There will be no building… not back, better or otherwise
Republicans followed up their election wins, including the Virginia governorship - on the back of a grass root revolt against CRT in public schools - with a defection of 13 moderate House Republicans voting in favor of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Bill.
Way to let all the air out of that election night balloon. Didn’t even take a week.
Some of these Republicans tried to justify their affirmative vote with statements that could be summarized in one sentence… the other bills were worse.
We know.
Obviously, expecting a solid no vote from the party that likes to talk about the exploding national debt is a bridge too far.
More importantly, the “bipartisan” vote amounted to giving the Democrat caucus and the Biden Administration their first real legislative big get. Sadly, this bill was only the first hurdle of trillions more in planned legislation and spending.
Make no mistake, Democrats know what that big get means, even though they didn’t get all of it in one bite, and even though it will more than likely cost them control of Congress in the near future.
It would be one thing if this money pit of a bill actually gave some tangibles to states for actual infrastructure. Beyond roads, bridges and rail; our sewers, electric grids, airports and water lines also aren’t… optimum.
Instead it is filled with research grants, program funding and Cabinet Secretary discretion for a new battalion of fed funded bureaucrats. Bureaucrats that once hired or funded, can somehow never be fired, defunded or made redundant.
The best detailed list can be found at randoland.us and linked below… it’s in three parts: HERE, HERE AND HERE (My commentary on the emergence and necessity of random citizens journalists and the absolute failure of national media to handle the most basic questions of their profession is planned for a later writing)
The initial infrastructure bill, and other planned legislation, hasn’t faced as easy a path in the Senate as the House.
I wish I could say it was because of Senate Republicans.
No. We owe some semblance of gratitude to West Virginia and Arizona, and their Senators. Specifically, Senators Sinema and Manchin. Democrats.
Not that much about this bill was publicized. I mean, other than the bill being a foregone conclusion for passage in the legislative branch.
But the specifics… well, that can be attributed to the supposedly more sensible side of Congress. And their bipartisan committee efforts.
Never fails when there’s a pile of cash up for grabs. Spending money is always bipartisan.
The new normal is there are few legislators batting an eye at multiple trillion dollar spending bills in one Congress. Gone are the days of arguing over wasteful billions. The nostalgia of arguing about millions seems a quaint part of my childhood.
At this point, I’m ready to encourage every single politician to spend as if the bill will never come due, and the money printers will never run out of ink.
I’m not sure that anything short of a complete economic collapse will teach them, or us, the lessons we never seem to learn.
Some of these historic lessons aren’t even that old, and we most definitely should know better.
The fundamental transformation of the United States is well underway, and at this juncture there’s no stopping it. No singular politician can release us from the leviathan, and in fact most all profit, hugely, as a side benefit of their “service” to the leviathan.
Expect more of the same. Your consent is neither necessary nor required. Welcome to The Great Reset.