Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has been the go-to bogeyman for the Democrat Party for over a year now because he was holding up their passage of a big spending green bill.
Well, the late-night hosts will have to massage their scripts and be nice to Manchin now, because he’s sold out to Joe Biden and the green machine.
Give him a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen. Manchin agreed to do whatever the far left of his party says and push the globalist green vision of his boss’ handlers.
Though what’s most disappointing is why Manchin did this. It wasn’t due to the threats, the media pressure, and the public hate of him; it was actually for a small and specific item he wanted.
He sold his soul for a pittance.
Why Did Manchin Fold?
The reason Manchin folded wasn’t some grand deal or compromise whereby he slows spending or gets a lot of a more centrist agenda through.
No, he’s giving the nod to this $400 billion behemoth of climate change corruption and taxing American corporations amid high inflation for the general promise that a liquified natural gas pipeline (LNG pipeline) will be permitted to be built in his state.
The rest of the assurances made to Manchin are basic legal philandering with no hard meaning and safely hedged by a prioritization of so-called “decarbonization.”
Manchin basically got nothing out of this except the chance to claim he got something out of this.
This is a completely hollow victory for him. It means absolutely nothing, apart from a few clean energy subsidies and a nod at the pipeline without any real guarantee.
He went up against the White House and lost: that’s the easiest way to say this with full honesty.
BREAKING: The outside agreement reached b/w Manchin and Dem leaders to overhaul building & environmental review in the US, including pushing new WV pipeline. Offered by Dem leaders to help secure Manchin commitment for clean energy subsidies https://t.co/TdGvER5nm8 pic.twitter.com/fHi5NAOGkU
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) August 1, 2022
Why Now?
Another question is why now?
The answer to that may remain shrouded in some mystery for a long time to come; whereas it’s clear that Biden and the Democrats’ legislative agenda is under intense pressure as very negative midterms approach.
They wanted to push this through as soon as possible and he was standing in the way.
The process for energy in the United States now has a massive nanny state apparatus craning its neck at every minute detail. Even if Manchin’s precious pipeline gets laid, it’ll probably be decommissioned a few years later.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm is the one with power, not Joe Manchin. He should be smart enough to know that. He’s not scoring wins for energy or our future; he’s just saving face as he hurtles us over the green abyss.
Presumably, Manchin knows this, but has grown tired or given in to various forms of pressure and enticements exerted against him.
“It's absolutely ludicrous, in my mind,” said Joe Manchin just a few months ago about a spending provision in the bill HE NOW SUPPORTS
From @SaysSimonson in @FreeBeacon https://t.co/8qWOE2Nw5a
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) August 2, 2022
The Bottom Line
What makes this even sadder is there’s no reason House Democrats will even let the small improvements and reforms Manchin’s been promised clear the House.
The president has what he wants and so do his far-left handlers. Manchin’s usefulness is now over.
The lesson here is simple: never try to please people who hate you!
This article appeared in StatesmanPost and has been published here with permission.
