeatedly lying about fighting the Commies in 'Nam, to cordially addressing them in person. What a journey.