Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have agreed, apparently, on a reconciliation bill that will make huge inroads on climate and raise taxes. I think it also allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
Because of the cheaper energy, tax increases and lowered drug prices, this can plausibly be considered anti-inflationary and that is the way Manchin is selling it. Frankly, every Democrat should be calling it the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, not only to puff up Manchin's ego, but because that's actually a great thing to call it!
What really tickles me is a little is a note towards the end of Lemieux's rundown: there was a separate bill to subsidize making computer chips in the US - for supply chain and national security issues, I guess. Here is the sequence of events:
-McConnell said he would hold up the bill as long as Dems tried to pass a huge reconciliation bill.
-Manchin says he can't support the huge reconciliation bill. Progressives scream bloody murder.
-Senate passes the computer chip bill.
-Manchin suddenly supports the (slightly less) huge reconciliation bill.
There is no direct evidence that Schumer used Manchin's penchant for flakiness against McConnell, but damn if it sure doesn't look that way.
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