In case you missed it this week, there was a rare astronomical event on Wednesday so we wanted to share a photo of the phenomenon.
Yes, a rare sighting of a blue moon. Coincidentally, or not, or dumb luck or it was the same thing. It's all so hazy and shocking, but the Democrats in the Senate out maneuvered their Republican colleagues, specifically Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who was blindsided by the Manchin-Schumer reconcilliation budget bill. It also forced Republicans into upcoming votes, in which a 'no' vote is politically unpopular forcing them to come on board with Democratic priorities. And you have to give credit to Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) for not walking away and negotiating in quiet to avoid media drama, as he explained.
A total eclipse, a Cubs World Series win, a Blue Moon. They exist but are seen so rarely that afterward you can't believe it actually happened.
Senator Kirstyn Sinema (D-AZ) has yet to come out in support of the bill, but as NBC's Kristen Welker mentioned, there will be tremendous pressure on her to get on board. With perhaps a minor concession, the bill is there and it has the votes. What the bill does is give Medicare the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices, establish a base 15 percent tax for corporations with $1 billion or over in value, and with an all-of-the-above energy approach it allocates $349 billion investment in climate mitigating energy strategies. The largest investment in climate in U.S. history, which served as the last proverbial groin shot that Republicans could take.
So, they took out their anger and humiliation on Democ... No wait, they took it out on U.S. veterans. Yes, really.
As satirist and veterans advocate Jon Stewart explained, the Senate passed the same PACT Act bill in June, 84-12, and after a one sentence change that had no effect on the bill, Repubican senators voted it down. Mr. Stewart didn't get into the speculation of why Republicans now voted no, but it's obvious that since they know they got played. The PACT Act provides care to veterans who have contracted various diseases from burn pits overseas. It cannot be understated the significance of this as burn pits operated 27/7 during combat operations with soldiers continually breathing in toxins. Lead by Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), Republicans in the Senate torpedoed the bill and did fist bumps when they accomplished their goal.
Here's the most-widely and succinct summation from Mr. Stewart this week. He and a group of veterans travelled to Capitol Hill for a celebratory press conference, which then became this:
Lastly, we're sad to hear about the catastrophic flooding and heart-breaking death toll in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear (D) gave a grim assessment of the status on the ground saying that it is unclear how many people are still missing, that there are 26 deaths with more surely to be confirmed, and the situation is complicated by the fact that it's still raining there and communication is difficult.
To the president's credit, he cut through redtape to make sure the state had enough additional personnel on the ground, as the Gov. Beshear explained. (An example of how Joe Biden operates, he gets it done but doesn't scream it from the rooftops that he did it.)
Though the location of this blog's homebase is nowhere near Kentucky, but we say that the state should get all the support it needs and then some, despite one its Senators, Rand Paul, voting against disaster relief for other states that he simply doesn't like [think: New York and Hurricane Sandy]. This tragic event in Kentucky is a clear example of why we needed the infrastructure bill and now this budget package from Senators Manchin and Schumer.
Panel: Kristen Welker, NBC News; Adrienne Elrod, Democratic Strategist; Carlos Carbello, fmr. Congressman (R-FL); Jonathan Lemire, Politco
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