Once again, sanity has been promoted and political practicality secured by the House's Congressional Black Caucus, as it has done for a half-century as the "Conscience of the Congress."
Friday, the CBC acted as a conciliator between a horde of safely seated, squawking progressives and a handful of at-risk, antagonistic moderates. The infrastructure bill, that long-suffering orphan of brain-dead obstructionists, finally found a welcoming home on the desk of President Biden — thanks to the CBC's mediation.
Its simple plan: Pass the overdue legislation to shore up a disintegrating America, then hold merely a "good-faith" procedural vote on the larger, social spending package.
Speaker Pelosi recognized the wisdom of harnessing the persuasive influence of the CBC's "low-key, soften-spoken" chairwoman, Rep. Joyce Beatty. Hours later, infrastructure passed. "It happened," notes the Times, "because faction-on-faction intransigence slowly turned to member-to-member cooperation — all in the service of what should have been an easy task."
More succinctly, it happened because the CBC’s grandmotherly Beatty and her team sat the children down and gently suggested they grow up. Nevertheless, or rather of course, "members of the self-styled 'squad' of far-left members from extremely safe big-city districts celebrated their six 'no' votes.” (Because of those votes, the bill’s passage also required the votes of Republicans, 13 in the final tally, many of whom are now being targeted for revenge by their base.)
Prior to that act of pubescent buffoonery, members of Rep. Jayapal's Congressional “Progressive” Caucus had already diminished in opposition from 30 to 20 to 10. Meanwhile, Biden went to work on the few defiant moderates.
AOC, one of the Gang of Six, had one intelligent thing to say: "What is very pressing is the protection of voting rights and combating against gerrymandering…. If the Senate does not move on that, there’s no amount of material gains that we could deliver that will compensate."
Which leads me to suggest that Democrats do to the Build Back Better package what Stephen Douglas did to Henry Clay's "omnibus" 1850 Compromise: break it up into stand-alone bills, passing them one by one — each with great fanfare — throughout election year 2022.
BBB’s severance would be a concession to Manchin, whom Senate Democrats could then press — in exchange for services rendered — for support of federal provisions outlawing Republican state maneuvers to corrupt fair elections, especially nullification.
While they're at it, Democrats should work to deemphasize group-identity politics, promoting instead a kind of soft class warfare, stressing that poor and middle-class blacks, browns & whites are all in same socioeconomic boat. Republicans would shriek their usual "Marxist Democrats!" shrieks, but, outside of Bubba territory, would anyone give a damn?
Democrats must also flee from their devastating "open borders" image by taking an explicit stance against illegal immigration, while — to repeat what I’ve already written — advancing the American ideal of robust pluralism by disavowing woke, zero-tolerance, culture-warrior policing of discourse.
Democrats might also want to cease harping about certain redneck communities that demand parental control of education, such as banning a pedological practice — critical race theory — that’s not being practiced. Let them be; in general their children cannot become any more ignorant and enlightenment resistant than they and their parents already are.
Let these recommendations serve as addenda to my party-rebranding piece of last Thursday. The Democratic Party requires a screaming, primal revamping of what it stands for, and its approach to Middle America, where the votes are. Should it deflect fundamental shifts in stance and strategy, the party will be electorally roasted throughout at least the next generation.