As he pursues his $4-trillion domestic spending wish list, President Biden has had a lot more than Republican opposition to contend with. He has found himself squeezed between two wings of his own party: progressives who want the biggest possible expansion of federal programs and moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia who insist that legislation should be the product of bipartisan compromise. …
None of this can be fun for Biden, but he actually has something to celebrate. Almost lost in the infighting was a remarkable fact: Party infighting aside, the president appears increasingly likely to push through domestic spending increases of at least $1 trillion, something that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. Even moderate Democrats seem to have accepted the premise that the federal government’s success in combating COVID-19 and jump-starting the economy has made big government more popular than it has been since World War II. CONTINUED
Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times [via yahoo.com]