“This Week” guest Sarah Isgur said Sunday that President Joe Biden’s apparent infrastructure ultimatum might backfire.
Arguing that the president had “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory,” Isgur said that the fight over a bipartisan infrastructure bill — and Biden’s apparent threat to veto that deal if he did not also get a reconciliation package that catered to Democrats’ larger infrastructure plans — exposed not only partisan divides but a divide within the Democratic Party. (RELATED: Biden Walks Back Infrastructure Vow, Says ‘Veto Threat … Not My Intent’)
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Bloomberg columnist Ramesh Ponnuru began the discussion by asking whether anyone thought Progressives would be willing to blow up a bipartisan infrastructure deal because they did not believe it went far enough, arguing that it sounded like “like a bluff.”
“Are Progressives really willing to say ‘we’re not going to vote for one of the Biden administration’s priorities?'” Ponnuru asked, noting that many of the things in the proposed deal were things they did support.
Isgur jumped in to then address whether or not Republicans would still be on board, with or without the imminent threat of a veto.
“This is the problem, Biden snatched defeat from the jaws of victory here and by doing so, with or without the walk back, he opened up this conversation and Progressives cornered him and Republicans feel like they got sandbagged,” she said.
“This isn’t about Republicans. This is a fight within the Democratic caucus,” Isgur continued, noting that the real fight would come down to the reconciliation package and whether or not moderate Democrats like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin would sign on.
“What does it look like in six months if he has to wait for Bernie Sanders to convince Joe Manchin? Is he really not going to sign this bill? Is he going to let Nancy Pelosi have the progressive wing hold them hostage? I don’t think so. They have 2022 in their sights,” she said.
“There is one thing we know about Nancy Pelosi. She knows how to lead her caucus,” “This Week” guest and former acting chair of the DNC Donna Brazile added. “She knows how to bring not only progressives but moderates to the table to achieve the goals for the American people.”