Thanks, Nancy

So, the Democrats have Trump over a barrel, but because Nancy Pelosi’s big donors are the rich pond scum who do not want to pay for sick leave, the Speaker emasculated the leave provisions of the corona virus bill.

Way to abandon core party principles and giving lots of voters a reason to stay at home.

For the first time ever, California’s jungle primary has led to an election in which Pelosi is facing another Democrat in the general.

Here is hoping that Shahid Buttar (Act Blue page) beats her like a rented mule in the general:

The Democratic-led House scaled back a paid-leave program that the chamber had tried to enact days earlier, following pressure from businesses worried about financial burdens from the sweeping bill in response to the coronavirus crisis.

In revised legislation that Democratic leaders billed as a technical correction, but represented a significant rewrite, the House modified a program aimed at providing paid leave to people affected by the coronavirus. The new measure would still provide two weeks of sick leave to a wide swath of workers affected by the pandemic, including those who are in quarantine, caring for family members with Covid-19, and those who have children whose schools or day-care centers have closed.

But for the next 10 weeks, paid leave would be limited only to workers caring for a child whose school or day care had been shut. Workers who had been in quarantine or caring for a family member affected by the virus wouldn’t be eligible for the additional 10 weeks of leave. Health-care providers and emergency responders aren’t guaranteed the additional 10 weeks of paid leave, with the decision up to the Labor secretary, given that the government might face a shortage of such workers.

In the original version, all the workers who received paid sick time would be eligible for another 10 weeks of paid leave at two-thirds pay, in what would have represented a major expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the 1993 law that provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave to workers at larger companies.

Democratic aides were alarmed by the changes, which were passed with no objections because House lawmakers are away from Washington. The changes weren’t shown to most lawmakers before the vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) appeared to address the criticism in a statement Tuesday in which she said she would continue to push for expanded leave, including for healthcare workers and those who need longer leave because they get sick.

“During negotiations, the Democratic House will continue to make clear to the Administration that any emergency response package must put Families First before any aid to corporate America is considered,” she said in a statement.

The bill passed Saturday morning allowed businesses with fewer than 50 workers to win exemptions under rules to be developed by the Labor Department. Many businesses had expressed concerns about cash flow and had also worried that they might suffer additional disruptions during a crisis by losing workers on whom they relied.

 Seriously, I am sick and tired Democrats pre-capitulating.

That’s what got us Trump.

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