Elections are tough to explain because there is basically one data point and a zillion variables. But one variable that was entirely within the Democrats' control was the decision not to pass the $1.2 trillion "infrastructure" bill and to hold out for a $3.5 trillion "reconciliation" bill on a variety of government programs.
The bill was written by socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and adopted by President Joe Biden as the embodiment of his once-moderate-sounding "Build Back Better" agenda. It was a bait-and-switch, because Biden and his party took everything that they had cut out of the infrastructure bill in a negotiation with Republicans and simply stuck it in the "reconciliation" bill. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi joined the "progressives" in the House in insisting that the "reconciliation" bill had to precede the "bipartisan" infrastructure bill.
But Democrats could not agree among themselves, and the left would not compromise, and so Biden left for Europe last week ahead of the election, with neither bill having passed, and nothing to show the electorate.
Cue the civil war: moderates will claim that the left ruined the party's prospects, and the left will claim that moderates dampened enthusiasm among the base.
The big loser here, surprisingly, is Pelosi, once admired for her political acumen. She failed to steer a bill to passage, and looks headed to defeat in 2022.
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.
The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.
The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.
On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.
On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...
