Arrgh. Paywall.
Here is the first part (I must not have used up my freebees....)
WASHINGTON — Just like the original Sphinx, the Phoenix Sphinx is blocking the way until those who would move ahead solve her riddle:
What does Kyrsten Sinema want? And why doesn’t she stick around to explain it?
Somehow, we have gotten ourselves in a perverse situation where Sinema and Joe Manchin rule the world, and it’s confounding that these two people have this much sway. As Hemingway wondered in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” what are those leopards doing at this altitude?
Sinema and Manchin are now directing what Joe Biden gets to do and deciding how his presidency will be defined. Some Democrats even worry that the recalcitrant pair could be helping Donald Trump vault back into the White House.
The duo has created such havoc on the Hill — with the fate of the whole country riding on what mood they’re in — that congressional reporters have come up with Bennifer-style nicknames for them, including Manchinema and Sinemanch.
Democrats were irritated at Sinema — again — on Friday. Even as Biden traipsed up to Capitol Hill to try to rescue his F.D.R. dreams, Sinema flew back to Phoenix in the middle of nail-biting negotiations on the scope of Biden’s social policy bill.
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I meant to say.....
Anyone WHO can get under Dowd's skin.....I am a fan.
Of course, what you don't hear are conservatives pointing out that this is why the senate exists.....even though this is a prime example.
It was Manchin who pointed out that the senate exists to cool (and slow) down the house from doing something stupid (like spending 3.5 Trillion).
In fact, I don't hear much about the 10th Amendment from anyone.
Like her not....if you want anything close to fiscal sanity.....she is trying to help.
Some may wish that she'd cave so we have bigger bargaining chips. A bill our grandkids will be paying for decades.