Joe Biden Appears to Cry Uncle on His ‘Build Back Better’ Bill – Opinion

Did Joe Biden just cry uncle on his “Build Back Better” boondoggle? His latest statements suggest that it does.

Per Kaitlan Collins, CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent, Biden is now admitting that he does not believe he has Joe Manchin’s vote in light of today’s terrible inflation report. RedState reports that the inflation rate was 6.8%, which is a record high for 39 years. Americans have been suffering greatly in the past two years due to price increases for gasoline, meat and hotels.

President Biden tells me he doesn’t know if he can get Sen. Manchin’s vote for Build Back Better with inflation numbers this high but he will be speaking to him early next week.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 10, 2021

Manchin has already been signaling for days that he’s a no-go on the nearly two-trillion dollar bill (and that price tag is itself highly misleading). He suggested earlier in the week that he may take extraordinary steps to leave the Democrat Party if urged by his supposed allies. Inflationary problems are also a factor in his current withdrawal of support.

Here’s the cold-hard reality for Biden and the rest of his far-left, progressive cohorts. If they haven’t convinced Manchin by now, they certainly aren’t going to do so after today’s inflation number. Manchin appears, regardless of all his shortcomings, to desire a political future. If he stabs his West Virginian constituents in the back by going along to get along in Washington, he’s done for and he knows it. I’d also give Manchin a little credit in that I believe he truly understands how foolhardy Biden’s agenda is, especially in these trying economic times. He’s a Democrat, but he’s not stupid.

Biden is not expected to meet with Manchin this week. He’s a doddering, senile old man who has no grasp on the facts at hand. Biden only cares about pretending to transform the world, and Manchin is not motivated to follow suit.

You must have leverage to be able to make use of it. Biden does not have leverage. What’s he going to offer a senator from a state Trump won by like 40 points? More bullying tactics, which Biden attempted to previously employ, certainly won’t work.

Biden may be able to get a concession from Manchin if he is fortunate. That would almost certainly involve stripping out some of the more objectionable parts of the bill, but as “Build Back Better” is currently written, it’s not going to pass. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have again played too safe. Only question is when will they cease blaming each other.

This is the problem with trying to govern as an FDR progressive when you don’t have an FDR majority. Democrats operate under the illusion that they have the mandate to turn the country around. The numbers just aren’t there, though. The fact is that Republicans performed quite well in 2020’s down-ballot election. These gains continued well into 2021 and only reinforced the precarious situation Manchin finds himself in. Is he making CNN happy? Is he making his supporters happy? This is the most common choice of politicians.