Democrats may lose power in the United States due to their fixation on environmentalism. Opinion

28.12.2021, Washington.

The desire of US President Joseph Biden and the left wing of the US Democratic Party to include restrictive environmental regulations into a bill for large-scale infrastructure construction endangers the Democrats’ electoral position in 2022, the Rossa Primavera News Agency editorial published on December 28 reads.

The ambitious infrastructure project of the Biden administration could not pass the US Senate because of the refusal of support from Joseph Manchin, a moderate senator from the Democratic Party who represents the state of West Virginia. This has already forced the Biden administration to cut the plan from $2.3 trillion to $1.2 trillion, but Manchin continues to deny support.

“Joe Biden likes to repeat that he is committed to working with both parties on key issues. But the overburdening of his infrastructure plan with the costs associated with more strict environmental regulations and expanded social programs has led to the bill not being supported by the Republicans and some Democrats as well.

West Virginia’s economy is heavily dependent on coal, and Joe Manchin understands that his support of an overburdened environmental bill would hit his voter base. And he’s not alone here.

The story with the infrastructure project shows, on the one hand, the Democrats’ unwillingness to compromise with their colleagues in the US Congress and, on the other hand, the weakness of their own ranks. The inability to convince their fellow party members of the right course has led to legislative dysfunction. This legislative dysfunction has made the first year of the Biden administration in many ways a year of missed opportunities.

There will be fewer opportunities in the near future. 2022 is already a year of midterm congressional elections and campaigning. Aspiring congressmen seeking re-election will need to show their constituents some results. And then it becomes in their best interest to compromise with Manchin and drop the most controversial elements of a bill that involves spending more than a trillion dollars. Or they could be seen as maximalists who have done nothing.

After 2022, Biden will very likely already be dealing with Republican majorities in both houses of Congress. This majority will be more than happy to block his innovations and make him a ‘lame duck.’

Early in his first term, Biden had an opportunity to lean on the majority in Congress and get a large boost to the real economy. But the Democrats, as Americans like to say in such cases, bit off more than they could chew.”

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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