Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) shared a scary story of her own recently – and it was a hair raiser for anyone spooked by socialism. In a “dear colleague” letter, she blamed Republicans for America’s economic woes and explained how voting for Democrats would cure all that ails us: If they hold their majority, Pelosi and her pals plan to raise Build Back Better from the grave.
The Spirit of Socialism Survives
In her campaign ad of a letter, the speaker cites several new laws as “progress toward lowering the cost of living.” The Inflation Reduction Act topped the list – a piece of legislation she claims is responsible for “slashing the cost of prescription drugs, locking in lower health care premiums, cutting energy bills and reducing the deficit – while ensuring it’s fully paid for by making the wealthiest few and big corporations pay their fair share.” Despite that law passing via the reconciliation process, she groaned, “Every single Republican, House and Senate, voted No.”
But as Liberty Nation’s economics guru, Andrew Moran, explained, “the bill neither makes a dent in the massive budget shortfall nor combats inflation.” And while the Democrats declared that no one earning under $400,000 annually would feel the sting of higher taxes, analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JTC) found that everyone except those earning between $10,000 and $30,000 a year will pay more.
Build Back Better – It’s Alive!
Though possessed by the same socialist spirit, the Inflation Reduction Act was but a ghost of the Build Back Better agenda Biden promised. As Pelosi pointed out, “House-passed investments in family and medical leave, Child Tax Credit, child care, home health care, universal pre-K and affordable housing,” as well as some other Democrat-driven initiatives, are all being “blocked by Senate Republicans.” It’s true; GOP senators have fought to stop the Democratic Party from summoning socialism to America – but it was the defiance of two Democrats that allowed some measures to cross over into our world while barring the way for others.
With a quasi-majority of 50 plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote, Democrats could have pulled the full power of Build Back Better through the portal of reconciliation. But Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) refused to partake in the ritual unless the party cut those items mentioned in the speaker’s manifesto. Should Democrats maintain their majority in the House, however, Pelosi promises that bringing these DOA proposals back to life will be her top priority.
Haunting the House Isn’t Enough
Nancy Pelosi (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The open letter to congressional Democrats makes a good campaign ad for the true believers who gulp down whatever flavor of poisoned Kool-Aid the party mixes up, but it won’t fool anyone with even minimal critical thinking skills. Pelosi blamed as much on Republicans as she could and ignored the lack of unity in her own party. What choice did she have, really? Highlighting one’s own weaknesses makes for poor propaganda.
The speaker said it herself: The measures she hopes to resurrect are already passed by the House. Will Democrats need to hold the lower chamber to clear them again in the next session? Of course. But without taking a real majority in the Senate, they can have no hope of success. Finding enough Republicans to pass blatantly socialist legislation won’t be any easier in the next two years than it was in the last, and Sens. Manchin and Sinema – neither of whom can be replaced until 2024 – have made it clear they won’t allow their colleagues to bypass the filibuster through reconciliation, at least not on these issues.
To undermine Pelosi’s point even more, Biden has made it clear that his first priority after the midterm elections is to codify federal abortion protections to overrule any restrictive states – assuming the party comes away with enough power to make such a move possible. All this is plain to see, of course, for anyone paying attention. If Democrats hope to return the specter of Build Back Better to the world of the living, they’ll have to do a lot more than simply hold the House.
