Infrastructure Thursday

Well, well, well, and well.

The pundits said it was dead.

The loudest screechers on both sides of the aisle said it should be blown up.

The former guy ordered his cult to walk away.

But yesterday, the bipartisan Senate group came to an infrastructure deal in the face of all that. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held a cloture vote to begin debate on the bill, and seventeen Republicans broke ranks to move it forward.

What's in the deal? A quick recap:

INFRASTRUCTURE DETAILS (per White House)

—$40b bridges
—$11b safety
—$39b transit
—$66b Amtrak/rail
—$7.5b e-vehicle chargers
—$5b clean buses
—$17b ports
—$25b airports
—$50b water resilience
—$55b drinking water
—$65b broadband
—$21b enviro remediation
—$73b power/clean energy

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 29, 2021

Bipartisanship in normal times is a laudable goal. It's how things used to get done in Washington. But as I've said before, now bipartisanship is a political weapon. There are at least some Republicans who view the party's trajectory as a personality cult as heading off a cliff. No, you can't rely on them to break ranks dependably. But sometimes you can peel them off. And with a united Democratic caucus, that presents opportunities to sow division in the GOP. It fosters animosity between the bulk of the party which has given itself over to fascism, and the rump which still believes in democracy. You win a war not only by having the strongest force, but by disrupting your opponent. It's sad that I have to speak like this of fellow Americans, but that's where we are: the Republican Party and its fascism is a force to be defeated, not compromised with. Whenever you get tired of "bipartisan talks", just remember that: this is a strategy. This is an artillery barrage softening up the ground. It is not an end in itself.

And, of course, Joe Biden. Too many on our side were getting frustrated with him, thinking he was losing the plot. He was doing nothing of the kind. The Democratic base, like the GOP base, isn't enough to win elections. You have to bring along those squishy people in the middle who might not be the political junkies we are. And they like to see people working together. Furthermore, they will punish the party which doesn't even make a pretense at compromise. Far from getting played, Pres. Biden knows exactly what he's doing. Which is why you'll rarely see criticism of him escape my lips or my keyboard. He's had six months in office, and he's already righting the ship. 

As I keep saying, this is what winning looks like, not some performative politics. Enjoy it, and then get back to work.