President Biden’s failure to enact his signature Build Back Better Act is casting a pall over liberal activists and Democratic leaders across the country who worry that the blown opportunity will burn them in midterm elections next year.
Most of the frustration is directed at Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, and Senate Republicans. Also simmering is an angst that Mr. Biden’s inability to push the bill over the finish line fosters doubts among voters who put him in the White House and handed Democrats fragile majorities in Congress.
“It puts Democratic senators and House members in a bad space,” said South Carolina state Rep. Terry Alexander.
Mr. Alexander said he had a sense of deja vu from when President Obama and congressional Democrats refused to “take advantage of being in charge” when they controlled the levers of Washington from 2009 to 2011.
“We are losing a golden opportunity to help people in America and help this country in general,” he said. “They are still kind of fumbling the ball.”
Mr. Biden entered office this year with a promise to restore normalcy and civility in Washington after four turbulent years under President Trump.
Mr. Biden, a former vice president and longtime senator from Delaware, vowed to lean on the relationships he carved out over four-plus decades in Washington and open a new era of bipartisanship.
Instead, he got a reality check on Capitol Hill.
The combination of his party’s delicate grasp on power and his embrace of liberal priorities has left him with little margin for error when it comes to cobbling together the votes needed to pass his $1.7 trillion social welfare and climate change bill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, easily kept all his troops in line against costly liberal programs such as government-subsidized universal preschool, direct federal payments to most parents, and generous tax credits for buying electric cars and building wind and solar energy projects.
Mr. Biden, meanwhile, failed to get buy-in from Mr. Manchin. From the beginning, the moderate West Virginia Democrat aired concerns about the size and scope of the spending plan. He essentially killed the bill Sunday by pulling support.
Disappointed Democrats fear the derailment could add to the headwinds they face next year as they defend their House and Senate majorities.
Wisconsin state Rep. Christine Sinicki, chair of the Milwaukee Democrats, said activists and political followers understand that Mr. Manchin and Republicans are responsible for blowing up Mr. Biden’s plans. Still, she said, it’s tougher to explain to voters who are more interested in results than dissecting the inner workings of Washington.
“They just see the Democrats not getting anything done,” Ms. Sinicki said. “So it does make us all look bad.”
Midterm elections are typically tough on the president’s party.
Democrats’ legislative wins, including a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, give them some bragging rights. Still, they view the Build Back Better Act as their best chance to defy history.
“This is the cornerstone of President Biden’s agenda, and so it is extremely important not only that it passes for him, but for all of us down the line,” Ms. Sinicki said. “This country right now is struggling, and we need to be able to show people that Democrats can deliver.”
Ms. Sinicki said Democrats must make clear to voters that Mr. Manchin is the sole Senate Democrat standing in the way of the party’s plans, “and we need to concentrate on taking out that one person, maybe.”
Alexia Sabor, chair of the Dane County Democrats in Wisconsin, said the disappointment of Manchin’s decision is all the more reason for the party to flip Republican-held seats in the Senate.
“If anything, this highlights for us how critically important it is for us to go after Ron Johnson’s seat next year with everything we’ve got,” she said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a county with more people actively committed to preserving democracy and democratic — with a little ’d’ — values than we have here, and we’ve certainly got plenty of fight left in us.”
Mr. Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, has yet to say whether he plans to seek reelection to the Senate.
Democratic National Committee member Jan Bauer, a longtime party activist in Iowa, said people rely on Democrats to make progress and “for some reason, we always get blamed when things don’t happen.”
Ms. Bauer said she believes voters are smart enough to see that Republicans deserve the blame.
“Our good friend Mitch McConnell has done nothing but go out of his way to try to deny the American people any kind of improvement in their lives,” she said. “He is like the Grinch, who not only steals Christmas but is also stealing our future.”
The White House said not all hope is lost. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Mr. Biden will “work like hell” to get Build Back Better enacted.
“He considers Sen. Manchin a longtime friend, and our focus is on moving forward and getting this done,” she said.
Ms. Bauer said she is an “eternal optimist” and has faith in Mr. Biden. “No one can come back better than Joe Biden, and so I am not writing it off,” she said. “I am not giving up on it yet.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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