Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was not surprised by Senator Joe Manchin's announcement that he would decline to back the President's signature bill, pointing out that progressives have been raising concerns about the bill for months.
After Manchin's announcement, the two-term New York Democrat took to the internet to reiterate her longstanding displeasure with the way in which the bills have been handled on the House floor.
She said that when a few of us in the House warned that this would happen if Dem leaders gave Manchin everything he wanted first, many ridiculed our position. Maybe they'll believe us next time. Maybe people will keep calling us nave.
We cannot accept no for an answer. Dem leadership wrote a huge check on their credibility the night of the BIF vote in order to secure the votes they needed, and they personally promised they would do so. It is not an option for Dem leaders to walk away from their rights.
The bipartisan bill was signed into law months before progressives called on Democratic leadership to place both bills on the floor for a vote at the same time, while moderates pushed for a vote on the bipartisan bill without tying it to the larger bill.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed the lower chamber. The six Democratic House lawmakers who opposed the bill were all distrustful of the legislative process.
One of the issues that we have had is trust, and people have said that throughout this process. In the big moments, trust is not built. The little moments are where trust is built. She said last month that trust is built-in.
We were going to vote on it this week. There was a group of people who said at the last minute that they needed a CBO score. Do you mean to demand that you have a deficit- increase bill at the same time? It doesn't add up. It's weird. She was frustrated by the demands from moderates.
The legislation in the Senate was thrown aside by Manchin's position if he stands firm. Universal pre-K, renewal of child tax credit payments, and tackling climate change are some of the provisions of the bill.
The Democratic party cannot give up on their shared values, argued the woman.
"People can be mad at Manchin, but we knew he would do this months ago," she said. They need to fix it.
