The Latest from the Prospect
 â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â
View this email in your browser
Â
AUGUST 4, 2022
Meyerson on TAP
Sinematics
Who has the ear of the Democrats' 50th vote?
As Democrats approach their moment of truth as to whether what's left
of their agenda can be enacted, all eyes have turned to the black hole
at the center of their uncertainty: the redoubtable Kyrsten Sinema.
That's "redoubtable" as in
**we've doubted her before and we're doubting her again**.
One reason why those doubts can't be dispelled is what little we know
about whom Sinema is listening to as the vote on the Schumer-Manchin
compromise looms. According to a story
in today's
**New York Times**, the senator is "hearing directly from voters,
activists and local businesses in her state." But when the
**Times**provides more specifics, here's what we learn:
Daniel Seiden, the president and chief executive of the Arizona Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, said in an interview that he and several
business and industry representatives spoke with Ms. Sinema about the
legislation for about 20 minutes on Tuesday, after reaching out to her
office. They expressed concerns with how a proposed 15 percent minimum
tax on corporations was structured, he said.
No such reports of meetings have been coming from Arizona's AFL-CIO,
or from the hotel workers of UNITE HERE, whose precinct-walking in 2018
and 2020 was the largest such undertaking in the state-undertaken, I
should add, on behalf of candidate Sinema in the former election and
candidate Biden in the latter. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce, need I
also add, neither walked for nor supported either. And yet UNITE HERE
officials have long complained of not gaining access to Sinema once she
was elected, and Democratic Party activists once had to corral her in a
public bathroom because she'd refused their entreaties to meet with
them.
The corporations' argument against the minimum tax is that it will
limit their investments, though that's their argument against any tax
at all. The proceeds from that tax will flow largely to a boost in
funding for sustainable energy sources-presumably something that
Sinema, as a onetime Green Party member, might remember is probably
important. Then again, we also have no report of her meeting with
climate activists as she deliberates on the fate of the Earth.
As a human black hole, Sinema herself emits no information as to whom
she's meeting with or what she's thinking or plotting. As black
holes extinguish both space and time, we can only hope that Sinema's
blackholeness doesn't extend to dooming the planet, tempting though
the seductive voices of Wall Street and the Chamber may be.
~ HAROLD MEYERSON
Follow Harold Meyerson on Twitter
[link removed]
[link removed]
How American Politics Turned Deadly
The explosive consequences of the realignment of the two major parties
BY PAUL STARR
Bowman Proposes Bill to Recommend Price Controls
New legislation would study corporate profits and give President Biden
the authority to impose targeted price controls in sectors like housing
and health care. BY LEE HARRIS
How the U.S. Never Left Afghanistan
While Washington celebrates its attack against Ayman al-Zawahiri, it
also proved that Afghans remain under the thumb of American power one
year after its chaotic withdrawal. BY EMRAN FEROZ
Proposed Stablecoin Legislation Is Worse Than Nothing
The House Financial Services Committee would let unstable crypto firms
into the normal banking system. BY TIMI IWAYEMI
To receive this newsletter directly in your inbox, click here to
subscribe.Â
[link removed]
Â
Click to Share this Newsletter
[link removed]
Â
[link removed]
Â
[link removed]
Â
[link removed]
Â
[link removed]
YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM
The American Prospect, Inc.
1225 I Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC xxxxxx
United States
Copyright (c) 2022 The American Prospect. All rights reserved.
To opt out of American Prospect membership messaging, click here
.
To manage your newsletter preferences, click here
.
To unsubscribe from all American Prospect emails, including newsletters,
click here
.
