Wyoming Senator John Barrasso joined Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday, and it did not go well for the Senator. He tried to mock Pres. Joe Biden for not getting his infrastructure bill passed. (Hello, TFG never passed ONE in his 48 painfully long months in office.) He dropped a lot of right wing, red meat words, like socialism, Bernie Sanders, privacy, etc. I am shocked he didn't mention taking their guns away and banning Church and Christmas.
When a bipartisan bill passed a 50/50 Senate, it had 69 votes. It was a lot of momentum on its side. In any kind of a normal world, that would've been signed into law by the president. This was two months ago. This was before Afghanistan, when the president lost a lot of political muscle. Now we're at a point where the President is weak and really Bernie Sanders, the far left Democrats are driving the bus and Joe Biden is just along for the ride.
WALLACE: Well, let's talk about politics on both sides, though. As you point out, 19 of your fellow Republican senators voted for the bipartisan infrastructure plan in the Senate. You didn't. You called the reconciliation bill a freight train to socialism. You and all of the Republicans are refusing the normal course, bipartisan passage of raising the debt limit.
So I guess the question to you and a lot of Republicans is, are you viewing these issues on the merits or are you just playing partisan politics?
BARRASSO: Well, I think the American people want the sort of things that are in that bipartisan bill, roads, bridges, ports, airports, all of those things are important. I had some concerns with some of the gimmicks that were used to fund it. I thought it spent too much. There were some issues that I didn't like in terms of -- I thought it was going to make energy more expensive and undermine our grid.
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And you heard it right there, they're continuing to try to mislead the public by saying it is free. It is not free. They said, oh, inflation -- Cedric said, oh, inflation will go down. Inflation -- people are feeling the bite of inflation right now when they buy groceries, when they buy gas, all of those things.
WALLACE: Right.
BARRASSO: And they think if this stuff passes, this massive spending and tax bill, that inflation is going to get much worse.
WALLACE: But let's talk, Senator, about some of the specific programs in this big social spending bill. As part of the Trump tax cuts in 2017, you voted to increase the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000.
Now, as part of this bill, the Democrats would extend that to 2025 at a higher level. The fact is that your state of Wyoming is one of the states that benefits most from the increase in the child tax credit. Why oppose that?
BARRASSO: Well, what you're talking about, though, a $3.5 trillion massive bill, lots of things --
WALLACE: Well, but no -- but, forgive -- forgive me, sir.
BARRASSO: Yes.
WALLACE: But I'm asking you about this specific part of the bill. I understand there are parts that you don't like. But, for instance -- I mean the -- I guess part of the question is, could you have worked with them on this child tax credit, which you voted for in 2017?
That's one of the things that you're voting against now. Why-- why oppose that specific program?
BARRASSO: Well, you -- it's part of the bigger bill. You know the issues for any member of the Senate or Congress, you have to look at the entire bill and say, are you for the bill or you're not. And I would point out,
Chris, the Democrats are not coming to talk with Republicans on any of these things. I mean Bernie Sanders, the other day, said 48 people ought to be able to overrule two, but there are actually 100 members of the Senate. It's 52 against a number of things that the Democrats are proposing here.
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WALLACE: You talk about things you don't like, like the added IRS agents and added IRS intrusion. Let's talk about another part of the bill, which is universal Pre-K.
In a state of Wyoming, less than one quarter of children three to four, which is -- who would be covered in the bill, are enrolled in publicly funded preschool. Less than one quarter. Wouldn't a lot of Wyoming families benefit from universal Pre-K?
BARRASSO: There are a number of things that will help the people of Wyoming. Overall, Joe Biden's policies have been hurting the people of Wyoming. And I believe that there should be tested. You just don't give things universally to everybody. I think there should be work requirements involved. The Democrats are trying to separate work requirements from just free government checks and programs.
You heard the congressman from the Progressive Caucus say, everybody ought to get free community college, everybody ought to get free daycare, Pre-K, all of those things, and that's not the way that our country has been founded and how we work together.
Even when it benefits their own states, Republicans refuse to support President Biden or his policies. Their hatred of Democrats is stronger than their commitment to their voters. They will literally sacrifice their own people if it means scoring political points (see COVID, everywhere.) Nothing matters more than hurting Democrats. NOTHING. And the saddest part of all is that most of the policies and advances in the infrastructure bill would actually help red states and Republican voters more than blue states. But, you know, who needs food, healthcare, universal pre-k, roads, schools, etc. Apparently not people in Wyoming.
