I find it odd that more pundits haven’t called the crisis caused by Manchin and Sinema by the proper historical analogy: they are practicing Democratic McCarthyism.
In the
U.S. we often reference previous history to describe current scandals. ‘Witch
hunt’ hearkens not only the Red Scare, but also the Salem trials. ‘-Gate’ is
used for all sorts of scandals, to connect them to the gravity of Nixon’s
resignation. ‘Moon shot’, ‘Vietnam’, ‘Katrina’: we use all sorts of historical
shorthand. So why aren’t people comparing Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten
Sinema to Senator Joe McCarthy?
When
one Senator has outsized power, it’s a problem. We have an Executive Branch for
that. In the Legislative Branch only the Speaker or Majority Leader should have
outsized control the House and Senate. Breakaways muck up the whole works, as
we have seen time and again. Manchin and Sinema are doing that now – refusing to
use this moment to help the Democratic agenda, and blowing the best opportunity
the Democrats have had since the 2010 Tea Party midterms to actually make big
changes.
Why? No
one knows. Sinema, in particular, has decided to be infuriating on this point,
refusing to tell anyone what she wants, or why she is opposing the current
legislative agenda of the Democratic Party.
“I have
here in my hand a list of 205—a list of names that were made known to the Secretary
of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are
still working and shaping policy in the State Department.”
How is
that infamous quote, and its spotlight-seeking intention, not clearly the same
bullshit that Sinema is doing? Get the attention – get everyone focused on her,
and keep the attention. Force us to ask her what she wants or what she knows.
It’s entirely loathsome, and is going to have devastating consequences if not
stopped. When McCarthy wasn’t stopped, it led to years of crisis – McCarthy
changed his ‘communist’ numbers frequently, including 57 and 81, and kept the
press on tenterhooks. From this unofficial power came the dreadful, and
historically shameful, trials.
Sinema
and Manchin will have devastating consequences for the opposite reason: neither
is likely to be in power in a few years, especially Sinema, who trails the
other Democratic Senator in popularity in her home state. What Senators Manchin
and Sinema have chosen to block are widely popular, and clearly beneficial,
social programs. Paid family leave. Universal pre-K. Infrastructure hangs in
the balance. Tackling climate change. Expanding Medicare to cover dental and
vision.
Presumably,
in the midterms, the Democrats will take a drubbing. That’s typical. That’s
also only a year away, one year until Biden’s agenda is foiled in either the
House, Senate, or both. (It could be offset by passing popular legislation, but
that’ll only do so much.) It’s also a best-case scenario: what happens if one
of the octogenarian Senators dies between now and next year?
So
pressure is on to get this shit done. This isn’t even the emboldened agenda that
some folks hoped for: the John Lewis Voting Rights Act seems unlikely to be
passed, the end of the filibuster is inexplicably as distant as ever, the
statehood of Puerto Rico and/or D.C seem to be non-starters.
Manchin
and Sinema care as much about debt and the price tag as McCarthy cared about
communism – not at all. They don’t give a damn. Democrats can disagree on
things, and Manchin already sticks out with things like not supporting abortion
rights. But not wanting to lift people out of poverty, and support working- and
middle-class Americans? That’s what they’re blocking by refusing to sign on,
and one would think it’s the very least to expect of a member of the
Democratic Party. But Sinema and Manchin (who both voted down the minimum wage
increase) clearly don’t give a damn about the people: just their campaign
donors, the wealthy corporations, who will fight to keep them in power. In the
spotlight.
As Ezra
Klein pointed out in
his insightful article in today’s Times, the Democrats are very unlikely to
remain in power much longer, almost certainly not by 2022. If Manchin and
Sinema screw this up they’ll convince a generation of voters that Democrats can’t
get anything done even if they are in power – and they’ll be right. The Senators’
narcissism and need for attention is going to devastate this nation: the same disastrous
way McCarthy’s did.
