Senator Joe Manchin was humiliated on Tuesday after his Democrat-negotiated permitting reform plan failed.
According to RedState, Manchin stabbed Republicans in the back in the summer while waiting until after the CHIPS Act passed before doing the opposite of what he’d said on a huge-spending reconciliation bill that contained many “climate change” payoffs. The senator from West Virginia had supposedly reached a deal in which he would approve the poorly named Inflation Reduction Act in order to get Democrat support regarding permitting reform for gas and oil projects.
As RedState reported when the agreement was revealed, Manchin was playing with fire by relying on his anti-energy party to follow his lead.
But what really puts the cherry on top of this pitiful performance by Manchin is that he’s unlikely to even get any of what he’s demanding. House Democrats can easily scuttle the entire thing and likely will. That outline is a best-case scenario, and even then, it delivers almost nothing of substance.
It's true that Manchin doesn’t have the votes. And while there are reasons for that, one of them is that Republicans aren't willing to follow his lead after his betrayal and the bulk of opposition to the measure comes from the house.
Senate Minority Chairman Chuck Schumer officially ended their support in response.
It is unclear what Manchin thought he was doing. Manchin negotiated with Democrats to adopt a bill that all Republicans opposed. Manchin then believed that he could convince those Republicans to favor allowing reforms, which is exactly the deal Manchin was supposed to receive as a reward for his support for reconciliation. However, that payment was actually negotiated through Democrats and to be delivered by Democrats.
The whole story is ridiculous and didn't make any sense in the slightest. Why would the GOP ever think of helping Manchin to keep the agreement he struck with Democrats to pass a spending bill that no Republican would have wanted? In addition, the reconciliation bill was a disastrous policy that didn't assist in the fight against inflation.
Maybe Manchin had really become confident as the pivotal swing vote, believing himself to be more influential than he really is. Regardless, Manchin is learning that Republicans might be suckered, however they aren't willing to be taken advantage of.
It's amazing when you consider it. Manchin ended his political career for a disastrous reconciliation bill in exchange for a false pledge from his own group of supporters. In the meantime, the same people from the left who had a hatred for Manchin in the past still aren't happy with him. The man gained nothing from his move and lost it all. There's a sense of poetic justice to the situation.
