Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin’s agreement late last month to back the disingenuously named Inflation Reduction Act came as a shock to Republicans and likely to members of his own party as well.
Up until then, the West Virginia senator had been the one vote standing between the Democrats’ passage of needless and expensive climate change legislation and fiscal sanity.
Then, one day in July, a beaming Manchin joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to announce his support for a $740 billion bill which, contrary to its title, will do nothing to reduce inflation. It will, however, subsidize green energy programs, raise taxes on the middle class, and dramatically expand the size of the IRS.
In order to secure Manchin’s vote, President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders promised to facilitate the approval of a gas pipeline in West Virginia. This would require passage of legislation that would “overhaul the permitting process for energy infrastructure,” according to The American Prospect, a liberal website.
Apparently, progressives in the House are not keen on supporting a measure that “could undercut the IRA’s down payment on clean energy by accelerating approval for energy projects that could ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production and exports of natural gas,” the report said.
The Washington Times reported House Democrats were also angry over being excluded from the negotiations with Manchin.
Thus, they do not plan to honor the agreement.
California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, for instance, said he refuses to be “steamrolled into a bunch of fossil fuel giveaways just because Manchin cut a deal in a closed room with Chuck Schumer,” the Times reported.
In a statement to the Prospect, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, that pillar of integrity, wrote:
“Handshake deals made by others in closed rooms do not dictate how I vote, and we sure as hell don’t owe Joe Manchin anything now. He and his fossil fuel donors already got far too much in the IRA … and we will vote this dirty deal down, one way or another.”
“We sure as hell don’t owe Joe Manchin anything now,” said @RepRashida. https://t.co/4m37CUqaiC
— Common Dreams (@commondreams) August 16, 2022
The text of the permitting bill has not been released yet to members of Congress, but it is expected to be “attached to a must-pass government funding bill,” the Prospect reported. Opponents, like Tlaib, want it to be treated as a stand-alone bill that will be voted on separately, and will fail in the House if she and her radical wing get their way.
All of this must come as a rude awakening to Manchin who surrendered his reputation for honesty and fairness only to be sold out by members of his own party.
Manchin not only voted for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, he introduced it. With an earnest look on his face, he repeatedly tried to convince the American people that the IRA will actually reduce inflation when he knows it will do nothing of the kind. Even Democrats call it a climate and healthcare bill — now that it’s been signed into law.
@Sen_JoeManchin – you are a disgusting #hypocrite. “Inflation reduction act” my ass. What is your proof of no increase in chances of audit? https://t.co/YdSi9cCi1k
— BB (@bbcolorado) August 20, 2022
Now 74, Manchin is up for re-election in 2024. If he does run for another term, with this deal he’s risked the wrath of his own state’s voters — who voted for now-former President Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020.
The prospect of getting rolled after reaching a deal with Chuck Schumer to advance Democratic climate-change priorities isn’t going to help him in that kind of environment.
It can’t do much for his self-respect, either.
A previous version of this article appeared on The Western Journal.
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Joe Manchin has been on record for supporting the first Green New Deal, only in a smaller scale, which is all this IRA law is. He has consistently said he would support an increase in the income tax, and not specific on across the board increases, so I assume he meant what he said, well before either of the Green New Deal bills came before the senate. Kinda just makes him a liar, when it came to voting for this law. He lied to us, and now, the radical left, which is the bulk of the left have the knives out for him.
He made his bed. He has lied out of both sides of his mouth, so don’t anyone come out and ever call this man a moderate again. I seriously doubt he cares what you or I think about him.
Been telling friends that Manchin is the only Democrat I’d ever consider voting for.
Turns out he’s just another Swamp Creature who’s for sale.
Manchin is not hurt, the people of West Virginia are hurt.
Manchin doesn’t care.
His daugther was CEO of Mylan, a drug company. She raised the price of epi-pen from $100 to $600
https://theintercept.com/2021/09/07/joe-manchin-epipen-price-heather-bresch/
Manchin tries to portray himself as a combination of folksy and clever but, most of all, “A Man of The People” while, in reality, he’s a Grifter of The First Order. The only difficulty I have with this is how a man who has known Chuck Schumer and who, himself, has been a Democrat for his entire adult life NOT KNOW that HE was the Mark; that HE was being set up for the Big Grift by Chuckie; to coin a phrase, to be Hoisted by his own Petard.
Well, Joe, Seems as though you’ve outlived your usefulness and the voters of West Virginia, who you so capriciously betrayed with your grand scheming with that Schlemiel, Chuck Schumer, should cast you out with the rest of the rubbish.
This isn’t a betrayal, it’s design and routine. It’s frankly insulting that he thinks the voters are stupid enough to buy his “after all the times they’ve knifed me in the back before I’m shocked and dismayed that they pulled the wool over my eyes again for the umpteenth time” act.
WV, if you continue to fall for this crap y’all prove yourselves collectively as stupid as Grifter Joe thinks you are. Prove him wrong and give him the boot next time he’s up for reelection.