This is all typical Manchin kabuki to me until we get to the vote. Talk is cheap and performative til we see what he actually does.

 

Meanwhile:

 

 

Joe is keeping it slow and steady so far, but you can just tell the Beltway is already bored to death and depressed that the Trump show is outta town. Tackling the immigration crisis in depth. A sober and measured tone is what the country wants, but not the media.

 

He's being very detailed. I think he's looking to rope a dope these guys. Filibuster and wear them out, give them nothing else to work with.

 

 

 

Biden turned Vega's child migration question to his advantage, so she kept going and going trying to turn it into a gotcha. Didn't work.

 

 

Meanwhile, this nothing question re: parliamentary rule went nowhere -

 

 

Kristin Welker tries to get tough GOP-style on Biden rolling back Trump immigration policies. He says "I make no apology for that."

 

 

Joe is getting loud on this:

 

 

 

Says their efforts "make Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle."

 

Biden says he intends to run for reelection.

 

 

On bipartisanship: "I would like Republican support, but what I know I have now is electoral support from Republican voters."

 

He's having a good time up there. Doing well. Giving great soundbites. Re: four years from now -  "I have no idea if there'll be a Republican Party. Do you?"

 

He's turned this into a campaign stop. Woo!

Edited March 25, 20214 yr by Vee

 

 

 

@Vee I also saw this.

 

 

There seems to be far more effort from the Beltway to try to frame and cheerlead her consistently poor and self-absorbed efforts (she was also the one who got giddy over rushing up to Lisa Murkwoski to show her tweets from Neera Tanden) than to actually cover today's America. 

 

I also saw various idiots on the right trying to make Biden saying he had joined the Senate 120 years ago into a big thing. Pathetic. 

 

And this, referencing W's grimy, slimy ex-mouthpiece.

 

 

 

 

And a fundamental point from earlier:

 

 

Joe is doing very well. I thought he'd do decent if a bit sleepy but this is once again everyone underestimating him.

 

 

Biden smashes the final question - scoffs at the idea that migrants are dying to sell everything they own to coyotes and risk it all to come here, rejecting the GOP framing again.

 

 

He playfully dismisses GOP as 'posturing'. Which is wise and will infuriate the Beltway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This will become the dominant Beltway takeaway, which is why I post it, not because I love Joe, Tumulty or Max Boot:

 

 

 

The story of the moment - even in media - is: Biden did fine/great, but the central point I'm seeing now is, why did the media completely ignore COVID in favor of a Republican talking point (immigration) which Biden firmly rejected and tossed out? When you have even other Beltway journos and Haberman asking this and saying it's astonishing no one asked about the pandemic, that's bad news for the reporters on-site. You're going to see a lot of spin about that trying to make themselves look better.

Edited March 25, 20214 yr by Vee

 

Edited March 25, 20214 yr by dragonflies

 

Spooked: 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, 45 engages in pathetic Apprentice cosplay to relive the glory days:

 

 

I would ask if Joe Manchin, Sinema and the rest are fine with this image, but I don't want to know the answer.