I must chuckle at this narrative here. What smoke-filled backroom deal did Joe Manchin hash out that had him voting for Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda? If you watch how progressive Democrats are reacting, you'd think the West Virginia Democrat had promised to vote for the bill and then backtracked. He didn't do that. Manchin would never do that. He has been vocal about his concerns for months. He gave his Democratic colleagues an alternate figure, and it was rejected. He tried to hash something out. It failed. If Democrats wanted to pass a sweeping spending bill, they needed to go through Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)—and not include insane left-wing entitlement programs that simply would be an election killer for Manchin.
The other side of that coin is that these were trash action items as well. Joe Biden hitched his wagon to the woke left and got screwed by them. They're too far out there for most voters, especially for those in the state that Manchin represents. This slow-moving trainwreck is totally of the Democrats' own making. Now, the left is weaponizing against Joe Manchin. It's their favorite blood sport for a very simple reason.
He's from West Virginia. No one from the coastal elite will venture there. It's too rural and less educated. These people, liberals, need to be surrounded by their own kind to satisfy their own biases and their moral superiority complex. The ego of their awesomeness must be stroked. They're not going to find that in West Virginia. What's there? Well, that would be the death of the Build Back Better agenda.
Progressives want BBB to pass, but they'll take bashing rural America as a consolation prize, I guess. These Democrats in deep-blue seats can afford to screw around and not get anything done. They'll be back next Congress. Manchin does not have that luxury. In a state that is increasingly Republican, he has to work to stay alive. Killing this awful spending bill bought him a lot of protection. Will it be enough? Well, it depends on the GOP candidate.
Not a single county in West Virginia went for Joe Biden in 2020. He lost the state by 39 points, so when the liberal media has segments with folks warning that Manchin will pay for this "betrayal" at home, they don't know what they're talking about. They also apparently don't know him. Manchin has long said he doesn't care about re-election. He will do what he thinks is best for the state, and if people boot him, he'll get on his houseboat and float home. He's fine with that. So, the climate change provisions that would have hammered West Virginia's coal communities, among other things, were probably a no-go for Manchin.
This bill was over a trillion dollars. You're telling me these more lefty Democrats couldn't see the forest for the trees here? There was a ton of space where they and Manchin could find common ground. They could get a huge portion of what they wanted to get done, but even better, give Joe Biden a legislative win. They couldn't see that as the end goal. They all died on the communist spending items.
It's not Joe Manchin who killed this—it was the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wing of the party. I don't think Democrats know how close they were to winning this thing. All they had to do was "not be crazy," but the party base is becoming increasingly unspooled. Democrats control Congress. This is on them. By divine grace, it would seem, the firewall that saved us from total socialism was Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), killing the far-left Democrats' hopes of passing this bill at every turn.
So, go on, liberal America—beat Manchin bloody. He's impervious to your blows. If they throw any haymakers, they'll land like pillow punches. Yes, Manchin must work to tread water in a deep-red state—but when he lands on the right side, he's well-protected. Do liberals really think the voters of this state are mad at Joe Manchin? Manchin has the benefit that his state has no woke left mafia. There are no shakedowns. No matter how hard they may try, Manchin isn't getting hurt by this move. Also, given the political realities of the state, good luck finding a progressive Democrat eager to challenge him, let alone successfully primary him out of that seat. It isn't happening.
If you look at it one way, it's a win-win for both sides. Manchin buys some time politically and garners points with voters at home who did not like this bill. Liberal Democrats get to rage and yell into the clouds at Manchin being the second shooter in the grassy knoll that delivered the kill shot to Biden's agenda. It doesn't matter if their tantrum is constructive. It's all about the feelings, and you know these clowns are letting the world know that Joe Manchin is a bad, bad man…for representing the interests of his state.
