Many Republicans and Democrats have had reckless episodes in the past, each one more outrageous than the last. It now appears as a perfect time for left-wing Democrats to check off items from the wish list.
According to The Epoch Times, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal took shots at Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia for his proposal to trim the reconciliation budget down to a mear $1.5 trillion, significantly lower than the $3.5 trillion that Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed.
Rep. Jayapal found the $1.5 trillion insufficient to fund the progressive agenda she and the other “squad” members find necessary for the country. Sen. Manchin’s concern regarding the $3.5 trillion was it would lead to another round of consumer price inflation.
Progressive Democrats have been at odds with the reasonable counterparts who hold power in both chambers of Congress should they decide to exercise it, regarding just how fiscally reckless the federal government should be.
According to Breitbart, Rep. Jayapal had a rather telling exchange with Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” where she displayed what many would deem a total lack of budgetary sanity nor any concrete idea of what she as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus wishes to accomplish with this dispute. When asked by Bash for an estimate on what she would like the final price tag of the bill to be after she failed to provide an exact numerical figure, Jayapal said that “I don’t feel the need to give a number. I gave a number it was 3.5. If you are in a negotiation, you need to have a counteroffer before you bid at yourself.”
Jayapal continued to demonstrate her deft in all matters of statecraft when Bash attempted yet again to purse an estimation from her by saying that “I don’t have a definite number yet. I don’t have a counteroffer. It would be like buying a house and going in to make an offer, and somebody says, what’s the lowest number you would take? Why would I do that?”
In stark contrast, Sen. Manchin clarified during a recent press conference last week that his $1.5 trillion proposal already represented a significant olive branch on his part as he was not keen on the reconciliation budget at all. “I wasn’t trying to be the fly in the ointment at all. I’ve never been. I’ve never been a liberal in any way, shape, or form. No-one has ever thought I was.” Manchin said. “For them to get theirs, I guess elect more liberals. I’m not asking them to change. I’m willing to come from zero to 1.5 [trillion].”