Virginia Progressives

Asked whether he could support a $6 trillion reconciliation proposal of which half of it would be paid for, according to reports by Politico and Bloomberg, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said flatly, “No.”

also raised concerns about the sheer size of the proposed reconciliation package, …

“We have to be conscious of the debt,” Manchin said.

He said potentially adding $3 trillion to the national debt is “a lot.”

[said he] doesn’t agree with more liberal colleagues on how much to spend.

“There are going to be some hard conversations inside the caucus about what’s aspirational versus what’s real,” he said.

“I made it very clear that there are a lot of things that the president laid out, there are categories that I approve of. Some of the numbers I don’t approve of,”

Progressives were also facing pressure from Democrats who blamed November election losses on the infrastructure bill's delay, noted one progressive House staffer who requested anonymity to speak freely with The Intercept. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia argued Terry McAuliffe, the party's candidate, could have won the governor's race if the framework was already signed into law.

"Maybe they'll believe us next time. Or maybe people will just keep calling us naive,"

Also voting no on splitting:

"We have been saying this for weeks that this would happen," "Having [the infrastructure bill and Build Back Better] coupled together was the only leverage we had. And what did the caucus do? We tossed it."

“The matter is closed, …” “He is in this race, and I support him.”

“the best president of my lifetime.” “We have his back.”

“He’s our nominee and I think we’re losing the plot here,” “This is about real, lasting harm that will be felt by everyone who calls this country home when the federal government is dismantled as we know it.”

likened her fight for political survival to Biden’s and said the party must unite to defeat the influence of Trump-aligned “Maga Republicans”.

Democrats “shouldn’t be going rogue against our own president” and that Black voters are loyal and will continue to support Biden.

"He’s committed to fighting for the soul of our nation and Black economic progress, and I stand with him for another four years because he’s consistently stood with my community."

“I think it’s interesting that not one African-American member [of Congress] has called on the president to step down,”

There ain’t gonna be no other Democratic candidate. It’s going to be Biden, and you better know it,”

“We’re ridin’ with Biden”

Biden is one of the “more progressive” presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“step aside and let Biden be who he is.” “This case is closed,”

“He was there for us during the pandemic, the biggest crisis of my lifetime. He was there for us and saved lives.

Biden “is the most accomplished and consequential president in my lifetime,”

“I met him 50 years ago and he’s been my friend for 50 years,” Carper told reporters Monday. “I’ve supported him in everything that he’s run for. … I have no interest in walking away from him today, or tomorrow or the day after that.”

“He’s our guy,”

“Joe Biden is, will be and should be our nominee,”

I’m with Joe.

“They’ve outflanked us with the CBC and others,”

Warner tried unsuccessfully days earlier to organize a meeting between Biden and Democrats concerned over his health and political viability, only to run into a defiant defense by the president and his allies, particularly Black elected officials in Congress and Virginia's General Assembly.

“Basically we’re to the point where, do you stick with plan A or is there a plan B?” … “We don’t know.”

“President Biden has got to prove to the American people — including me — that he’s up to the job for another four years. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: Stand up to President Biden when he’s wrong and protect our Montana way of life,

Schiff's Blue Dog past is most prominent in a 2005 speech on the House floor, where he demanded that Congress enact a "rainy-day" budget reserve. "A lack of revenue, uncontrolled spending and faulty planning have put our national debt so high that putting our fiscal house in order seems out of reach," Schiff said in that speech. "The Blue Dog Coalition has put together a comprehensive 12-point plan to make needed reforms to our budget process, and one of these critical reforms is the creation of a rainy-day fund to set aside money for good times to pay for disasters, which we know will eventually come."

Such a rainy-day fund would go even further than balancing the budget to create a surplus. Doing so almost certainly would require sweeping cuts to government agencies and benefit programs.

Kaine said Democrats who try to address concerns about Biden's age by saying that the presidency is a team effort help a bit to address worries.

"But it's not a complete answer. …"

changed the subject, declining to answer question as they ducked into an elevator.

walked with headphones on, declining to stop.