Messaging

Politics Unusual:  The CBO report is in, the Build Back Better plan would add about $160 billion to the deficit over the next decade, nothing to sneeze at but a mere pittance when compared to the trillions that the FG’s tax cuts added.  In fact the CBO estimate was better than the administration expected.  A number of the hold out House Democrats are now on board and according to Speaker Pelosi she’s got the votes needed for passage and as hard as it is to believe, Biden and Senate Leader Schumer believe they also have the votes needed for Senate passage meaning that Senators Sinema and Manchin are on board too, well maybe.  The House vote was supposed to take place last night but didn’t because GQP Leader McCarthy took to the floor and spoke until 5:10 this morning to stall its passage.  The vote is now expected to take place later this morning.  As to Kevin most of what he said was garbled nonsense, a performance intended to impress the FG and his party’s extremist wing, part of his effort to ensure that he rather than Gym Jordan, or even the FG, Panhandle Putz Matt Gaetz’s choice, gets the speaker nod when the Republicans retake the House; and just a reminder, given all that gerrymandering they are odds on favorites to grab it back in 2022.  Though the focus was supposed to be the Build Back Better legislation, Kevin was all over the place, at one point he attacked the Afghan pullout, saying Biden hadn’t taken in enough refugees only to later say we’d taken in too many so you get the gist.  He did manage to get into the record books for longest speech, beating Speaker Pelosi, who had held the previous record.  Frankly, it’s hard to care about his crazy speechifying, it’s the other stuff he’s done and will do if and when he becomes speaker that should concern us. Among other things he’ll likely give Representatives Gosar and Margie Q back their committee assignments while going after those of a few Democrats.  Likely targets will be Maxine Waters, Ilhan Omar and Eric Swalwell though Adam Schiff and a whole bunch of other names are also being bandied about.  As to Gosar, he’s now officially sanctioned; two Republicans, Kinzinger and Cheney, joined the Democratic majority in stripping him of his committee positions.  GQP Kevin expressed outrage because apparently threatening the life of a fellow Congressperson and harm to the sitting President is no biggie for him.  Gosar, who Kevin claims “apologized” to his Republican brethren for his heinous tweet, responded to the censure by retweeting the offensive anime and, of course, the FG announced that he’s endorsing Gosar for reelection. That’s the same FG who sent out a long incoherent statement on Wednesday, ramping up his attack of “Old Crow” Mitch McConnell, calling him “stupid” and a “fool” while accusing him of “incompetence” for facilitating the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and allowing the debt ceiling limit to be lifted, albeit temporarily.  Having taken down a few House Republicans who didn’t vote his way,  the FG seems determined to do the same to the “Old Crow.” Those four years when Mitch consistently pushed through the FGs judges, forgotten.  As to the debt limit, which runs out again in the beginning of December, reports are that Senate Leader Schumer and “Old Crow” McConnell have been having behind the scenes talks to facilitate its passage.  That’s how things are supposed to work but don’t get too used to it.  If the Republicans retake the House after the midterms routinely raising the debt limit could be come near impossible given the heat those few Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill have gotten.

Viral Musings:  The seven day average of new coronavirus cases is now tapping at the door of 100,000 with deaths stuck stubbornly above 1000.  Given the beginning of the holiday season, dropping temperatures in the north, waning vaccine effectiveness for those previously vaccinated but not yet boosted, and the number who remain unvaccinated the infection number is likely to climb a lot, sooner rather than later. On a more positive note, 10% of eligible 5 to 11 year-olds have already gotten their first shots, a faster jab uptake for the pediatric COVID shot than was achieved with the adult rollout. As to adults, 80% have gotten their first jab and though a handful of covidiots have sought to “undo” the effectiveness of their shots with borax baths, that’s just stupid and probably dangerous but not effective. Hopefully, those experts who say that the country’s vaccination rate will blunt the lethality of the winter COVID wave are correct. It’s still not clear whether the Biden vaccination mandates will withstand the legal challenges being pressed by Governors and Attorneys General from red states but those in place at the local level do appear to be working despite the borax idiocy.  The administration also reports that 31 million adults have gotten their boosters, good but not enough. Hopefully, expectations that the FDA will endorse both Pfizer and Moderna boosters for all adults today are true.  That endorsement should clear up confusion about who should get boosters getting the message out to all. Though the Pfizer COVID pill has not yet received emergency use authorization, that authorization is expected which likely explains why the US government has entered into a contract to purchase $5.3 billion, or 10 million courses of the drug. The government earlier ordered some of Merck’s pills as well.  Lastly, we keep on learning more about how hard the FG administration worked to muddy the COVID message over fears that admitting how much of a problem it was would “hurt” his economy and chances for reelection.  Crazy, that as a result we’re still fighting over vaccine effectiveness and face mask mitigation, particularly since he was the one who funded so much of the vaccine development.

One More Thing:  Though the news has been focused on inflation and the Republican party is stoking the “we’re about to turn into Argentina or worse” story it turns out the economic picture is actually pretty good.  Jobless claims are down under 300,000 and 531,000 new jobs were added in October.  Even more significantly,  prior months figures understated job growth missing more than 600,000 jobs that have now been added back in.  Retail sales and manufacturing output are both up.  The issue now may be more about how people, burnt out from the long COVID experience, feel about the economy rather than dire economic problems. If only messaging was something that Democrats were good at. 

Have a great weekend! Boost up.