On Thursday evening, House Democrats departed the Capitol triumphant after scuttling yet another big vote. Almost every Democrat in the room was enraged.
Nancy Pelosi and her steering committee had to postpone an election on a Senate-passed infrastructure program for the second time in less than a month.
This is due to progressive opponents attempting to deny President Biden a much-needed victory as Democrats’ larger, $1.75 trillion socioeconomic spending plan continues to remain in a stalemate.
Defeat Has Democrats Demoralised
“It’s clear tonight was not a victory,” added Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, whose state is hosting a high-stakes gubernatorial election on Tuesday that Democrats hoped to bolster with the infrastructure decision.
“We’re not providing these items to my region or the rest of the nation because individuals want to be obstructionists,” the swing-district Democrat continued.
“I guess we’ll simply wait,” says one participant, “because clearly collapsing bridges and roads can stand in line in some people’s heads.”
Why does the President refuse to take questions from the press?
It's because the more the American people learn about Democrats' Socialist Spending Scam, the less they like it. pic.twitter.com/r9mMDX0xwz
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) October 28, 2021
Democrats skulked out of the US House of Representatives, ashamed and enraged at the hardline progressives and a White House that failed to compel them to back down. Democrats are openly worried about the long-term consequences, given the difficult road ahead in the November elections.
Progressive leaders believe the party will sort out its disagreements and approve legislation in the House in a matter of days. However, it falls far short of what Democrat leaders hoped for, ahead of a pivotal week for the party.
Rep. Gregory Meeks remarked, “If I’m being honest, I’m worried about it. A lot is on the line here — a lot is on the line. We fill our cups by completing tasks. It isn’t over yet.”
It Didn’t Quite Go as Planned
The Democrats had a concrete strategy this week: deliver Biden a $550 billion infrastructure bill that’d give him a presentable win and provide Virginia Democrat candidate Terry McAuliffe with a very much-needed boost before a tense governor’s race on Tuesday.
As Democrats look to implement a new tax on billionaires to pay for Biden’s spending package, Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls out Elon Musk for a recent tweet: “What he's saying is it's OK to tax everybody else, just don't tax me.” https://t.co/rG0r1M8S6p pic.twitter.com/jGCjsGmsKi
— CNN (@CNN) October 30, 2021
Instead, Democrats are leaving with nothing more than a one-year renewal of highway transit projects and vows to reassemble next week to start again.
Senior members of the party said they had reason to assume this week would be unlike late September when Pelosi was forced to postpone a construction vote, due to another wall of leftist opposition.
They had an agreement with Biden’s blessing, a piece of the framework proposed, and a full-throttle flogging campaign this time. Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin were unable to bridge the trust gap between both the party’s progressives and their centrist colleagues.
“All they have to do is express their approval with the structure. All they have to do now is make it public.” Rep. Ruben Gallego, who hasn’t ruled out a primary opponent against Sinema, said, “Obviously they aren’t ready to do it, which is telling a lot.”
