Conrad has scrambled to win Sanders' support over the past week. Without his vote, Conrad can't pass a budget out of the Budget Committee, which is narrowly split between 12 Democrats and 11 Republicans.
Obviously this hasn't become law. Negotiations with the House haven't even started. But Bernie just changed the terms for the better.
Raising the Ante
Sen. Sanders is also reviving a bill he introduced earlier this year which imposes a 5.4% surtax on all earnings over one million dollars per year. Sen. Conrad says the Senate Budget Committee can't instruct the Senate on how to raise money. But in a compromise move, Sen. Conrad offered a 3% tax on income over a million dollars.
The Republicans may have to vote against this popular tax, and then have to explain why they'd rather cut Medicare and Social Security instead. Even if they prevail, they'll have to trade away some things they want if they hope to make it go away.
As William Shatner says in those ads, "Now you're negotiating!"
People's Choice
How popular is Sen. Sanders' position? As the American Majority polling page shows, 72% of people in one study favored raising taxes on income over $1 million over cutting programs, once they had the proper information. 63% believe it is totally or mostly acceptable to eliminate the Bush tax cuts for families earning over $250,000 per year. 61% support raising taxes on the wealthy to balance the budget. And solid majorities want the government to do more to create jobs.
Today's budget debate is being framed as if the president's proposal is the "left" and the Republican proposal is the "right." Actually, the president's offering a center-right plan and the GOP's offering a radical-right plan. The budget plan that most closely reflects public opinion is the one offered by the House Progressive Caucus, and that's being dismissed as coming from the "loony left" -- even though polls show it represents the real "center" of public opinion.
Smart economists agree that's the best approach. Nevertheless, diffident Dems keep entering these negotiations afraid to represent the public's will or best interests. That has to change.
Weekend at Bernie's
Sen. Sanders, and now Sen. Conrad, have increased the likelihood of getting a budget that more closely resembles what the public wants and needs. Sen. Sanders had to face down Sen. Conrad and the other Democrats on his Committee for a week. That took guts. He held out for the best possible deal, then compromised and settled.
Like they say: You gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em. By facing down Conrad and the other Democrats on the Committee, he did them a favor. Now they can negotiate from a stronger position. Whatever happens, they'll be able to tell the public that somebody in Washington was looking out for them.
Some of us have been arguing for a long time that the progressive movement is too attached to the Democratic Party leadership, and more of the country's elected Democrats need to join with their House colleagues and negotiate for the public's best interests and voters' preferred policies. Sen. Sanders has shown them the way.
Perhaps Mr. Sanders will have a few progressives over to his house on some nice Vermont weekend. He can flip a few burgers, tell a few stories, and then play a few games of cards with the gang. That way he can show 'em how it's done.(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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