Ryan Grim wrote this post before the final passage of the mini-Build Back Better Bill. But the point is still on target. The bill is good because it’s the best we can hope for in a Senate where Democrats have only 50 votes, and two of those votes are precarious. In a perfect world, the Democrats would have 62 votes in the Senate and could pass a perfect bill. But we don’t live in a perfect world. The Republicans are unanimously opposed to any legislation to address climate change or to curb the costs of health care. This, for now, is the best that can be done. Do not scoff at half-measures. They are way better than nothing, and the Republicans strongly prefer nothing. They want to go into the mid-terms with a battered Biden presidency that accomplished nothing. They are not thinking of the people they claim to represent. Biden needed this victory, but so do the American people. Think of it as a first step.