Bitterness festers as Democrats try again to pass Biden's economic agenda

A bitter duel between progressives and Senate centrists last week laid bare the mistrust, philosophical divides and practical governing constraints rocking Washington Democrats. And it only deepened the critical question of Joe Biden's term: Can the President and his allies leverage a fragile hold on power to launch generational change?

Liberal Democrats put an undeniable stamp on Washington by refusing to cave to moderates and blocking a bipartisan $1.2 infrastructure plan without securing a sweeping $3.5 trillion social spending and climate bill in return. And Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona held their moderate line against the wing of their party epitomized by Vermont Democratic Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, using the extraordinary power of their single votes in a 50-50 Senate.

Yet the showdown raised fresh doubts about the fate of Biden's agenda. And Sunday's exchanges on political talk shows, meanwhile, served to show how far away the party is from forging a common path forward in the days to come. The spin from some progressive activists after last week's late night brinkmanship and rare defiance of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is that the showdown saved the ambition of Biden's larger agenda by keeping engaged the moderates who want the infrastructure plan passed as soon as possible.