 So if you haven't kept up with the negotiations related to infrastructure, first of all, let me just say that I don't blame you. I understand why people are apprehensive to want to invest any amount of time into learning about the ins and outs of a particular bill or negotiations related to said bill when things change so frequently, you know, as it relates to Congress and dealmaking. Having said that, though, I will get you caught up to speed if you haven't been following along. This is the too long didn't read version basically. Joe Biden, along with a lot of moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans, I'm using moderate very charitably here, they announced that they've reached a deal. They have a bipartisan, compromised version of the infrastructure proposal. Now, is it bad? Yes, if you're watching this and you're a leftist, it's bad. We went over some of the details last week, but basically it takes Biden's already woefully inadequate infrastructure proposal and cuts that by about three fourths. And on top of that, it essentially is a giveaway to Wall Street, which is why the moderates really liked it because they get to privatize this infrastructure package. And rather than making it a jobs program as it was initially intended to be, well, now it's a giveaway to Wall Street. Sounds great, right? So it was not good news for progressives because they were essentially left out of the dealmaking process, but we were assured that we shouldn't worry just yet because Biden wouldn't agree to support this infrastructure package. Same with Nancy Pelosi, unless it was passed in tandem with a budget resolution. So in this budget resolution, they would pass this using budget reconciliation, which means they just need 51 votes. Now, in this resolution, this is where progressives will finally get to get a couple of victories, a couple of wins. So in order to get the progressives to go along with this bipartisan infrastructure proposal, well, the goal was to get them to support that by giving them a lot in the reconciliation package. Now, last week, I said that progressives have to be very, very cautious about supporting this, because if it does not support any climate related policies or any good wins for progressives, then they've got to torpedo this legislation. And in the lead up to the announcement of this bipartisan package, progressives such as Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Ilhan Omar, they were all very loudly saying, if there's no climate, there's no deal. So in order to bring a board reluctant progressives, I think that it's obvious, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, they all know that this reconciliation package that's being put together currently by Bernie Sanders, it's got to have some really good tangibles for progressives. But my caution and why I really wanted progressives to look at the details here is because just because this is going to be where progressives get their victories doesn't mean that it's not also going to be watered down. Because even if you're passing this using reconciliation, you're still going to need Joe Manchin, Kirsten Sinema. So he might still try to water this down even further. And if that's the case, you have to make some threats and some demands. You have to threaten to torpedo this legislation. And guess what? Predictably, Joe Manchin is Joe Manchin and he's already threatening to water down this bill. It's not an explicit threat just yet, but you can already see that the writing is on the wall. So as truth out Sharon Zhang reports, Manchin says he's open to reconciliation, but wants less than Sanders proposal. So before we even get to the article, let's just look at that headline. He already is saying, I know what you were promised progressives. I know that I already got to water down infrastructure, but I also kind of want to water down reconciliation, too. It is infuriating because basically Joe Manchin thinks that he's the king. He gets everything that he wants already, but he wants more. But let's get to the details here. Quote, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said on Tuesday that he's supportive of Democrats plan to pass a reconciliation package, though he expressed reservations about its size and tying the package to the bipartisan infrastructure bill. We're going to have to work it through reconciliation, which I've agreed that that can be done, said Manchin on MSNBC. I just haven't agreed on the amount because I haven't seen everything that everyone is wanting to put in the bill. The West Virginia senator's support is critical for the passage of the package in the evenly divided Senate and a no vote from Manchin could threaten the entire plan. Manchin tempered his support of the reconciliation package, saying he doesn't want Democrats to link the two bills together because we've never done legislation that way. And he further emphasized that he wants to ensure the bill goes through the process. OK, so I can already see where this is headed. We know what's going to happen. Basically, there's going to be a little bit of backpedaling from Joe Biden. And after saying, look, I'm not signing the infrastructure plan unless I also get the budget resolution on my desk. He's going to say, all right, well, here's the deal. We'll sign infrastructure. And I promise progressives will get that reconciliation package done. And later on, we'll pass that because this is already what we're seeing. If you watch the political commentary on MSNBC, particularly Morning Joe, there's already people saying, well, look, it seems as if progressives might be OK if we pass infrastructure and then later on tackle reconciliation. But no, no, no, that is not the way this is supposed to take place. Why would you expect progressives to support the legislation that they've been essentially left out of and then think they're going to come on board later? If they did that, then, holy crap, they are very, very weak and ineffectual. But thankfully, progressives are being very vocal and they're threatening to withhold votes, which would torpedo this legislation. Bernie Sanders tweeted out, let me be clear, there will not be a bipartisan infrastructure deal without a reconciliation bill that substantially improves the lives of working families and combats the existential threat of climate change. No reconciliation bill, no deal, we need transformative change now. Also, Kyman Dreams reports Ilhan Omar says progressives ready to withhold votes from bipartisan infrastructure deal. The Minnesota Democrats said an internal survey found that more than 40 progressive caucus members would refuse to vote for the bipartisan bill. If it's not accompanied by a bold reconciliation package. OK, so for now, we just have to basically wait and see what happens. I'm glad that progressives have remained consistent and united here because they have to be united, because in the event it appears as if there's only one or two progressives holding up talks or infrastructure. We know what the media is going to do. But if you're united as a block and you make the case and you explain how it's not fair that Joe Manchin gets to dictate what goes into all policies, including the reconciliation bill, which is where progressives are supposed to get what they want, then, you know, I think that you're going to be more effective as lawmakers. So it is infuriating to see Joe Manchin try to throw his way around yet again, but this is to be expected. The attention, the spotlight, he is eating all of this up. But what's important is that progressives remain united and they do not buckle here. There's going to be pressure from Joe Biden's administration. Joe Biden is weak. And in the event he starts to get a little bit too much pressure from Kirsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, because the reconciliation package looks a little bit too progressive, well, then, you know, I could see him getting worried about Joe Manchin with strong support for the infrastructure package and, you know, moving the goalpost saying, all right, well, we'll do a reconciliation later, but that cannot happen. Progressives have to be united here and they have to put their foot down. If you're doing infrastructure, it is a complete waste to not tackle climate change and invest in clean, green, renewable technology. I'm talking wind, solar, hydro. And on top of that, there are other things that need to be addressed that Congress hasn't addressed. So that is what I'm expecting to go in the reconciliation package. So if Bernie Sanders comes up with a very bold package, and I expect that he will, then what gets taken out is going to be something that progressives really look to, because if a bunch of their priorities get cut, then they should not support the reconciliation package or the infrastructure bill. Now, if I'm Bernie Sanders, I am stacking that reconciliation bill with everything, right? We're putting as much as we can possibly cram into that package, knowing that it is going to get gutted. But what matters is at least a couple of giant victories for the left. If you don't get this, then this is really not a good look. And it doesn't bode well for the next couple of years. If you're not able to deliver as a progressive lawmaker. So, you know, again, we'll wait and see. But Joe Manchin is going to keep doing what he's doing. It's just a matter of how leftist lawmakers like Bernie Sanders and members, you know, in the progressive congressional caucus in the House, navigate his duplicity. And I don't even want to call it centrism because he's just the right winger. But his throwing his weight around, I guess we'll call it that. But him Joe Manchin, we can make that a verb, I think, because he's earned a verb being the idiot that he is. But I'm rambling at this point. So we'll see, folks.