News from the bipartisanship front

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For most of us, "bipartisanship" is a word redolent with dark humor as being essentially meaningless. But it does have its uses.

Yesterday, two stories broke. First, twenty Democratic and Republican senators agreed on a framework for moving ahead on infrastructure, with a price tag of $1.2 trillion.

Twenty senators from both parties announce support for $1.2T, eight-year bipartisan infrastructure outline pic.twitter.com/0aTxnBGwzM

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 16, 2021

Of course, at the same time Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is moving ahead with passing President Joe Biden's budget and infrastructure plans via reconciliation.

The value I find in this latest explosion of bipartisanship is not so much in moving legislation forward, but in driving wedges in the Senate GOP. We can't trust that these Republican senators will actually end up voting for the plans they put forth; we saw that with the Affordable Care Act. But it's worth pursuing any fissures in the GOP caucus, and exploiting division in its ranks, either for this bill or future actions. There's also a benefit to getting something now, and then returning later to get more, even if through reconciliation. But mostly, these Republicans are openly going against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's desire. No, McConnell isn't some arch-strategist. He's a bullshit artist who was able to keep his caucus together because they were in the majority. That's gone, and Pres. Biden's proposals are deeply popular with the public. Senators like being popular, and bringing home the bacon. Any disarray we can provoke in GOP ranks is to the good.

Meanwhile, the Prince of West Virginia has come back to his colleagues with a list of wants for the For the People Act:

Sen. Joe Manchin III, the lone Senate Democrat who is not sponsoring a sweeping voting rights and campaign finance bill, has outlined for the first time a list of policy demands on election legislation — opening the door to a possible compromise that could counter a bevy of Republican-passed laws that have rolled back ballot access in numerous states.

A three-page memo circulated by Manchin’s office this week indicates the West Virginia centrist’s willingness to support key provisions of the For the People Act, the marquee Democratic bill that the House passed in March — including provisions mandating at least two weeks of early voting and measures meant to eliminate partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts

But Manchin’s memo also sketches out several provisions that have historically been opposed by most Democrats, including backing an ID requirement for voters and the ability of local election officials to purge voter rolls using other government records.

According to two Democratic aides familiar with Manchin’s views, he has also signaled to colleagues that he opposes a public financing system for congressional elections that has emerged as one of the most controversial parts of the For the People Act. The aides spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe Manchin’s private communications with other lawmakers.

Politics, like sausage-making, isn't for the faint-hearted. Little in Joe Manchin's memo is pure anathema to Democrats. If Manchin can hammer out a deal with his Democratic colleagues and present a unified front, then the GOP will be confronted with a fait accompli. Then, much like with infrastructure, they will have a choice: get on the train, or face Manchin—his plan now being the Democratic plan—burning down the filibuster in at least this instance and passing voter protection on a party-line basis.

Bipartisanship, used wisely, can be wielded as a cudgel. McConnell was never able to do that under Trump because nothing the GOP was doing was popular. Democrats weren't going to sign on. But the situation is the opposite now. Democratic policies are popular based on polling. Americans want the Democratic agenda enacted. That gives Pres. Biden and the Democrats much more leeway. Republicans think that Democrats will overreach and they will be ushered back into power. Six months into the new administration, that doesn't seem to be working out the way they envisioned. Joe Biden isn't an erratic numbskull like Donald Trump. He knows how to play the long game. Republicans are nowhere near as in strong of a position as they would like us to think.

It's not even summer yet. Strap in.