This was a win for Democrats.
That's what it was.
The House of Representatives voted not just to raise the debt ceiling,
but to actually eliminate the debt ceiling for two years for
the rest of President Biden's first term, for the rest of this congressional term.
The Democrats will not have to face the debt ceiling again before
they face another election.
>> On MSNBC, Lawrence O'Donnell celebrated the fact that,
Democrats conceded to everything Republicans wanted in the debt deal.
But, since Biden was willing to make a deal with the devil,
he did get something in return.
Something that he thinks is worth it.
Even though it doesn't benefit ordinary people,
it just benefits people who are already in elected office.
So, what could that be?
Let's watch.
>> This was not an easy thing to achieve.
The Republicans could have insisted on only a six month extension on
the debt ceiling, one year so that they could come back one year from now and
pound Joe Biden again in a negotiation like this.
But Kevin McCarthy gave up because Kevin McCarthy did not want to come back to
that room.
Kevin McCarthy did not want to be in another highly pressurized debt
ceiling negotiation again.
And so, Kevin McCarthy gave President Biden two full years on the debt ceiling.
That is an outcome that was almost unimaginable even a week ago.
>> [LAUGH]. >> I'm sorry.
Why exactly are we supposed to care about the comfort of
President Joe Biden as he runs for reelection?
I'd like to understand why that should take priority over all of these
provisions that scream to the American people that Joe Biden and congressional
Democrats were willing to make any and all concessions to Republicans as
long as debt ceiling negotiations would be done for the next two years.
How is this the win?
I mean, it shows you exactly what the priorities are for Democrats and
corporate media types like Lawrence O'Donnell, right?
Who cares about making it more difficult, implementing more obstacles for people
in need when it comes to obtaining what we have left of our social safety net?
Who cares about that?
Who cares about the new PAYGO rules that will impact the executive branch,
essentially making it impossible for
the Biden administration to do anything through executive order.
And we know nothing gets passed through Congress that would actually benefit
ordinary Americans because of the way Congress works.
They like to point to the filibuster in the Senate for
all these reasons why they're not able to pass the legislation they campaign on.
That was embarrassing.
>> Yes, so.
>> Like, Lawrence O'Donnell should be embarrassed.
I know he thinks he's proud of that segment.
He should be embarrassed.
Incredibly well done.
I know you're gonna go off, Cenk.
I'm just trying to get my point in before you go off.
And you should go off, because this is ridiculous.
>> Yeah.
So, I actually know Lawrence O'Donnell a little bit personally because I worked at
MSNBC, I was one of their hosts.
>> Is he as dumb in real life?
>> No.
>> No, okay. >> He's actually a very smart guy.
>> Shocking.
>> And he's super fun at parties, really good guy.
That segment was deeply, deeply deceptive and it was meant to be deceptive.
And it's not like Lawrence doesn't know because he is a smart guy.
So, I watched the whole thing cuz I was curious where he was gonna find the win
cuz I know what's in the bill, I know what the substance is and
the score was basically eight nothing.
The Republicans got all these different things that we outlined for
you the other day, cut after cut after cut, and
the Democrats got exactly zero in the bill, okay?
>> No, no be fair, Cenk.
>> Yeah. >> At least Biden doesn't have to engage
in debt deal negotiations for two years.
So they got something.
I mean, it doesn't benefit you, but it benefits Joe Biden.
Am I right?
>> Yeah. So
then I was looking to see what Lawrence's arguments were, because he's, again,
smart guy.
So, what's the points that he's gonna make?
The first point he made is, well, look at the numbers.
The numbers tell you who won, and more Democrats voted for
this than Republicans did.
So we have that clip.
>> We have that clip.
>> So let's show you that and then I can come back and
explain all the lies in the segment.
Let's watch.
>> If you're wondering who won the debt ceiling deal,
the proof is in the vote, in the House of Representatives,
the total vote was 314 in favor, 117 opposed.
165 Democrats voted for it,
149 Republicans voted for it.
71 Republicans voted against it, and only 46 Democrats voted against it.
More Democrats supported this bill than
Republicans because this was a win for Democrats.
>> So, let me address that in a completely different way, okay?
So, he didn't mention any of the policies,
the entire segment cuz he knows for a fact that they got routed on policy.
$30 billion off of the COVID relief, $20 billion off of IRS funding,
a freezing cap on spending, and goes on and on and brutal.
Absolutely brutal.
No wins for Democrats, none, zero.
Well, we got an exemption on the thing that we didn't even need to negotiate, so
we didn't need to get a half a win on SNAP.
He gave away work requirements, which they said they would never do, okay.
So instead, Lawrence says, and unfortunately this works for
the MSNBC audience, he says, since more Democrats voted for than Republicans,
by definition it must be a good thing, cuz Democrats gave it to you.
And Democrats are angels and Republicans are bad guys, angels,
bad guys, good cop, bad cop.
Hey, what happened at the end?
Yeah, the rich won everything and they took it all from you,
the donors won everything.
So, my interpretation of the same exact fact pattern is, so
you're telling me more Democrats voted for
a Republican bill than Republicans, but that's a fact.
The Democrats didn't ask for the debt ceiling fight, and
I think secretly they did.
But technically, according to Lawrence O'Donnell, their peers are driven stowed,
they're saints.
They didn't want this debt ceil fight, and
they didn't wanna give away all these things to Republicans.
But somehow, more Democrats voted for it than Republicans did.
I wonder if that doesn't mean the Democrats won.
It means they're on the same goddamn team.
165 for Democrats, 149 for Republicans.
Corporate Democrats and corporate Republicans.
It was always meant to rob you.
We were right from day one.
We showed you exactly what they were gonna do ahead of time.
We told you they would do this deal.
We told you the Democrats would get absolutely nothing out of it.
We told you the Republicans would celebrate while saying, golly G,
we didn't get enough.
And we told you the media would paint it as a victory for
Biden when he literally got absolutely nothing.
All right.
The last two arguments that he had were, well, we got rid of the debt ceiling for
two, he said, we got rid of it.
And I was like what, do you get rid of the debt ceiling?
Then he's like, for two years.
Why is that even important?
>> It's important because Biden doesn't wanna be inconvenienced with debt
deal negotiations as he is running for reelection.
It is a win specifically for Joe Biden and his political needs.
It is not a win for the American people.
>> Yes. >> This is austerity, okay?
For the American people.
That is exactly what we got out of this bill.
Again, let me just reiterate, I know we're being repetitive, but it's important for
you guys to understand this because, as Cenk mentioned,
segments like the one you just saw from Lawrence O'Donnell intentionally leave out
the actual policy that's been implemented here.
So, work requirements for SNAP recipients, PAYGO rules for
the executive branch, Okay?
Meaning if the executive branch wants to implement any policy,
any executive order, and it costs any money, well, he would have
to defund some other program in order to come up with the funds for it, okay?
Fast track on new fossil fuel projects, it would only need to
be approved by one government agency on environmental grounds.
I'm sorry.
Spending caps on non defense discretionary spending,
which actually amounts to a spending cut when you take inflation into account.
I mean, it is just one after another,
one policy after another that hurts ordinary Americans materially, and
they're trying to sell it to us as if it's a big win by the Democratic Party.
I got to say, Cenk, real quick before you get to your next point,
if it's such a big win for Democrats, why is progressive Mitch McConnell in
the Senate saying that he can't wait to vote for it?
He can't wait to approve this policy,
which has just been voted in favor of in the House?
Let's watch.
>> House Republicans unity gave them the upper hand.
They used it to secure a much needed step in the right direction.
When this agreement reaches the Senate, I'll be proud to support it without delay.
>> What a win for Democrats.
Mitch McConnell is very excited to support the legislation.
>> No, but then, let's use Lawrence O'Donnell's logic.
If Democrats voted for, then it must be awesome, if the Republicans like it,
it must be terrible, those evil dastardly Republicans.
Well, Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans, just told you he loves it.
So, by Lawrence O'Donnell logic, then this is the worst bill in American history.
Thank you, Lawrence, we appreciate it.
Okay, look, he said, Kevin McCarthy, he gave up.
Come on, Lawrence.
What an outrageous, silly lie, right?
He stopped because he got more than he could have imagined.
There was, you're looking for $10 billion in IRS funding cuts, Biden gave him 20 for
no reason.
>> That's right.
>> Biden said he wasn't gonna negotiate, he doesn't have to negotiate.
And, he can just use the 14th Amendment as clear as day, right?
And the Republicans get this gift, after gift, after gift, after gift, and then
McCarthy is like, I'm full man, I can't have one water, more water saving wafer.
How much is this idiot gonna give us?
And the second reason he quote, unquote, stopped or gave up,
in Lawrence O'Donnell's terminology, is because his donors are like,
no, remember rob the poor in the middle class, give it to us.
Because defense spending is still going up and they didn't touch taxes for
the rich at all, right?
>> Correct.
>> So, once you get the ransom, now remember, we don't actually wanna endanger
the debt ceiling cuz that would endanger the stock market.
So, once you got your goodies, take the deal right away.
Why do you think McCarthy and McConnell are dancing in the streets?
Because their donors are ecstatic and
millions are gonna pour into their coffers.
But I swear to God, people who watch mainstream media,
that speech that O'Donnell gave, was super compelling.
Every establishment Democrat friend I have go, well, more Democrats voted for it.
It must be great by definition.
>> Let's hear from other conservatives, right?
We just heard from Mitch McConnell, who loves the bill,
can't wait to vote in favor of it once it hits the Senate.
But, you should always check out what the conservative narrative is, because over
at the National Review, Dan McLaughlin is celebrating the bill as well.
What a win for Democrats, right?
Here's what he writes.
Politically, this is an unambiguous win for McCarthy and
House Republicans who were expected to get nothing, and an unambiguous defeat for
Joe Biden, who promised that House Republicans would get nothing.
It also shows, and this is a damning excerpt from his piece that I agree with.
He writes, it also shows that Democrats on the Hill are just bystanders now
on any issue that requires the affirmative consent of the House.
He also writes that, McCarthy had and I had been saying this,
this is absolutely true, McCarthy had limited leverage and
the good news is, that he didn't agree to any of Biden's demands for
tax hikes or really much else that was affirmatively harmful.
I mean, he considers those things harmful because this is a conservatives
perspective.
But get a load of this.
They're celebrating the fact that, Republicans really didn't have much
leverage here and they got what they wanted.
And when they're saying that they didn't have much leverage, it's the fact that,
ain't nobody gonna let the world economy crash, okay?
Republicans aren't gonna let that happen, Democrats aren't gonna let that happen.
Why do I say that?
It's not because they're worried about other people, okay?
Never make the mistake of thinking that,
it's because they're worried about themselves.
They are heavily invested in the stock market.
I think one of the main reasons why some of these people wanna be in elected office
in the first place, is because insider trading is apparently completely allowed.
It is treated with impunity if you're a member of Congress.
That's why so many of them become tremendously wealthy as they sit there
experiencing and enjoying the halls of power, okay?
So, the idea that Biden had to negotiate with them in the first place is
ridiculous.
And here you have Dan McLaughlin from the National Review saying as much.
Okay, go ahead, Cenk.
>> Yeah, all right.
So, he mentioned, for example, hey, Biden was supposed to ask for
tax hikes, but we didn't even get that.
So, it was such a win for the Republicans.
That's because Biden doesn't want tax hikes.
I know for normie Democrats, if you don't know normie Democrats,
they're outraged by that suggestion.
They're like, Biden is an angel.
They descended from heaven down a year to bestow us this great
bipartisan compromise, and you guys are still complaining.
But guys and the thing is, look, this is the same thing.
And by the way, because of this, always remember this when we get really mad and
frustrated and we're also kinda amused at the right wing for
believing the utter crap on Fox News, you think, my God, look at how dumb they are.
Are they?
Because he's perfectly smart people on the Democratic side,
as soon as the media says, what a great deal that we got nothing and
they got everything, they go, that's a great deal.
I love that deal, man.
More Democrats voted for it, more Democrats voted for it.
So, Biden never even asked for tax hikes.
A normal compromise, even if you were gonna get into this negotiation,
which you should have never gotten into, right.
You go, okay, well, I'll do those cuts if you give me tax increases.
That's how a compromise works.
But we got nothing other than the one thing that O'Donnell mentioned and
we now mentioned several times.
We said, well, now we're not gonna talk about the debt ceiling for two years.
But that was the original hostage.
So, you've heard that hostage analogy a lot.
Let me finish with this, completing that analogy, right?
So, bunch of criminals break into your home and they hold your family hostage,
and then you give them this, that the other you say, take my bank account,
take all the clothes, take all the computers, take two of my family members,
take all this.
And Lawrence O'Donnell does a segment, what a win.
The hostage takers will not come back for two years.
I mean, they're gonna come back in the third year if a Democrat wins and
they're gonna take more hostages and more family members and all of your money,
and you got nothing in return, you didn't even call the cops.
But, we're gonna say, you just obliterating your own side is a win,
because you were on that side.
Look, if you believe this propaganda, you'll believe anything.