Joe Manchin Gives Savage Response When Pressed on Build Back Better – Opinion

With the first month of the new year in the books, eyes are beginning to turn back toward Joe Biden’s currently stalled agenda. Back in December, Joe Manchin ended the push to pass the president’s Build Back Better bill, citing concerns about inflation, provisions that were included against his wishes, and the national debt.

Manchin increased his offer after Christmas. He made it clear that he was not interested in continuing negotiations and that a new one would be offered. Now, we have an answer on how that’s going – not well.

When pressed on Build Back Better, Manchin savagely responded that the bill doesn’t even exist, pointedly proclaiming that it’s dead.

Sen. Joe Manchin, asked about Build Back Better, said: “What Build Back Better bill? I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

I asked him if he’s had any talks on the matter since December. “No, no, no, no. It’s dead.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 1, 2022

That led to a lot of grumbling and insisting on the fact that Biden, Democrats, would make Manchin pay. How exactly are they going do it? Manchin holds all the power and we’re only at this point. Sometimes you just don’t have the votes, and no amount of threats are going to change things. Manchin’s home state overwhelmingly supports how he’s handled things.

Clearly, the White House isn’t taking this seriously, either. Why haven’t they reopened communication lines to attempt to restart negotiations? Ron Klain doesn’t have the time to retweet Jennifer Rubin. I think Manchin’s use of the term “dead” is fairly indicative of where things stand, though. If there was any hope of a resurrection of the president’s agenda here, handing Biden a big win prior to the mid-terms, I doubt Manchin would be so final in his language. That he’s willing to go that far is telling.

Besides, the details just don’t work. The White House is seeking an extension to the child tax credit and a cap on SALT. There are also numerous provisions regarding climate change. Manchin opposes these things, as his state bathes on at least two. And if Democrats agree to remove those from the bill, what’s left? Universal pre-K? That’s not the victory Biden and Democrats are seeking, and they probably figure it’s better to pass nothing at all at this point than to get so thoroughly embarrassed heading into November’s election.

These are the results of the Senate’s 50/50 split. Democrats want to govern like they’ve got FDR margins, but all they’ve done is overextend themselves. Now, they’ve gotten put in their place by a guy who has nothing to gain by giving them anything. Manchin will fall in line and vote for whatever radical Biden nominates to the Supreme Court, but he knows where his bread is buttered on the policy front, and it’s not in Washington, DC.