OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Democratic congresswoman from New York ripped her party’s infighting in a statement published on Sunday, the latest sign of increased frustration as President Biden’s agenda stalls and his and Vice President Harris’ approval ratings tank.
Rep. Kathleen Rice’s remarks were part of a CNN Politics report saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is planning on remaining speaker through at least the 2022 elections and perhaps beyond. Her comments were aimed at addressing pressure placed on the party to pass two recent pieces of legislation: The infrastructure bill and Biden’s “Build Back Better” measure.
“We can keep saying our diversity is our power — but guess what? I got more s**t from my fellow Democratic colleagues over the past months than I did from the Republicans,” Rice told the news outlet.
“We’re eating our own at a time when we should be doing everything we can to hold onto our slim majority. Progressives need to remember that Republicans are the ones who want to destroy our democracy, not moderates in their own caucus,” she added.
Of course, there is no truth to the allegation — Republicans, by their very name, are dedicated to the preservation of our republic. But that said, Rice is growing increasingly frustrated by her party.
Today I voted for the Build Back Better Act. 👇 pic.twitter.com/ulkQ7OptqU
— Kathleen Rice (@RepKathleenRice) November 19, 2021
The Daily Wire adds:
Much of the criticism was targeted toward members of the House Progressive Caucus, whose chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), led a long battle to push for resistance against the recent infrastructure bill until the Senate approved Biden’s spending bill.
“A majority of our respondents affirmed that they would withhold their votes in support of the bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives until the Senate adopted a robust reconciliation package,” Jayapal and other progressives noted in a letter to Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) in August.
“A majority of our respondents affirmed that they would withold their votes in support of the bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives until the Senate adopted a robust reconciliation package,” leaders of the progressive caucus tell Pelosi and Schumer pic.twitter.com/3cqSuH9CPK
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 10, 2021
Another Democrat who has felt heat from his own party is Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia for opposing much of Biden’s BBB plan due to its high costs and the likelihood of worsening inflation.
In October, Manchin and far-left Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) traded barbs over the former’s refusal to simply sign on to another multitrillion-dollar spending bill.
“The $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill, supported by President Biden and almost all Democrats in Congress, is an unprecedented effort to finally address the long-neglected crises facing working families and demand that the wealthiest people and largest corporations in the country start paying their fair share of taxes,” Sanders said in an op-ed published in a major West Virginia paper.
He went on to explain how he believes the legislation will help the people of West Virginia with lower prices for prescription drugs, expanding Medicare, and improving childcare.
“The United States, and states like West Virginia and Vermont in particular, are seeing their populations age,” the liberal senator said.
“This bill greatly expands home health care and makes sure that these jobs are adequately paid,” he said.
“This is a pivotal moment in modern American history. We now have a historic opportunity to support the working families of West Virginia, Vermont and the entire country and create policy which works for all, not just the few,” he said.
Manchin responded on Twitter.
“This isn’t the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to our state,” the 74-year-old senator said.
“Senator Sanders’ answer is to throw more money on already overheated economy while 52 other Senators have grave concerns about this approach. To be clear, again, Congress should proceed with caution on any additional spending and I will not vote for a reckless expansion of government programs. No op-ed from a self-declared Independent socialist is going to change that,” he said.
