(Washington Examiner) - A Main Street coalition that managed a $15 million campaign to stall and ultimately helped to kill the Biden "Build Back Better" tax and spend scheme is broadening its effort to stop liberal efforts to piecemeal out parts of the president’s $2 trillion plan.
Liberals and conservatives expect President Joe Biden to make a new pitch for his costly agenda in the State of the Union and to take it on a new tour. But groups that led the earlier battle are vowing a stiff pushback.
“We are going to stay vigilant and draw attention to the broader amount of spending and inflationary consequences of their spending. We will be vigilant in an attempt to resurrect BBB,” said Marc Short, the executive director of Coalition to Protect American Workers.
His group, at times teaming with Heritage Action, spent more than any other to pressure lawmakers to vote against the Biden plan.
While two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, killed the plan with concerns about overspending and inflation, liberals and Biden have suggested that they might try anew to push through parts either through Congress or through executive orders.
Short and Heritage Action’s Jessica Anderson said that they would fight that effort as hard as they did the initial push by the White House.
“The grassroots rejected President Biden’s tax and spending agenda last year by defeating Build Back Broke,” said Anderson, the executive director of Heritage Action.
She also told Secrets, “A year into the Biden administration, and we are still suffering under skyrocketing inflation and needless lockdowns. Now, Democrats see the writing on the wall and see the red wave coming in November. In response, Democrats are trying to revive BBB to please their liberal base before the midterms, but we won’t let them.”
Short's group held rallies and ran online and TV campaigns in over two dozen critical House districts and states to bring pressure on Democrats who were on the fence in supporting Biden’s plan, focused on climate change and social spending.
On Thursday, the Coalition to Protect American Workers plans to host an event in Billings, Montana, to build pressure on Democratic Sen. Jon Tester by warning that Biden’s tax and spending plans will hurt ranchers and farmers that are critical to the state’s economy.
The event is with Gov. Greg Gianforte and local business leaders and comes on the heels of a similar event in Arizona held with Gov. Doug Ducey to pressure Sinema and fellow Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly to oppose Biden’s plan to increase taxes and spending. Gianforte pushed through a tax cut and tax simplification bill last spring.
Short said that if Biden and liberal Democrats try to push BBB again, the successful campaign with Heritage Action will be revived. In one of those efforts, called “Save Our Paychecks,” stops were made in six key states last year.
“I think that if there's an attempt to resurrect it, we're going to be pretty vigilant and make sure that we're outspoken. We spent well north of $10 million last year in those paid media efforts, but also hosting events, and we partnered in many cases with Heritage Action on that,” said Short.
“We would certainly look to do that again,” said Short.
By Paul Bedard, Washington Secrets Columnist
January 31, 2022
