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JULY 1, 2022

Cooper on TAP

Mitch McConnell Once Again Takes Advantage of Democratic Fecklessness

Senate Democrats can't move because they're standing on their own
feet.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has a problem: Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is holding a semiconductor bill hostage.
In a recent tweet
, he
laid out his demand: "Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no
bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan
reconciliation bill." This refers to the U.S. Innovation and Competition
Act
,
a bill to boost domestic manufacturing and investment. (It actually
already passed the Senate, but is now in conference with the House
version, so will require one more Senate vote to proceed to President
Biden's desk.) The reconciliation bill, of course, is what remains of
Biden's Build Back Better package, which is currently in legislative
limbo, amid negotiations between Schumer and Emperor of the Legislative
Process Joe Manchin (D-WV).

As a result of the delay in USICA, Intel has delayed

a groundbreaking ceremony for its planned semiconductor plant in Ohio,
citing the uncertainty about federal funding for chip production.

The standoff raises a question of political tactics. McConnell says that
he'll block the semiconductor bill so long as Democrats are even

**talking** about a reconciliation package. If Democrats had an ounce of
Machiavellian cunning, then the immediate solution would be obvious:
Announce that reconciliation is dead, pass the semiconductor bill, and
then turn a quick about-face and pass the reconciliation bill. In other
words,

**lie**. It's not like this would be the first instance of dishonesty
in American politics-indeed, it's almost certainly what McConnell
himself would do in their shoes, without so much as blinking.

Unfortunately, there is little sign that Senate Democrats are capable of
or interested in this kind of maneuvering. If they were, at a minimum
they would have sorted out the reconciliation bill back in June of 2021
instead of burning up more than half of a precious congressional
trifecta dithering over it. Now they have just a few more weeks of
legislative floor time left before the midterms race starts in earnest,
which will put a stop to negotiations. Worse, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT)
recently fell and broke his hip
,
and it's unclear when he might be able to vote again. (Unlike the
House, senators can't vote by proxy
,
because of reasons.) Democrats would need all 50 of their members to
vote for a reconciliation package.

The sheer wasted opportunities here are maddening. Any sane political
party would have ended the Senate filibuster (which makes most
non-reconciliation bills require 60 votes to pass) on the first day of
the congressional session, and then passed the reconciliation package
through majority vote, like every other legislature on the planet. But
Democrats didn't do that-and here it's not just their two worst
senators that are the problem. As of January of this year, just 21
Senate Democrats

supported scrapping the rule entirely, and senators like Mark Kelly
(D-AZ), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Jon Tester (D-MT) were distinctly
wishy-washy

on the question.

That said, there appears to a developing consensus that there should at
least be a filibuster carve-out for voting rights and codifying

**Roe v. Wade**-with just Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema

(D-AZ) refusing to go along. It's a perfect campaign message, should
they want it: Give us two more senators, for instance from Wisconsin and
Pennsylvania, and we will protect the right to privacy and the
franchise.

~ RYAN COOPER

Follow Ryan Cooper on Twitter

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Supreme Court Stages a Coup Against Government Regulation

And they endanger the planet in the process. BY MILES MOGULESCU

[link removed] Abortion
Seekers Must Protect Themselves-and Their Data

Incessant Big Tech data collection means that anyone using electronic
communication to obtain an abortion puts themselves at risk. BY
RAMENDA CYRUS

In the Wake of 'Dobbs,' Biden Leans on Familiar Excuses for Inaction

'Rooseveltian resolve' this is not. BY TONI AGUILAR ROSENTHAL,
MEKEDAS BELAYNEH & GLENNA LI

Altercation: The 'Dobbs' Backlash and the Democrats' Choice

Republicans on the Supreme Court overturned the will of the majority; do
liberals have the leadership to fight back? BY ERIC ALTERMAN

The State of American Socialism

David Duhalde digs into the struggles of the movement under Trump and
Biden. BY PROSPECT STAFF

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