We’re all expecting that the hard-left turning, big-spending ways of this crop of Democrats to lead to a bloodbath in the midterm elections, but could the actions of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in effectively killing the Build Back Better legislation have prevented the 2022 midterms from being even worse for the Democrats?
One GOP senator thinks so, and he told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures as much.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) appeared on the show and asserted that Manchin may have saved the careers of a handful of Democrats by putting a stop to the massive government spending fest.
“Chuck Schumer has people pulling and pushing and tugging from every possible direction,” Cramer said. “And I’m sure he’s wondering what direction to go. But I do know this, that Joe Manchin may have saved the reelection of two, three, four, possibly, Democratic senators who would have had to vote yes on BBB — Build Back Better — but would rather not have voted at all.”
The week before Christmas, Manchin finally said he couldn’t support the $1.9 trillion package, despite months of cajoling on the part of his fellow Democrats.
CNN reported that Manchin released a statement that summarized his opposition to Build Back Better: “I have always said, ‘If I can’t go back home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.'” He went on to say that he couldn’t explain Build Back Better, which meant it didn’t deserve his vote.
All of this came after Manchin gave the Democrats loads of chances to craft a bill to which the senator would give his imprimatur. In October, he suggested that the Democrats choose their top priorities and mold Build Back Better around them. They didn’t. Then in November, he expressed his concerns over the impact that Build Back Better would have on inflation, while the Democrats whistled past the graveyard, doubling down on how inflation was supposedly “transitory.”
Some left-wing media outlets like Slate even suggested that the Democrats give Manchin exactly what he wanted to give Build Back Better a fighting chance. They didn’t listen.
Related: What Is Manchin’s Next Move?
As my PJ Media colleague Rick Moran explained it, “Manchin, in good conscience, simply couldn’t support such massive government spending on top of the $5 trillion that’s already been appropriated — not with inflation raging and no end in sight to the pandemic.”
But was the death of Build Back Better the best thing that could have happened to the Democrats under current circumstances? Could Manchin really have helped prevent some of the bloodshed that’s going to happen in 2022? Did Manchin help keep the Democrats from going further to the left than they already have? Sen. Cramer thinks so.
“And thank God for Joe Manchin and others like him, but especially Joe Manchin, who is trying to save America and in the process may very well save the Democratic Party,” he concluded.
By the end of the midterm election cycle next year, the Democrats may find themselves lining up to thank Joe Manchin for his help. Scuttling Build Back Better might have kept the 2022 midterms from becoming even worse of a bloodbath for the Democrats.
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