The Mendacity of Joe Manchin – Enough Already!

David Gordon suggests “It May be Time for Democrats to Take Part of the Loaf Now and Come Back for More Later.” Back in the day when we had a government that worked in regular order, I might agree. Senator Hubert Humphrey taught me the value of the “half a loaf,” and it worked for him in another era.

But our government no longer works in regular order. The Senate has been entirely dysfunctional in the “McConnell Era” of Senate Republican leadership. McConnell developed the policy of “total obstruction,” i.e., sabotaging Democratic administrations as a political means to power. The “Grim Reaper of Democracy” is incapable of good faith, and he does not believe in honest negotiation.

And now we have the added problem of Senator Joe Manchin. His “aw shucks, I’m just a country bumpkin” demeanor has made this prima donna diva a favorite of the political press corps, who give him way too much credit and way too much air time.

This diva has decided that he is the “decider-in-chief” for the whole country, a position that literally no one, not even West Virginians, elected him to. This is an abuse of power.

Joe Manchin is willing to tank President Biden’s agenda, and the electoral prospects of the Democratic Party, out of his “I’m the decider-in-chief” delusions of grandeur. The resulting damage would be to empower the authoritarian fascist white Christian nationalist personality cult of Donald Trump, and to end American Democracy as we know it. This is what is at stake.

As I have said before, Joe Manchin Is The New Poster Boy For Appeasement Of The Enemies Of Democracy:

Let me explain the cold hard truth to you, senator. You will not be reelected in 2024. This is your last act. Is this how you want history to remember you, as the new poster boy for appeasement of the enemies of democracy? What is your end game here? When history called upon you to defend American democracy from Trumpism, the new American fascism, you failed miserably and chose rather to appease evil. This is indefensible cowardice, and unforgivable.

With this preface, Kenny Stancil reports, Manchin admits getting his bill passed and then tanking progressive package was always the plan:

Sen. Joe Manchin admitted Thursday, ahead of a scheduled House vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, that it had been corporate Democrats’ plan all along to first secure passage of their fossil fuel-friendly legislation and then undermine the party’s more ambitious reconciliation package that proposes investing up to $3.5 trillion over a decade in clean energy and the social safety net.

The conservative West Virginia Democrat told reporters Thursday that on July 28, he secured a signed agreement (pdf) from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) outlining his conditions for voting on the final reconciliation bill.

A spokesperson for Schumer, meanwhile, told Politico that “Schumer never agreed to any of the conditions Sen. Manchin laid out; he merely acknowledged where Sen. Manchin was on the subject at the time.”

In addition to demanding a topline figure no higher than $1.5 trillion, something he reiterated on Thursday, Manchin said in July that he wanted to delay debate on the reconciliation package until October 1.

Meanwhile, a small group of corporate-funded House Democrats—led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.) and supported by Manchin and fellow right-wing Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.)—in August pressured Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to bring the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) to the floor by September 27 in exchange for their votes on the $3.5 trillion budget resolution that enabled lawmakers to draft the Build Back Better Act, as the reconciliation package has since been named.

Critics were quick to point out the significance of Manchin’s revelation.

“It sure feeds the idea that their goal is to pass BIF then bail on reconciliation,” noted former Senate staffer Adam Jentleson, now executive director of the Battle Born Collective, a progressive messaging firm [who formerly worked for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.]

Wow. In July, Manchin secured a signed agreement from Schumer to delay reconciliation until 10/1. That explains Gottheimer's desire to pass BIF through the House by 9/27 and it sure feeds the idea that their goal is to pass BIF then bail on reconciliation. https://t.co/N7wGvA1pLL

— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) September 30, 2021

Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, a progressive advocacy group, expressed gratitude for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which has vowed to secure President Joe Biden’s entire domestic policy agenda by voting down the bipartisan physical infrastructure bill until Congress passes the popular Build Back Better Act—a broader social infrastructure package that would fund climate action and anti-poverty measures by raising taxes on corporations and the rich—through the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process.

So Manchin admits that he was considering scuttling reconciliation after getting what he wants in BIF. Thank god @USProgressives are holding the line on the original deal otherwise we’d be toast on child care, climate, housing, prescription drugs, & everything else. https://t.co/whqJRLCgC4

— Ezra Levin (@ezralevin) September 30, 2021

It remains unclear whether Pelosi still plans to bring the BIF to a vote on Thursday [the vote was delayed until Friday], but progressives’ pledge to block the bipartisan bill until it is relinked with the reconciliation package is consistent with the deal that Democratic Party leaders outlined months ago to keep both pieces of legislation connected and advance them together.

In June, Pelosi had said that the House would not take up either piece of legislation until the Senate passed both. Last month, she successfully got Gottheimer and the other holdouts to vote for the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint. In order to secure their support, however, Pelosi agreed to hold a late-September vote on the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as the BIF is also known.

Pelosi’s decision on Monday to schedule a vote on the bipartisan bill even though the reconciliation package is not yet ready, let alone approved—a reversal of her earlier promise to not decouple the two pieces of legislation—has been sharply rebuked by progressives in the House as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

As Sanders said Tuesday, “If the bipartisan infrastructure bill is passed on its own on Thursday, this will be in violation of an agreement that was reached within the Democratic Caucus in Congress.”

“More importantly,” Sanders warned, “it will end all leverage that we have to pass a major reconciliation bill.”

“That means there will be no serious effort to address the long-neglected crises facing the working families of our country, the children, the elderly, the sick, and the poor,” he added. “It also means that Congress will continue to ignore the existential threat to our country and planet with regard to climate change.”

The Huffington Post adds, Secret Joe Manchin ‘Agreement’ With Chuck Schumer Leaves Democrats Scrambling:

Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) revealed for the first time on Thursday that he won’t accept a package totaling more than $1.5 trillion, which is far lower than the $3.5 trillion figure Democrats have been seeking. The moderate Democrat outlined his spending cap and other conditions in a private document with Schumer in July, weeks before Democrats voted to begin drafting a bill that totaled $3.5 trillion.

“It’s pretty sad if you ask me,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told reporters when asked about Manchin’s position on Thursday.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said a bill totaling $1.5 trillion wouldn’t be nearly enough investment to address the urgent threat of climate change. He cited an opinion article that former West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, Manchin’s predecessor, wrote in 2009 arguing on behalf of robust action to address climate change. “He was onto something,” Heinrich tweeted.

But other senators struck a more pragmatic tone, welcoming the fact that Manchin revealed exactly where he stands on their legislative priority. Progressive lawmakers in recent days have complained that Manchin wasn’t being forthcoming about what he wanted to see in the bill as he negotiated with President Joe Biden at the White House.

“My impression is he may have released that, surprising many of us, in order to make clear he’s had a list that showed some basic positions and principles,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told HuffPost about the July document. “That’s positive in that it moves us from we don’t have much of a sense at all to here’s a clear list.”

“Now that we know what his priority is, we will work on him to try to push him to do more… we’re closer to a deal,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) added.

Note: The Wall Street Journal reports, “Lawmakers and aides said Mr. Manchin’s desire for a $1.5 trillion price tag on the social policy and climate bill didn’t reflect the current negotiations. Some aides said they expected a new agreement could come in around $2 trillion.”

A bill totaling $1.5 trillion would force Democrats to narrow many of their priorities or strip them out. The $3.5 trillion proposal, as it stands, includes funding for free community college and prekindergarten; monthly payments to most households with children, which started this summer; expanded health care coverage for seniors and the poor; and new subsidies for green energy. If Manchin holds firm on $1.5 trillion, Democrats would be forced to ditch many of those programs.

Manchin said in a Thursday briefing with reporters that he opposed adding too many new government programs because it would create an “entitlement mentality” among the American people. He said he preferred imposing “means testing” and “work requirements” for existing programs.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes’ critique of Manchin’s ridiculous posturing demonstrates his bad faith.

Democrats control only 50 seats in the Senate, and they need all 50 senators on board in order to pass a bill under the reconciliation process, which allows them to avoid a Republican filibuster. Manchin and other moderate senators who share his views, therefore, have outsized leverage in the talks.

The typed “agreement” Manchin and Schumer both signed in July that Politico revealed outlining Manchin’s demands said he does not guarantee voting for the reconciliation bill if it exceeds $1.5 trillion, leaving open the possibility he could support a higher number. It also includes a written note from Schumer stating, “I will try to dissuade Joe on many” of the demands.

The news of the document landed like a bombshell on Capitol Hill, where reporters have tried for months to get Manchin to spell out his demands with little success. Asked Thursday why he wasn’t more transparent about his position on reconciliation, including on the overall spending total he is willing to support, Manchin said he “was trying to honor my agreement” with Schumer. He didn’t elaborate.

Note: Prima donna diva Manchin has been telling his media villager entourage that he had not discussed any specific dollar amounts with the Biden White House for the past several weeks – until he disclosed his memo yesterday, demonstrating that he was lying to the public all along and acting in bad faith. “Aw shucks, I’m just a country bumpkin,” and the media villagers let him get away with it.

A spokesperson for Schumer sought to downplay the significance of the document their boss signed, saying the senator “never agreed to any of the conditions Sen. Manchin laid out; he merely acknowledged where Sen. Manchin was on the subject at the time.”

Still, Schumer kept many of his members in the dark about the existence of the document, which stayed secret for over two months as lawmakers pressed forward with expectations of a larger bill that included many progressive priorities. Schumer even kept members of his leadership team out of the loop.

“I did not,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chair of the party’s policy committee, told HuffPost when asked if she was previously aware of the document.

That Schumer signed the document is also notable — members of both parties have touted promises from leadership on pet issues before; rarely have they come on a signed piece of paper.

Democrats are hoping they can ultimately get Manchin to agree to a bill totaling more than $1.5 trillion. But Manchin seemed firm on that number Thursday, suggesting that his party can take a second crack at passing more of Biden’s legislative agenda in follow-up legislation next year.

“I’m willing to sit down and work through 1.5 and get at my priorities, and [the rest of the party] can come back with it later and they can run on the rest of it later. … not everything at one time,” Manchin said.

What about America’s priorities, you greedy hillbilly coal baron? The time for negotiations was during the budget resolution, which you voted for. Now it’s just filling in the details of what was agreed upon.

And fuck you about running on this later in 2022. Democrats already ran on this in 2020, and won control of the House, Senate, and White House. Democrats have a mandate for this agenda from the public, and the public wants this done – yesterday.

We are not relitigating 2020 because some prima donna diva hillbilly from West Virginia with delusions of grandeur says so. Enough already!