In the wake of the most recent SC rulings on both abortion access in Texas and the eviction moratorium, the general talking points and/or criticisms of leftists/journos/academics I follow emphasize the fact that democrats literally control house/senate/presidency and should take action **right now. ** Blow up the filibuster, pack the courts, etc.
Although I fully agree, it's hard to overlook both ghouls Manchin/Sinema being an immediate wrench in the process of actually doing something. Even more so if we believe the reporting that Manchin/Sinema are essentially fall guys for like 15+ other reactionary dems who don't want to enact progressive policies.
When pressed on this those same leftists/journos/academics sort of just say vague things like "well if Trump could rally for x,y,z with slim majority so should Biden", or don't provide any actual tactics.
I wanna know some like actual fucking tactics Biden could use to whip the dem congress in line. One I've heard is for Biden to essentially weaponize the DOJ to investigate Manchins daughter for price gouging on EpiPens which netted her like $19 million - scare his ass into line.
**For the wonks out there who understand the unfortunate yet real levers of congressional maneuvers - what are some actual tactics Biden can actually do to fucking get things done? **
NOTE: I understand these all require a spine which Biden/Dems don't have nor does Biden even want to eliminate the filibuster. Consider this a thought experiment in the marketplace of idears.
TBH it's hard to discipline American politicians they're basically free agents. You can't expel them from the party and really the only consequence is not giving them a position on a committee. I think the only way if Biden had the spine is if he used his bully pulpit to basically primary manchin and sinema as well as the other dozen or so dem bottom feeders
They can threaten to pull their campaign funding from the DNC
But also, primarying them openly them could cause them to just say ,"fuck you, you need me, I don't need you." It's the worst situation to be in. I think Biden should seek a progressive grassroots plan for rural areas to move red areas far more to the left. This would threaten Manchin in the long term..