Sinema Still Isn't on Board With the Manchin-Schumer Bill, More May Have Objections

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

While Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) caved, coming to a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) which they have falsely named the “Inflation Reduction Act,” they haven’t gotten across the line quite yet. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) isn’t on board yet.

Manchin has been talking to her, trying to work her, but so far she’s not talking. She said she wanted to read the text and was waiting on the parliamentarian.

Let’s hope that she holds out. But she’s not the only possible objection. There are other possibilities, particularly as more information comes out on how it doesn’t reduce inflation and that it will raise taxes on people across all income strata, including the middle class, according to the Joint Commission on Taxation. This is on top of the economy officially going into a recession last week. Manchin had previously said he would never raise taxes during a recession, but here we are. Manchin told Fox’s Harris Faulkner that the assessment by the JCT and others that said taxes would go up was just wrong. Faulkner raked Manchin over the coals over all the issues with the bill. Joe Biden also is violating his pledge not to raise taxes on anyone under $400,000 if the assessments are true.

The other possibility of holdouts is in the House. Fox reached out to 20 Democrats who are in vulnerable races to see if they would comment on the bill — if they were going to sign aboard a tax and spend bill in the middle of a recession.

The 20 Democrats Fox News reached out to in order to see if they would support the bill, and if they found it wise to raise taxes during a recession included Reps. Sharice Davids (KS), Jared Golden (ME), Elissa Slotkin (MI), Dan Kildee (MI), Angie Craig (MN), Annie Kuster (NH), Chris Pappas (NH), Dina Titus (NV), Susie Lee (NV), Steve Horsford (NV), Marcy Kaptur (OH), Matt Cartwright (PA), Elaine Luria (VA), Abigail Spanberger (VA), Kim Schrier (WA), Cindy Axne (IA), Henry Cuellar (TX), Susan Wild (PA), Tom Malinowski (NJ), and Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ).

Not one of them responded. That says a lot about the position they know they are in if they aren’t even willing to go on the record with supporting it.

“If Democrats believe their tax and spending plan is a win for Americans, why don’t they want their constituents to know that they support it,” said Cally Perkins, the press secretary for the Congressional Leadership Fund, about their silence. “Every House Democrat needs to answer if they’ll vote to double down on more of the same reckless spending that set off inflation to begin with.”

That may mean that there are some with some sense there.

Now, they might eventually cave but it’s going to be a tough bill to vote on if they’re going to be raising taxes on people — they’re going to have to justify themselves. Meanwhile, the Republican Whip, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), said they were going to argue to Sinema “and everybody else for that matter, that it’s just that this is a bad time with inflation and a wobbly economy to be raising taxes.”

So hold onto your hats, the Democrats may not have this yet.