>> As more and more Americans slip deeper into poverty as a result of this pandemic,
congressional lawmakers, especially a bipartisan group of senators have decided to
offer up smaller and smaller versions of the COVID relief bill, which
makes great content for latest edition of the dumb and the feckless.
>> One of my prayers is that
the Republicans will take back their party. >> Things keep dripping out drip, drip, drip, and
the truth comes out. >>
What's incredible is how self congratulatory these senators are starting with
Senator Joe Manchin who decided to open a press briefing with this ridiculous
bragging about, how difficult it is to come up with a solution but here we are with it.
But what is this so called solution? Before we go to his video Let me just note that
this bipartisan group unveiled one $748 billion package that includes new unemployment benefits,
small business aid and other programs that received broad bipartisan support. But that
$748 billion price tag is significantly less than what the House passed
through its Heroes Act, which of course would spend about $2.2 trillion.
In fact, prior to the general election, Donald Trump himself had offered up $1.8 trillion
but now of course, since he's been voted out he has no incentive to keep pushing for a relief
bill that actually makes any sense. And so what's the response to all of it? Well every week we get
another proposal by a bipartisan group of lawmakers that does not include direct checks
to Americans and to be quite honest with you, it doesn't even really rely on much in new spending.
I'll get to those details in just a second. But before we get to mansion, just remember this bill
and the other bill that I'm gonna detail complete or scrap but here's mentioned bragging about it.
>> I know, there's an awful lot of you thought, that can't be done.
You surely to goodness putting everything agreed on, and put in to a bill. Well,
guess what? We did. There is the bill. And then, and to make matters even better we
have two. Because with every good negotiation. >> You wanna make sure you've covered everything.
>> The only problem is it doesn't cover everything.
It does not provide direct checks to Americans,
something that Bernie Sanders has said is a non-starter. In fact, he argued, it astounds me
how just a few months ago in May, the Democratic House passed a Heroes bill which was, by the way,
$3.4 trillion at the time. What kind of negotiating is that and I think that he's right.
Democrats just keep playing ball with the demands by GOP lawmakers and, and so Jank, why don't you
jump in and share your thoughts on all of this >> First of all, it's kind of interesting the
last line of Bernie Sanders, there's more powerful but it's now being left out of all the stores jump
surprised by because usually they like powerful lines, but he said it's not a negotiation.
It's a collapse and that's exactly right. I mean, if you started a 3.4 trillion,
and you wound up at 188 billion I mean, do I need to do the math for you? Probably this, but it's
tiny. It's a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage. What is that like 5% of what you originally asked for.
And by the way, what did I used to say about Barack Obama and his establishment,
enablers and say it wasn't change, it was pocket change. We asked for $1 and
we got a nickel and that's exactly what happened. You're almost to the dollar,
okay? And one of the things I got out of that press conference is I just figured
out who the next president is, and it's not Donald Trump or Joe Biden.
It's Joe Manchin. Manchin's now running the place, the people you heard clapping there were
Republicans and Democrats. Joe Manchin, nice job on the nickel. Tell everybody that the
nickel is so shiny. It's so wonderful right and by the way, the press is clapping along.
Every article I've read about this is enormously complimentary,
and he said it there you thought we couldn't get bipartisan compromise.
No, maybe the Mainstream Media thought that we've been telling people No, you guys would
get compromised. Super easy and quick. You just agree the rich get everything right,
right, right, right. Hey, look, we're all agreed. Bernie Sanders and Josh Holley disagree, but
outside of that we're all agreed the rich should get everything nor back to bipartisan compromise.
The problem isn't that you can't compromise it's what you compromise on.
>> Yeah, that's exactly right and one of the Democratic senators who's
a little too willing to compromise in the direction of what republicans want
is the second most powerful democratic senator and that's Dick Durbin. Who by the way, is Certainly
willing to sign on to legislation that does not provide funding for state and local government.
Which by the way, if they don't appropriate funding for that, keep in mind that states
right now are also suffering from this pandemic and states are also responsible for their own
statewide unemployment program. So if the federal government does not provide the funding that
these states desperately need, not only will their public employees suffer, but the people
in these states will also suffer because the state is not going to have the funds necessary.
To pay their unemployment benefits, so it does affect everyone when democrats agree to cutting
funding for state and local government. And so I also wanna share a few other details
about this legislation and why it's such an issue. The legislation includes 16 weeks
of unemployment benefits at $300 per week for jobless Americans as well as 16 week extensions.
In base unemployment benefits and the unemployment program for gig workers
and independent contractors, I will say it's positive that
they're thinking about gig workers and independent contractors who far too often
are not covered by certain regulations or certain protections. And so it's good that
they're thinking about them but, $300 per week in unemployment benefits is obviously
much smaller than what American's received through the Cares Act which was $600 a week.
I also wanna just quickly note that there's no language here about retroactive unemployment
benefits because the fact of the matter is, American's They owe back rent as soon as the
moratorium is lifted, and that's thousands and thousands of dollars for many Americans,
and that isn't being addressed at all with this ridiculous slim package.
I also wanna note that there was over $500 billion leftover from the CARES Act that
remains unspent. What they're planning on doing is using that unspent money
In order to fund this relief package, so when you consider that and then you look at what they're
willing to spend on this package, you can see that the newly appropriated money isn't even
anywhere close to $748 billion, cuz they're again relying on unspent money through the cares act.
>> By the way, I saw that at the bottom of the third, no the fourth article that I read about
this, but almost no one clarifies, by the way, this eight or 740 billion, it's just
188 billion. The only person who's clarifying it and is Bernie Sanders. And so if they quote him on
it at the end of one of the articles, you'll see it otherwise you won't see it at all.
The media is right back to doing what they used to do before Trump. The Democrats are
back to doing what they used to do. I only get Biden not a pass but it jury's still out.
They claim he's going to do a big Coronavirus bill when once he gets in office.
Okay. And maybe he will and so if he does fantastic, then I'm here for it
and we'll give him the leeway to propose that. But right now, as things stand, they're working
on the bill right now and Joe Biden publicly has a way to at all. I mean, if you're asking who's
more in charge, I mean, he beat Bernie Sanders in the primary, but Bernie Sanders is in the fight.
Joe Biden right now doesn't appear to be in the fight. The only way that he would be in the fight
is if he's quietly behind the scenes, telling Joe Manchin, go get him do that deal.
We're gonna get a whole 5% that's we're back to my Obama Biden days where we get 5% from Republicans
and celebrate if that's how these next two years go, let alone four years they're gonna get
slaughtered in the midterms is that it's not only terrible policy, but it's also horrific politics.
>> Exactly and of course, it would be malpractice to not mention that this bipartisan effort also
includes a liability shield for corporations and it would be retroactive. That means that for these
corporations that have cut corners and refuse to protect their employees during this pandemic,
they would be cleared of any liability or any lawsuits if this legislation passes.
And so think about the workers from the Tyson meatpacking plant who have filed wrongful death
lawsuits against Tyson as a result of their malpractice their unwillingness to protect
workers. Dozens of these employees have died. Their lawsuit would be null and void
as a result of this legislation passing in the way that it's being proposed right now.
And so we're gonna talk a little bit more about how Joe Manchin is very much supportive of that
portion of the legislation. Later in the show, but just understand who this so called democrat
Joe Manchin really is he's someone who has taken this opportunity as a democratic senator to
proudly serve as an obstacle to passing legislation that actually benefits
the American people, including his own constituents.
>> Yeah, so I wanna say the last two things here because the media mischaracterizes progressives
completely. So they say my god, you guys are not settling for a nickle. You're so radical.
No, is there anything we would compromise on? Sure,
but we got to get at least close to 50% before we get to a deal.
So if It's not that we never have a deal. It's just that we don't want terrible deals.
If you can't see that obvious point that we're making, you're trying really hard not to see it.
And it's weird that the national media tries really hard not to see the truth.
Okay, and point number two is Joe Mansion says, you guys don't get it, you progressives are such
knuckle heads. You can't win in the red seat like mine if you're a populace, and you're looking out
for the people, you have to look out for big business. That's how you win in the red state.
Wait a minute, how's Josh Holley winning in Missouri? As a Republican,
and he is saying that people should get the $12 million checks,
and guess what? They love it in Missouri. He beat a corporate democrat just like you he be Claire
McCaskill. So they tried your method in Missouri, and Josh Holley and right winger came out
and said, no, let's help the people instead was given 12 $100 checks.
Let's be a populace and he won. So look,
no matter what you think of Josh Holly's other positions and I don't like his other positions.
You cannot say that a populace position cannot win in a red state because they just did