"DAMN THEM BOTH" - Manchin & Sinema say what they want cut. And it's bad. Very bad.

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Thursday October 14, 2021 · 10:47 PM MDT

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CNN reports Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have finally detailed what they want cut from the Build Back Better bill.  I am appalled.

Manchin and Sinema detail key disagreements over Biden agenda

Among the red flags: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona told lawmakers on a call that she would be hesitant to endorse a final deal on the social safety net plan until the House first passes the Senate's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Sinema indicated there had been a "breach in trust" following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to punt a vote on the infrastructure bill earlier this month after she had assured moderates her chamber would hold a final vote on the measure, one of the sources said.

So, there’s that. But it gets worse.

Sinema and Manchin both made clear this week that they had disagreements with their party on some of the central components of the larger package, the clearest sign yet that Democratic leaders' goal of passing both bills by their self-imposed October 31 deadline seems doubtful at best.

On a call with a small group of fellow Democrats this week, neither Sinema nor Manchin endorsed the $1.9 trillion-$2.2 trillion price tag that Biden has privately floated as a new topline number…

Sinema said both she and Manchin told Biden they "cannot guarantee" they would get behind even $2.1 trillion, as she reiterated that the infrastructure bill should pass first to make progress on the larger plan

The two senators said they believed that their party should drop some programs offered in the larger package to cut its cost, breaking with progressives who want to maintain an array of programs but limit the number of years in which people would receive benefits. The senators indicated they should focus on a handful of new programs instead.

That’s bad enough. More than bad enough. But no, that’s not the worst news here in my humble view.

Manchin raised concerns over the proposed expansion of Medicare to include dental, vision and hearing coverage -- something that Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, has contended is a red line for him and other progressives. 

Manchin made clear he opposed new paid family and medical leave provisions that Democrats are trying to get into the bill while renewing his deep concerns over including a plan to provide tuition-free community college.

And yes, he says all of this still needs to be subject to means-testing.

Worst of all—Manchin rejected including climate change programs in the bill.

Perhaps what could emerge as the biggest sticking point: Manchin roundly rejected calls by Democrats to include aggressive climate measures -- namely to substantially slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. He said the goal laid out by the White House to cut greenhouse emissions by half in that timeframe simply would not happen.

Read that again:  Manchin says cutting greenhouse emissions by 50% in 2030 simply won’t happen.

But this part made me roll my eyes and almost laugh.

"We are in the middle of an energy crisis," Manchin, who hails from a coal-producing state, told his colleagues, one of the sources said.

Oh joy.  Manchin wants to resurrect the Seventies and help make Joe Biden the new Jimmy Carter:  “It’s an energy crisis! Hours-long lines at gas stations!  The return of disco!  Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!”

 

So, I’m done trying to find silver linings in these 2 soggy, grim and very dark thunderheads.  I’m over their bullshit excuses.  These 2 clowns are going to gut this bill.  Or try to gut it so much that it’ll be a mere shell of what it needs to be or should be.

 

I wanted to be optimistic and try to keep a positive attitude.  This news on what Joe and Kyrsten want to cut out of the bill has put an end to my efforts to keep an open mind as to what they had to say.  I’m over it.

 

Barring them unexpectedly changing their positions (which is extremely unlikely), I’ve lost faith in this process.  Whatever we do ultimately get, it’s probably going to be very underwhelming.  If we get anything at all.

 

Damn them both.

What would Jesus say to Manchin and Sinema.  Here's an educated guess.