Don Lemon Didn't Get The Memo

But he's begun to see that there is one. According to Fox News:

CNN host Don Lemon flipped out on Democrats Wednesday, slamming his fist on his desk as he ranted that they weren't doing enough to sell their agenda to the American people and rescue democracy.

. . . "Democrats get your butts in gear and get passionate about saving this damn country! You’re not doing it. You’re weak. You are weak. You are weak," Lemon said as he beat his hand on his desk.

Lemon claimed the massive Democrat-backed multi-trillion dollar social spending package included items that Americans wanted but weren't being advocated for in the right way.

I've been saying since last month that something's hinky about this whole BBB-Bernie $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. The bosses have been saying they're gonna work all weekend to get it done, but as I learned in my tech days, if you actually go in to the office over that weekend, nobody's there. But deadline after deadline comes and goes, and there's no sense of urgency in Washington, either. Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer have had nothing to say all week, and Biden has been reminiscing about Amtrak again.

Clearly something else is up. I got a sense of it here:

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) squabbled behind closed doors Wednesday, with Manchin using a raised-fist goose egg to tell his colleague he can live without any of President Biden's social spending plan, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The disagreement, recounted to Axios by two senators in the room, underscores how far apart two key members remain as the Democratic Party tries to meet its deadline for reaching an agreement on a budget reconciliation framework by Friday.

The politely mislabeled "disagreement" between Manchin and Sanders is nothing new, but all of a sudden we learn of a "deadline for reaching an agreement on a budget reconciliation framework by Friday," which is today, and which is clearly not going to happen. But yet again, this is oh by the way, and there's no urgency, at least for anyone but Don Lemon. But the story has more:

Manchin's comfort level with zero as a final number — and his willingness to threaten Sanders with it publicly at Wednesday's lunch for Senate committee chairs — reveals a stark reality for Democratic negotiators: Manchin can control the final dollar amount.

But how is this public? The story gives the context as a "behind closed doors" meeting of Democrat committee chairs. Except that two Deomocrat committee chairs promptly leaked what went on.

Another witness, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said, "There was a vigorous, 10-minute discussion. Bernie said, '$6 trillion.'" . . . Overall, Coons said, there was "significant progress" in the meeting about identifying the core issues remaining.

He said the parties also forged ahead with "figuring out which of our different committee chairs and caucus leaders have a role in getting those issues closed, and trying to get people to be to be direct."

So wait a moment. According to this story, they've missed yet another deadline for coming up with a "framework", but that's OK, they've made significant "progress" on identifing "core issues". Now, the next announced deadline is October 31, with four legislative days remaining before then. And both Pelosi and Manchin have already said the October 31 deadline is nowhere near set in stone.

But there was another story that gives away another part of the deal:

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in an exclusive interview with The Hill on Thursday said he has no plans to leave the Democratic Party and has not threatened to do so.

. . . “What is true,” Manchin told The Hill, “is that I have told the president, Chuck Schumer, and even the whole caucus that if it is ‘embarrassing’ to them to have a moderate, centrist Democrat in the mix and if it would help them publicly, I could become an Independent — like Bernie — and then they could explain some of this to the public saying it’s complicated to corral these two Independents, Bernie and me.”

Not only that, but Manchin has been trolling Sanders all week, and it sounds more and more as if this is to the tacit amusement of his colleagues. In other words, this whole idea of Manchin holding up the show is, yet again, kabuki. Manchin is still in the club, still a good ol' boy. There's an amusing food fight between Manchin and Sanders (who I suspect is not in the club) at the closed-door luncheon, but in the background is a very clear sense that the Democrat insiders are slow-walking this whole process. It isn't going to get done by October 31 or any other date.

There's another ingredient to the kabuki, the debt ceiling, which must be extended by December 3. Sen McConnell has told Schumer he must pass it via reconciliation, with no Republican help. Since November will be an effective total loss, Schumer should be setting up for this now, right? Instead, crickets.

There's been a deal. The memo has likely been out for months. The BBB-Bernie thing goes quietly away, and McConnell delivers the Republican votes on the debt ceiling. They're throwing Biden under the bus, but he's served his purpose. Actually, I wonder if Biden was ever more than a wannabe with the club. Obama knew this as well.