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| Kevin Lamarque/Reuters |
Gallup’s Frank Newport has written an overview of recent public polling on infrastructure, and the data show why passing legislation may not resonate with voters as much as they think it will.
To be sure, Newport highlights polling showing that when asked directly, Americans are broadly supportive of infrastructure spending:
A Monmouth University poll found 68% support for infrastructure funding in response to this question: “President Biden recently proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure plan to be spent on roads, bridges and trains, internet access, power grid improvements, and clean energy projects. In general, do you support or oppose this plan?” A Washington Post/ABC News poll in April found 52% support and 35% opposition for a “$2 trillion infrastructure development plan that the Biden administration has proposed.” A poll sponsored by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found 67% support among registered voters for a “major investment in the nation’s infrastructure.”
This makes sense. Asked broadly whether the government should spend money on things that sound good, Americans are likely to say yes. The contrast in the above questions also make sense. It’s revealing that when the question mentions Biden, support more closely matches his overall approval. --->READ MORE HERE
Last week the White House announced that the framework for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill had been agreed upon by the President and several Republican Senators. Paeans to “bipartisanship” were sung by the DC establishment, although resistance from the Democrats’ extreme left caucus indicates a final bill may not be coming.
But more worrisome is the willingness of some Republicans to persist in thinking that the Dems really believe in give-and-take negotiations, rather than using them as a tactic for getting what they want. For too long the “bipartisan,” “reaching across the aisle” magical thinking has led Republicans into advancing Democrats’ big-government priorities. And given the urgency of turning back the most left-wing administration in American history, Republicans don’t need to be giving Dems any wins they can leverage during the 2022 midterm elections.
In the case of the current “framework,” several pundits have pointed out that it solves the dilemma the Dems were facing. The administration’s ambition had been to package infrastructure with a whole catalogue of big-government, social welfare, cradle-to-grave programs. But Republican resistance and the filibuster––along with Senator Joe Manchin’s demand for legitimate infrastructure spending––make that hard to do. So, as NRO’s Charlie Cooke reports, “The deal that [Fox News’s] Chad Pergram is reporting fixes this issue for the Democrats, in that it allows them to recruit the 60 bipartisan votes for the Manchin-friendly infrastructure package and to turn around once that’s done and get everything else they want at a simple 50-vote threshold [through reconciliation].” --->READ MORE HERE
Congress is expected to take action on President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan any day now, but Republicans are hesitant to endorse the expensive plan, which is filled with Democrat agenda goals and progressive talking points.
Biden originally said last week he would not sign the infrastructure plan that garnered GOP support unless the legislative body also passed a reconciliation bill littered with leftist agenda items. When Republicans promised to jeopardize Biden’s plan by pulling out of the “bipartisan” part of the deal in response, Biden walked back his statement and claimed that potentially vetoing any legislation that didn’t include sneaky provisions for his families plan “was certainly not my intent.”
“The bottom line is this: I gave my word to support the Infrastructure Plan, and that’s what I intend to do. I intend to pursue the passage of that plan, which Democrats and Republicans agreed to on Thursday, with vigor,” the president said in a statement.
Here are the top 10 worst things about Biden’s expensive and partisan infrastructure plan that House Democrats are hoping to implement. --->READ MORE HERE
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