Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), who likes to fancy himself a “moderate” deal maker – even though he has never negotiated any deal to my knowledge – should be looking over his shoulder at Democrat-turned- Republican Governor Jim Justice, who is decidedly more progressive in his views than is Joe Manchin. He could take your Senate seat from you, Joe. That’s what all your posturing about being a “moderate” is really all about, isn’t it Joe? Saving your Senate seat?
The same goes for Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) as well. Just sayin’.
Yahoo News reports, West Virginia Gov. Calls for Large-Scale Stimulus: ‘If We Throw Away Some Money Right Now, So What?’:
West Virginia governor Jim Justice, a Republican, called for a large-scale economic relief bill on Monday in comments to CNN.
Justice’s remarks came after Senator Joe Manchin (D., W.V.) called for targeted economic relief to tackle the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Manchin has dismissed the idea of sending out $2,000 stimulus checks to all Americans making less than $75,000 a year, calling instead for infrastructure projects “to put people back to work.”
On Monday, however, Governor Justice indicated that he would not be overly concerned about the price tag of a new relief bill.
“We need to understand that trying to be, per se, fiscally responsible at this point in time with what we’ve got going on in the country—if we actually throw away some money right now, so what?” Justice told CNN’s Poppy Harlow. “We have really got to move and get people taken care of, and get people back on balance.”
Harlow pointed out that Senator Manchin has called for more targeted relief efforts, however Justice said he had not spoken to the senator regarding negotiations over the bill.
“I don’t really know exactly what the thinking could possibly be there,” Justice said. “We got people who are really hurting, and that’s all there is to it.”
**Republican** Governor of West Virginia @WVGovernor to me on Stimulus: “Trying to be per se fiscally responsible at this point in time with what we’ve got going on in the country, if we actually throw away some money right now, so what?” Has he talked to @Sen_JoeManchin? I ask. pic.twitter.com/s93QMWze3m
— Poppy Harlow (@PoppyHarlowCNN) February 1, 2021
Justice’s remarks came several hours before President Biden was set to meet with ten Senate Republicans to discuss a compromise Republican proposed coronavirus relief bill. Senator Rob Portman (R., Ohio) told CNN that their bill includes more targeted relief, with $1,000 checks to individuals making $50,000 or less, and would be less costly than the current $1.9 trillion bill proposed by Democrats.
While Democrats could attempt to pass their proposal via budget reconciliation, allowing for a simple majority vote and eliminating the possibility of a GOP filibuster, the party would need all 50 of its senators to vote in favor of the measure. This means Manchin would need to agree to the proposal, as well as fellow moderate Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
When is the last time you heard Senator Sinema speak with such passion and empathy for those suffering from the consequences of the COVID-19 Recession like Governor Jim Justice does, above? When is the last time you heard her speak at all? I can’t recall.
It’s time to stop enabling bad faith GOP economic proposals and to step up and do right by the American people in their time of need. For a Democrat, the right question is “What would FDR do?”
UPDATE: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that he does not support increasing the minimum age to $15 an hour—a critical roadblock to including the proposal in the final coronavirus relief bill, The Hill reports.
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The New York Times reports, “Jim Justice, a G.O.P. Governor, on Why Biden Needs to ‘Go Big’ on Covid Aid”, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/us/politics/jim-justice-manchin-west-virginia.html
The odds that Democrats will succeed in passing a large economic rescue package received a boost this week from an unexpected source: Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, a Republican. Mr. Justice said on Monday, in back-to-back interviews with CNN and MSNBC, that Congress should “go big” and not worry about the federal deficit.
Or, as the governor put it in his signature folksy style: “We need to quit counting the egg-sucking legs on the cows and count the cows and just move.” (Rough translation: Stop nit-picking about details and pass a bill.)
Indirectly, Mr. Justice’s comments contained a sharp rebuke of Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a Democrat, who had been conferring with G.O.P. colleagues about a smaller relief package that would send checks to fewer Americans and cost the government less.
Perhaps because of Mr. Justice’s prodding, Mr. Manchin, the Senate’s most conservative Democrat, agreed on Tuesday to vote with his party to advance President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package using budget reconciliation, a process that would allow a bill to ultimately pass by a simple majority. Mr. Manchin said on Wednesday that the $1.9 trillion price tag would be acceptable if the bill had some bipartisan input.
West Virginia has also been in the national news for its success in rolling out the coronavirus vaccines. It leads all states in the percent of the population, 4 percent, that has received both shots.
On Tuesday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) indicated he’d support the budget reconciliation resolution. “Manchin will support Democrats’ reconciliation bill, allowing COVID relief to move forward without GOP”, https://theweek.com/speedreads/964588/manchin-support-democrats-reconciliation-bill-allowing-covid-relief-move-forward-without-gop
Sen. Manchin seemed to complicate Leaders’ plans, indicating he wanted a more targeted distribution of stimulus checks instead of a flat $1,400 sent to all Americans. But “because of the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis,” Manchin said in a Tuesday statement he’d vote for the budget. He’d like Biden to focus on “Americans who have been impacted most by this pandemic” in the future, and said he “remains hopeful that we can have bipartisan support moving forward.”
Manchin’s change of heart comes after West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump and adversary of Manchin, indicated his support for the $1.9 trillion bill on Monday.
And then there was one … Where does Kyrsten Sinema stand on supporting the budget reconciliation resolution?