Joe Manchin to vote no on 'Build Back Better' bill

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ASPartOfMe
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19 Dec 2021, 11:00 pm

Manchin says he can't vote for 'Build Back Better' bill, a potentially fatal blow to legislation

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Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he cannot back his party's signature $2 trillion social and environment bill, seemingly dealing a fatal blow to President Joe Biden's leading domestic initiative heading into an election year when Democrats' narrow hold on Congress was already in peril.

Manchin told "Fox News Sunday" that he always has made clear he had reservations about the bill and that now, after five-and-half months of discussions and negotiations, "I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation." His choice of words suggested an openness to continuing talks, but all but said the bill would die unless it was reshaped to his terms.

In an unusually confrontational response to a senator whose vote is crucial, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Manchin's statement "a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position" and "a breach of his commitments" to Biden and congressional Democrats.

"We will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word," she said.

The legislation's apparent collapse is sure to deepen the bitter ideological divisions within the Democratic Party between progressives and moderates. That would call into question whether Democrats will be able to join together behind any substantial legislation before the November congressional elections. And it adds a note of chaos just as Democrats need to demonstrate accomplishments and show a united front before the fall campaign.

The West Virginia senator cited several factors weighing on the economy and the potential harm he saw from pushing through the "mammoth" bill, such as persistent inflation, a growing debt and the latest threat from the omicron variant.

"When you have these things coming at you the way they are right now, I've always said this ... if I can't go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can't vote for it," he said.

"I tried everything humanly possible. I can't do it," he said. "This is a no on this legislation. I have tried everything I know to do."

'Betrayed': House progressives erupt over Manchin Build Back Better opposition

Quote:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., led the progressive charge in denouncing Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V.a., on Sunday after he said he would not support President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act.

"Today, Senator Manchin has betrayed his commitment not only to the President and Democrats in Congress but most importantly, to the American people," Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in a statement. "He routinely touts that he is a man of his word, but he can no longer say that. West Virginians, and the country, see clearly who he is."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Sunday called out Democratic leaders for moving the infrastructure bill before Build Back Better. She also urged the Senate to reconvene immediately to bring the legislation to a vote.

When a handful of us in the House warned this would happen if Dem leaders gave Manchin everything he wanted 1st by moving BIF before BBB instead of passing together, many ridiculed our position," Ocasio-Cortez said on a series of tweets. "Maybe they’ll believe us next time. Or maybe people will just keep calling us naïve."

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, said: "This is so much bigger than Manchin."

"When democracies are no longer able to address their constituents’ needs and demands, authoritarians seize power. I’ve seen it time and time again," Omar tweeted. "And ours was already on life support."

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said she has a "lack and deficit of trust" in regard to Manchin on CNN's "State of the Union."

Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Pressley voted against the infrastructure bill last month.

A series of other House progressives joined them in condemning Manchin, including Rep. Barbara Lee, D- Calif., who said, "This is exactly why my progressive colleagues and I fought so hard to keep the Build Back Better and Bipartisan Infrastructure bills together, because we knew that Senator Manchin may choose to side with Republicans and corporate lobbyists over American families."

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Brictoria
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20 Dec 2021, 12:01 am

He does seem to be in a difficult position - Support the party at the risk of going against what his constituents would likely desire, or support his constituents and go against the desire of the party...

Considering the results of the 2020 election in his state, he seems to prefer his constituents, for whom he was elected to represent:

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/west-virginia

ASPartOfMe
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20 Dec 2021, 9:29 am

Schumer vows action on social policy, voting rights bills despite setback

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday vowed to vote on President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan early next year despite opposition from a key Democratic senator that drew White House rebuke, and to bring forward voting rights legislation.

"The Senate will, in fact, consider the Build Back Better Act, very early in the new year so that every Member of this body has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television," Schumer wrote in a letter to colleagues

U.S. stock futures and European stocks fell on Monday following the legislative blow, along with COVID-19 fears over the Omicron variant, while Goldman Sachs trimmed its quarterly GDP forecasts for 2022 on the assumption that the plan would not become law.

kraftiekortie
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20 Dec 2021, 9:32 am

I don't know about Schumer personally----but I do believe he's a very good legislator who knows how to get things done.

It doesn't matter that West Virginia voted for Trump. Marchan is a Democrat (he might be a remnant "southern" democrat; who knows?). I believe Marchan would suffer few political repercussions should he vote for the bill. I am sure many in West Virginia would appreciate massive Federal aid.

ASPartOfMe
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20 Dec 2021, 9:34 am

Brictoria wrote:

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/west-virginia

I think based on the facts you listed above plus inflation being the highest it has been since 1982 it was not a difficult decision at all. All the “indecision” was theater.

In 1933 when the New Deal was starting to be passed the Democrats controlled the Senate by a margin of 58 to 36, The House of Representatives by a margin of 311 to 117. Roosevelt won 57.4 percent of the popular vote in ‘32

When the Great Society was passed in 1965 the Democrats controlled the Senate by a margin of 68 to 32 The House of Representatives by a Margin of 295 to 140. Johnson won 61.1 percent of the popular vote in ‘64.

Those were mandates for major new programs.

Rant:
Why oh why did the Dems and Progressives act like they had one. Were they so relieved Trump lost that they lost the ability to count? The Democrats lost seats in Congress it was not a mandate for them, it was a bad election. And why did they try and pass a bill that more resembles what the twice primary losing candidate wants then what the winner campaigned on?. Do they want Trump to be reelected?

Aspiegaming
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20 Dec 2021, 12:59 pm

He's among democrats who are basically NeoReaganites. Reaganite 2.0

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NoClearMind53
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20 Dec 2021, 2:41 pm

Brictoria wrote:

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/west-virginia

It's not honest to say Trump's popularity translates into favoring austerity/Reaganism (what Manchin is despite having a D next to his name), or to pretend the opinions of extremely uninformed people never ever change with better messaging. Trump is popular with certain swing voters in the "rust belt" because he's perceived as an outsider, and he supported protectionism. In any case, it seems like average Dem politicians just don't want certain voters. In 2020 they strictly went for the affluent swing voters who turned against Trump but not Republicans in general. This swung Arizona for Biden, but did absolutely nothing for working class voters in places like West Virginia. It almost feels like they just want to lose and don't really want anything to pass and want to throw the midterms to the Republicans. Also, Sinema outright feigned being a progressive in her campaign.

NoClearMind53
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20 Dec 2021, 3:02 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Brictoria wrote:

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/west-virginia

What I read is that people will need to suffer much much more before things change. We would need another Great Depression where people are literally starving. Also funny how even news media don't mention that the spending is over 10 years. It would be 170 billion per year compared to the 2 trillion spend per year on the defense budget alone. To compare it to the New Deal is completely dishonest.

Rant:

Quote:

Why oh why did the Dems and Progressives act like they had one. Were they so relieved Trump lost that they lost the ability to count? The Democrats lost seats in Congress it was not a mandate for them, it was a bad election. And why did they try and pass a bill that more resembles what the twice primary losing candidate wants then what the winner campaigned on?. Do they want Trump to be reelected?

It is impossible to know what constituents want without doing an actual poll. People voted for Biden in the primary because they were told he was the mostly likely candidate to beat Trump. Then progressives held their noses and voted for Biden as a vote against Trump.

My guess is if we had honest politicians who weren't beholden to donors, SOME THINGS WOULD PASS. Even if the original bill was deemed too expensive, they'd find a way to get the most important things through instead of ditching the entire thing. The problem is they are not honest. People like Manchin and Sinema complain about the price tag, then balk over things that would SAVE GOVERNMENT MONEY. THINGS LIKE NEGOTIATING LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS. I just wish people would wake up and stop being fooled by such obvious bologna. I get it that people over 60 are comfortable and selfish and don't need anything, but you don't give a s**t about the future quite frankly. Transition off fossil fuel isn't optional. The future depends on it. Just tired of it all.

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20 Dec 2021, 4:33 pm

I read where Joe Manchin wants to see the OMB cost of this bill. (for those not familiar with what the OMB does; it evaluates what is the actual cost vs. increased tax revenue generated) I feel it is logical to see the real cost of this bill instead of the "feel good" sentiments this bill is creating. I realize deficit spending is sometimes necessary (suppose you got a job in a nearby city that payed twice as much but you thought "I can't afford to be late because my undependable vehicle broke down" so you might decide to go in debt and purchase a new car). I feel this bill is necessary but instead of paying for all of it now; why not in increments?

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20 Dec 2021, 11:54 pm

Suddenly, Democrats start to understand why many Republicans couldn't stand John McCain, the whole "maverick" thing is cool and all until it's your guy standing in the way of your bill. Personally, I suspect Manchin is merely the figurehead for a whole bunch of moderate Dems and he has a pocket full of favors for later, but that's another thread.

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Tim_Tex
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22 Dec 2021, 12:41 am

I consider myself a moderate, but of the Democratic senators, John Hickenlooper is my favorite.

Joe Manchin, though I still respect him, is actually to the right of even a few GOP senators—one of them being his own WV colleague, Shelly Moore-Capito.

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