With regard to Sen. Kyrsten Silena and the Democrats’ reconciliation bill, it is now over. As reported previously on Wednesday, there were still doubts about whether Senator Kyrsten Sinema would support the absurdly named “Inflation Reduction Act.”
Sinema made it official, but counting on her opposition was always a pipe dream. Sinema will join Sen. Joe Manchin to prove that even “good Democrats” are still Democrats.
After party leaders had agreed to reduce some of their tax proposals, Sen. Kyrsten Silena (D-Ariz.), said that she would “move ahead” with a revised version of Senate Democrats’ Health Care, Climate, and Deficit-Reduction Package.
Sinema was satisfied with the new approach, along with other modifications to the proposal known under the Inflation Reduction Act of 20202, and this helped to set the stage for approval of the bill as soon as possible.
Sinema stated that Democrats “agreed” to eliminate a tax that targets wealthy investors, and that they had modified a second provision to impose a minimum tax on corporations who currently pay no tax to the U.S. government. Sinema stated that she would wait for a final review by the chamber’s parliamentarian, which is a crucial step in the process that allows Democrats to move their spending bill. At this point, she would “move ahead.”
It is amazing to see how fast Sinema went from radical Green Party member to big business shill within a matter of years. According to the Post, Sinema secured tax changes for the bill. This included the minimum tax provision applicable to major corporations. While all of these changes will be beneficial to the wealthy, are they not the main revenue drivers that will allow the bill’s ability to reduce the deficit? To find out how many pounds of flesh she actually ate, we’ll need to see how the numbers look in the revised legislation.
However, Sinema is from purple Arizona and can afford a boondoggle bill of $400 billion to “climate change”, while Manchin hails from West Virginia. He now has to pay the consequences of the reconciliation agreement he negotiated. He made it clear to his constituents that he would not be part of any new large spending bills in the midst of the current inflation crisis. He violated that promise in exchange for weak payoffs, and unenforceable promises about permitting reform. I am sure that Democrats will continue to flow the money to his wife.
If Manchin believes he can win a re-election bid in 2024, there will be a cost. He may be celebrating Sinema’s decision, but it has sealed his fate. He has blown his cover and, if Republicans are smart enough, they won’t provide him with anymore in the future. Let him burn.
