He said this on Monday but it’s making the rounds today. The Pelosi family in particular seems excited about it!

Yes THAT Mitch called Biden’s infrastructure bill a GODSEND for Kentucky. Thanks Mitch! And – to be clear – this wasn’t an act of G-d that fell out of the sky like manna from heaven, it was an act of a Democratic Congress and President.#DemocratsDeliver pic.twitter.com/lIKBJTljyY

— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) November 10, 2021

This makes twice in the last few days that McConnell has used emphatic language to celebrate a bill that righty populists are seething over. Two days ago he described himself as being “delighted” by its passage. Why isn’t Cocaine Mitch keeping a low profile on his support for the legislation, knowing how unhappy the most activist elements in his base are about it?

I doubt there’s a single motive. To some degree, he may feel it’s an obligation of his status as minority leader. Eighteen other members of his caucus and 13 Republicans in the House braved a backlash from the right by voting yes. Maybe he feels compelled to be a lightning rod for them and to leverage his stature to lend them some support. More likely, as an old-school legislator, he simply believes what he’s saying when he claims that the new spending will improve infrastructure in Kentucky. McConnell got involved in politics in a bygone era where doing something tangible for one’s constituents was supposed to be the point of legislating, not owning the libs. He saw the bipartisan bill as an opportunity to repair roads and bridges in his state and maybe bring some jobs there in the process, so he took it.

There may be a strategic motive too. McConnell always keeps one eye on expanding the GOP’s majorities in Congress. He doubtless knew that some of the House Republicans who voted yes are in an uncomfortable spot electorally, needing to burnish their bipartisan credentials in their swing districts but at risk of pissing MAGA off. “[Fifteen] minutes into the Friday night roll call, five Republicans had already voted yes before even a single Democrat had voted no, making it clear the legislation would pass without much Democratic drama,” WaPo noted. “All five — Reps. Jefferson ‘Jeff’ Van Drew (R-N.J.), Upton, Don Young (R-Alaska), Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Katko — are beneficiaries of McCarthy’s fundraising apparatus because they face tough reelection contests.” Having McConnell vouch for their vote at a moment when Trump and other populists are berating them for it may help soothe conservative anger at them in their districts.

Speaking of which, I’ll bet McConnell praised the bill lavishly partly because he enjoyed flouting Trump, who reiterated his disdain for it — and for Mitch himself — in a statement last night:

NEW!

President Donald J. Trump:

"Why is it that Old Crow Mitch McConnell voted for a terrible Democrat Socialist Infrastructure Plan, and induced others in his Party to do likewise, when he was incapable of getting a great Infrastructure Plan wanting to be put forward by me… pic.twitter.com/AFvw5hTLhq

— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) November 9, 2021

With Trump, it’s always personal. Biden notched a victory with McConnell’s help that Trump himself had sought for four years but failed to secure. Between that and McConnell’s belief that Biden legitimately won the election, Trump will never forgive him.

How much of a victory was the bipartisan bill for Biden, though? Passage of that legislation and (maybe) the reconciliation bill was supposed to restore his political fortunes. One elections analyst has been sifting through the early data, though, and so far there’s no movement:

The Economist/YouGov poll was in the field 11/6 to 11/9 (entirely post infrastructure) and has Biden at -6 net approval.

Their 3 previous weekly polls had him at -9, -6, and -2.

So this one is pretty in-line with their recent average.

— Ryan Matsumoto (@ryanmatsumoto1) November 10, 2021

The Yahoo News / YouGov poll was in the field 11/4 to 11/8 (~60% post-infrastructure if interviews evenly distributed) and has Biden at -9 net approval.

Their previous poll in mid-October had him at -5, which was right in-line with the 538 average at the time.

— Ryan Matsumoto (@ryanmatsumoto1) November 10, 2021

The Politico / Morning Consult poll was in the field 11/5 to 11/7 (~67% post-infrastructure if interviews evenly distributed) and has Biden at -5 net approval.

Their previous poll in late-October also had him at -5 net approval.

— Ryan Matsumoto (@ryanmatsumoto1) November 10, 2021

If Biden doesn’t get a bounce soon, progressives will begin bleating that the roads-and-bridges bill is a bust and only by passing the reconciliation package can Dems truly begin to rebound. (Which is not true, given the polling on the two bills.) If they pass that one and Biden’s numbers still don’t improve, the party’s going to have a collective nervous breakdown.

They’re well on their way already:

New details from our Canvass survey of top Hill staffers in @PunchbowlNews Midday:

Just 2% of Dem staffers believe the BBB debate has helped them. 52% of Dems say the debate has harmed their party; 40% say it’s neither harmed nor helped.

Subscribe: https://t.co/eGMxqFrGxg

— Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) November 10, 2021

As I’m writing this, news is breaking that Biden plans to sign the bipartisan bill next week:

🚨🚨POTUS to sign BIF into law MONDAY in bipartisan bill signing ceremony, joined by Members of Congress who helped write the bill and "diverse group of leaders who fought for its passage… ranging from Governors and Mayors of both parties to labor union and business leaders"

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 10, 2021

Some had speculated that he might try to show solidarity with progressives by refusing to sign the bill, allowing it to become law after 10 days and waiting until the reconciliation bill passed to sign that one. But it would be foolish to pass on a plum political photo op, especially now that the latest inflation report has made the weather stormy for Build Back Better. Maybe Biden realizes that reconciliation is now on life support and he’d better take his victory lap when he can. Hence a big signing ceremony for the bipartisan bill.

Exit question: Will Mitch McConnell attend? Wearing an “America Was Already Great” cap, maybe?