Now that Sen. Joe Manchin has finally crushed Pres. Joe Biden’s profligate spending package, it’s time for Democrats to stop bullying and perhaps try to understand why Manchin rightly was never going to vote for their radical “Build Back Better” legislation.
All politics is local, meaning good politicians represent their voters first.
Related: Republicans Who Supported Bipartisan Infrastructure Vindicated by BBB’s Failure
So while Manchin is a Democrat, he’s also a lifelong West Virginian. West Virginia is one of the nation’s largest energy-producing states, and one that’s threatened by the left’s dangerous shift away from fossil fuels. The state also has the nation’s third richest reserve of natural gas.
Manchin — who’s been a state senator, secretary of state, governor, and U.S. senator from the Mountain State — knows his constituency; he sees the discouraging forecasts for West Virginia as coal is phased out. And he understandably doesn’t want to do anything that’s going to make that pain worse. Smug, ignorant tantrums from urban socialists won’t change that, either.
1) Manchin didn't "reverse" his position on BBB, he's been shouting it for months. His colleagues just didn't take his concerns seriously.
2) This snarky White House statement is not going to win him over. These people are not good at politics. https://t.co/pW9F5ZftC3
— Brian Riedl 🧀 (@Brian_Riedl) December 19, 2021
For example, when anti-rural-America “cap-and-trade” legislation moved through Congress a decade ago, Manchin ran a now-famous ad, in which he literally shot the bill with a rifle.
In addition to the many horrors of BBB, it would transition the energy grid away from coal and natural gas. Manchin represents tens of thousands who work in those industries; meanwhile, his arrogant party is insouciant toward these threatened workers in favor of “green” jobs.
The odious Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and the disingenuous Jen Psaki, who’s never worked a day outside Washington, can preposterously accuse Manchin of lying, but they cannot change the rules of a 50-50 Senate.
AOC math https://t.co/ikuDGgVrFM
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 20, 2021
Empty campaign promise or not, even former Pres. Donald Trump knew to at least claim he’d protect West Virginians from the left’s backward policies. The New York billionaire identified with Appalachian-Americans’ struggles, as opposed to today’s Democrats, who kowtow to a wealthy eco-cult without ever considering the human costs of their warped policies.
Now they’re suffering the blowback. And they deserve every darn bit of it.
