(JustPatriots.com)- Democrats are pointing fingers as to what went wrong in their push to pass President Joe Biden’s social spending package known as the Build Back Better Act.
Much of the initial vitriol has been directed at West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, the moderate Democrat who said on Sunday that he wouldn’t be supporting Biden’s package. That’s important, because Democrats need the support of every one of their members in the Senate to pass the bill through budget reconciliation.
New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of “The Squad” in the House, was perhaps the most outspoken against Manchin. But Representative Veronica Escobar, a leader in the Progressive Caucus, wasn’t far behind.
She accused Manchin of abandoning Americans who are suffering and, in the process, undermining the work that the Biden administration is trying to do to re-establish the United States as a leader in the push for climate change following the climate summit in Scotland not too long ago.
As Escobar said:
“Build Back Better is about addressing the unprecedented challenges we are facing right now: a climate catastrophe, working families struggling to make ends meet, addressing inflation and giving everyday Americans a shot at prosperity. Walking away from BBB is essentially ignoring the crises in front of us that demand action.
“How will we be able to convince any of our global partners to trust us again or to do the right things on climate? To say this is calamitous for our planet would be an understatement.”
Some other Democrats took the opposite stance, blaming the White House for messing up the negotiations that resulted in BBB not being successful as it was originally proposed.
One of the biggest failures of the White House was trying to gain consensus between progressives, who wanted a massive package, and moderates, who wanted a much more dialed-back bill. There were even plenty of political tactics being taken as to the timing of passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill first before passing BBB.
Biden promised the progressive wing that if they passed the infrastructure bill first, he would get the support of Manchin for BBB. The second part of that negotiation, though, hasn’t come to fruition, as Manchin put a halt to that progress.
An anonymous House Democrat told media outlet The Hill recently that Biden also is to blame for not holding members of his own team accountable for huge missteps, including delays with programs such as rental assistance and the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Democrat said:
“This is an indictment of the senior leadership in the White House. The worst part is nobody will be held accountable for this. They don’t understand the American people want results; they don’t want drama and rhetoric. Everyone has been left high and dry. I can see everyone [vulnerable Democrats] fleeing for the hills at this point.
“It started with Afghanistan. Nobody was held accountable for the chaos that the Afghanistan withdrawal constituted. It allowed everyone to get a pass. It sent the message that the president will stick by you so do whatever you want.
“I do think [Biden] needs to clean house if we have any chance of salvaging 2022. There have to be consequences.”
