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**DECEMBER 9, 2020**

Kuttner on TAP

**COVID Relief: The Republicans' Poison Pill**

****

McConnell and Mnuchin are playing an utterly cynical game on desperately
needed COVID relief. The game is to offer competing proposals that are
unacceptable to each other, as well as to Democrats.

When the Senate bipartisan "Gang of 8" came up with a $908 billion
stopgap relief measure, McConnell said a red line for him was a blanket
immunity shield for all corporations, no matter how recklessly they put
their workers at risk. Think meatpackers, nursing homes, and Amazon
warehouses.

Then yesterday, Mnuchin, on behalf of the White House, proposed a
different bill-with a different poison pill. His bill, with a slightly
larger price tag of $916 billion, slashes unemployment benefits. That in
turn allowed McConnell, knowing that Democrats would balk, to say that
he would no longer insist on the shield.

But as Chuck Schumer recognized, this is a shell game. He correctly
accused both men of sabotaging the talks.

The Democrats face a strategic choice here: Take whatever they can get
to help suffering people-or call the Republicans' bluff.

Here's the calculus: If 2020 ends with no deal, it will be several
more weeks before relief flows.

But if the Democrats take a really bad deal, Republicans in the new
Congress could argue that they've done a relief measure, that vaccines
will soon bring the pandemic under control, and the economy will begin
recovering by spring. Therefore, no more money.

Conversely, if there is no stopgap deal in the lame-duck session,
Republicans will be on the defensive and Democrats could well get a
bigger and better relief bill through the Congress.

Chuck Schumer, for one, seems pretty clear. Mnuchin and McConnell can
take their cynical poison pills and stuff them.

The incoming Biden administration is trying to calculate the chances of
getting a more adequate package in January or February if the current
talks deadlock, given the pain that red-state people as well as
blue-state citizens will be in, and Biden's good personal
relationships with several Republicans.

I'm with Schumer on this. The sheer cynicism of McConnell and Mnuchin
knows no bounds. This could come back to haunt them and give Biden a
stronger hand in January for a relief package that builds back better.

~ ROBERT KUTTNER

Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter

Robert Kuttner's latest book is
The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy
.

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The China Hack and How to Reverse It

What will it require to take China seriously as an economic challenge?
BY LUCAS KUNCE

The Cabinet Selection Process Is Veering Off Course

What was supposed to be a return to seriousness and expertise has been a
hodge-podge of favor-trading and ill-considered decisions. BY DAVID
DAYEN

TPS for All

President Biden could offer Temporary Protected Status to all immigrants
who come from countries suffering from the pandemic. BY MARCIA BROWN

Tillis Pushes Prison Time for Online Streamers After Pre-Election
Hollywood Cash Blitz

Felony streaming legislation from Sen. Thom Tillis will be attached to
an upcoming 'must-pass' omnibus government funding bill. BY DONALD
SHAW

Unsanitized: The Dealmakers Don't Want to Make a Deal

Mitch McConnell keeps dodging and obfuscating. This is The COVID-19
Daily Report for December 9, 2020. BY DAVID DAYEN

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