Little-watched MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has made it increasingly difficult to believe he was ever a Republican congressman from Florida with tantrums aimed at the GOP like the one he threw on Monday.
Doing his best impression of ‘Democratic strategist,’ Scarborough railed and The Socialist Party for giving Republicans any leeway on the hotly contested infrastructure bill, as if Congress isn’t very narrowly divided and GOP lawmakers don’t represent at least half the country.
The Daily Caller has more:
Scarborough argued that continued attempts to tie the bipartisan deal to a reconciliation bill — which would give Democrats everything they couldn’t get in the deal — might cause Republicans to think twice about voting for the bipartisan package.
Cohost Willie Geist began by saying that President Joe Biden had “dug the hole” himself when he suggested that the two plans were going to be tied together.
Scarborough argued that the larger infrastructure plan touted by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — which carries a likely price tag of $6 trillion — was unrealistic and that the best way to move forward with any infrastructure package was to find middle ground and get at least a few Republicans on board.
“I understand the progressive wing of the Democratic party has been long-suffering over the past four or five months listening about Joe Manchin and sometimes Kyrsten Sinema,” Scarborough continued.
“At the same time, if you want to have the bipartisan bill pass, you can’t say, ‘Yes, we’re going to use you to get to the 60 vote threshold this time, but only if we also can roll you with this 50 vote threshold at the same time.’ It’s just not going to work.”
He noted further that there are mixed signals coming from Democrats: Biden appeared to threaten a veto and then said he never meant to issue one, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that there isn’t going to be any bipartisan bill because she’s a Marxist tyrant at heart — neither a plan of action that will win much Republican support if any.
“Stop talking past each other! Pass the bipartisan piece of legislation, and then, instead of holding press conferences saying they need to be linked — because they can’t be linked — because if they’re linked, there’s no deal. So stop saying it!” he wailed.
“Stop saying it in front of the microphones and go to the bowels of the Capitol, get your Democratic caucuses together, and talk through it there,” Scarborough continued. “Stop giving Republicans high ground, which is exactly what you’re doing right now!”
Like we said — not much of a Republican these days, this former GOP lawmaker from red Florida. But unfortunately for Scarborough, he’s on MSNBC, and as such he has to yell in order to get anyone to notice him.
As for the GOP, well, those lawmakers represent Americans, too, and as such, they are allowed — nay, required — to dissent from the Democratic agenda when their constituents demand that they do so. It’s a pity that so few analysts and hosts on left-wing cable news programs are capable of realizing that, including former lawmakers.
Just who is ‘talking past’ who?
