Pirate's Cove

Generally, when a politician walks something back it’s because they told their version of the truth, they said what they believe, and are now trying to make up Excuses

Biden: Infrastructure vow was not intended to be veto threat

Aiming to preserve a fragile bipartisan deal on infrastructure, President Joe Biden endorsed it “without hesitation” Saturday, walking back from a threat to veto it if Congress also didn’t pass an even larger package to expand the social safety net.

Biden said he didn’t mean to suggest in earlier remarks that he would veto the nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill unless Congress also passed a broader package of investments that he and fellow Democrats aim to approve along party lines, the two together totaling some $4 trillion.

Speaking on Thursday moments after fulfilling his hopes of reaching a bipartisan accord, Biden appeared to put the deal in jeopardy with his comment that the infrastructure bill would have to move in “tandem” with the larger bill.

Yeah, that’s what he did mean to say. He gave comments to this effect multiple times Thursday. Even his dementia wouldn’t mean he did not mean what he said

By Saturday, Biden was seeking to clarify those comments, after his top negotiators Steve Ricchetti and Louisa Terrell worked to assure senators that Biden remained enthusiastic about the deal.

“My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very plan I had just agreed to, which was certainly not my intent,” Biden said in a statement.

“I intend to pursue the passage of that plan, which Democrats and Republicans agreed to on Thursday, with vigor,” Biden added. “It would be good for the economy, good for our country, good for our people. I fully stand behind it without reservation or hesitation.”

Senate Republicans should demand an immediate vote on it, see if Joe and the Senate Democrats will go for that. A straight line vote on passage, without amendments, without adding pork (more pork), without adding Joe “people infrastructure” stuff back in. Of course, Pelosi and other House Democrats are saying they will add all that stuff back in and then want it passed during reconciliation of the House and Senate versions passed (merging them), by the voting method of reconciliation, if you know what I mean. Will Joe go for that, or stick by his walked back words on passage of the original bipartisan version?

Biden was set to travel on Tuesday to Wisconsin for the first stop on a nationwide tour to promote the infrastructure package, the White House said.

Where he will walk back his walked back comments, most likely, in order to placate his unhinged voting base

The two measures were always expected to move together through Congress: the bipartisan plan and a second bill that would advance under special rules allowing for passage solely with majority Democrats votes and is now swelling to $6 trillion. Biden reiterated that was his plan on Saturday, but said he was not conditioning one on the other.

“So to be clear,” his statement said, “our bipartisan agreement does not preclude Republicans from attempting to defeat my Families Plan; likewise, they should have no objections to my devoted efforts to pass that Families Plan and other proposals in tandem.”

That doesn’t really sound like he was walking anything back, does it? It sounds like he’s setting it up for voting on both, and see why one will fly.