After everlasting talks and considerable infighting between liberal and moderate Democrats, the ruling elite managed to pass the infrastructure bill, just on the guarantee that Joe Manchin would vote for the social spending bill.
However, now Manchin has announced that he could not vote for the spending spree in any case, and Mitch McConnell has officially invited him to join the Republican Party.
Liberals are furious over Manchin’s behavior, and if Biden fails to settle his terms with the warring senator, he can have a tough time passing any bill in the election year.
Joe Manchin Denied Backing BBB Agenda in any Case
With the Senate taking a break for Christmas, the Build Back Better talks have been delayed until next year, the year of crucial midterm elections. Any further roadblock in the Democratic agenda will hinder their chances of retaining either chamber of Congress.
The main ambitions behind liberal support of the social spending bill were climate change, healthcare, and education measures.
But one after another, they have been dashed as the talks between Manchin and the White House progressed.
Liberals seem to be done with Manchin after the failure of the latest round of negotiations. They claim that they cannot scale more spending back as Manchin still wants the bill’s cost to reduce.
The fact is that most of the Democratic lawmakers, whether from the House or the Senate, do not trust Manchin. For them, he is a traitor who can go to any lengths in getting the vote for his own favored bill and ditching others at the time of need.
The primary focus of Democrats should be to win at least one more seat in midterm elections if they really want to enable progress in the remaining years of Biden’s presidency since Manchin is not up for reelection in 2022.
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is still living with false optimism, hoping that the agreement would be reached soon on the spending package, not knowing that Manchin has categorically declined to vote for it.
Now leftist lawmakers have started asking Democrats to stop negotiating with Manchin in any case. They believe that instead of doing that, Biden should start using his executive privilege to sign orders wherever possible, be it the voting rights measures or promoting social spending.
However, Biden alone does not have the same authority as Congress has due to the legislative powers vested in Congress under the Constitution. The White House Press Secretary has also indicated that Biden can start taking executive actions to jump the legislative impasse; however, according to her, this is not a long-term solution.
Even if it’s not a long-term measure, forcing executive orders for some period is still better than seeing his agenda killed in Congress in its entirety.
Joe Manchin Strives to Impress Republican Voters and not Democrats
Manchin is currently trying to impress Republican voters more than Democrats. While he was already getting massive funding from Republican donors, now he is taking aim at the red voters of West Virginia.
Donald Trump won West Virginia by more than 40 points in 2020, which indicates that the voters of the states are overwhelmingly inclined towards Republicans.
Therefore, if Manchin supports the Build Back Better agenda, not only would he find donors’ backlash but also the voters’ criticism in his next election.
Final Thoughts
Now liberals want to see Manchin voting against the bill in actuality, instead of just appearing on TV shows and talking against the bill every time he finds a chance.
For them, it would better educate voters about Manchin’s inclinations and his own version of events to eyewash many voters every time he appears on TV.
Saying that he is a Republican plant in Democratic ranks is not a false notion, as he has proven it again and again that in order to protect his own seat, he will go to any length.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.