In the wake of the most recent SC rulings on both abortion access in Texas and the eviction moratorium, the general talking points and/or criticisms of leftists/journos/academics I follow emphasize the fact that democrats literally control house/senate/presidency and should take action **right now. ** Blow up the filibuster, pack the courts, etc.
Although I fully agree, it's hard to overlook both ghouls Manchin/Sinema being an immediate wrench in the process of actually doing something. Even more so if we believe the reporting that Manchin/Sinema are essentially fall guys for like 15+ other reactionary dems who don't want to enact progressive policies.
When pressed on this those same leftists/journos/academics sort of just say vague things like "well if Trump could rally for x,y,z with slim majority so should Biden", or don't provide any actual tactics.
I wanna know some like actual fucking tactics Biden could use to whip the dem congress in line. One I've heard is for Biden to essentially weaponize the DOJ to investigate Manchins daughter for price gouging on EpiPens which netted her like $19 million - scare his ass into line.
**For the wonks out there who understand the unfortunate yet real levers of congressional maneuvers - what are some actual tactics Biden can actually do to fucking get things done? **
NOTE: I understand these all require a spine which Biden/Dems don't have nor does Biden even want to eliminate the filibuster. Consider this a thought experiment in the marketplace of idears.
One of the few things that Bernie would've been good for, beyond Executive Orders, was that he was very open about being willing to support primary opponents of people who weren't going to get in line with his platform. Him winning would have resulted in a line in the sand for the future of the democratic party; Either support a progressive, socdem platform in more than just words, or the president of the united states was going to campaign for your primary opponent. That would have been some serious energy towards actual change. No fucking way would Biden do that, but that's also why Bernie would never have been allowed to win.
Ah lol beat me to it
Where Bernie is currently at as Budget chairman he could work with the two leaders to pressure reluctant officials. As a tandem Bernie could stifle spending to their respective states while Pelosi and Schumer cut their campaign funding. If you are a voter and the guy elected is losing your state money, and a challenger can campaign on being more pragmatic. It's not a hard choice, now if that means the other party wins the general like we expect in Manchin's case is another story. But I think it's worth a shot since it's not as though Manchin is offering anything the party has to lose.