Democratic "No" votes on the Debt Limit agreement (46)

[fishwax]

72. what would unity accomplish, exactly?

If dems were in charge of the house, Biden could say "all of my caucus will vote for this," and he wouldn't have to negotiate. But he needs mccarthy on board, so the only realistic meeting point is somewhere where he's got enough dem votes to assure it passes. Why would mccarthy *ever* agree to something that made all the dems happy and on board? That would make him even more vulnerable to his lunatic fringe.

One of the obvious tactics that both sides use in negotiations like this is "I can't get enough people on my side to agree to that." That's how mccarthy and Biden find a middle to meet at and thus pass a bipartisan agreement.

If dems turn around and vote unanimously for it, it makes it clear that, in fact, that negotiating tactic was a deception or a miscalculation.

So, given that unity would have undermined the basic strategy for negotiations here, what is the practical benefit that it would provide?