In his Wall Street Journal column Daniel Henninger has these remarks about West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to the “Build Back Better” bill:
In a next-day interview with a West Virginia radio station, Mr. Manchin pointed American politics and indeed its culture toward the long-term lesson of his stand:
“They just never realized it, because they figured, ‘Surely, dear God, we can move one person—surely we can badger and beat one person up, surely we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough [that] they’ll just say: “I’ll go for anything. Just quit.†’ â€
Why did it occur to a senator from West Virginia to describe his experience in that way—the belief by his opposition that if they threw enough flak at him, he’d break and give them what they wanted?
The answer, of course, is experience. It’s the shared experience of him and quite a number of people who got in the way of what progressives wanted to do. I think it’s a consequence of a Marcusist outlook. Their mothers certainly did not tell them that they could catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
I also attribute the decline in collegiality in the Congress to trends in the practice of law in which zealous advocacy outweighs all other values. Or possibly the increasing trend in the society at large to see things in strictly Aristotelian terms. Things (and people) are either right or wrong; good or evil.
The thing that stands out to me is Manchin supported roll-back of the Trump tax cuts, which was opposed by moderates such as Sinema and others to various extents. And I can’t recall if he took a specific position on SALT deductions, but by stating that expenditures need to be paid for, he placed spending in conflict with such tax cuts. I take from this that the Democratic Party selected which “moderates” to embrace, and it wasn’t the Governor who oversaw the creation of a public pre-K program. It was the country club Democrats.
I think a lot of it is simply tribalism and the attendant virtue signaling. It’s more important to be seen fighting and to never compromise unless forced to. Note that several members of the “squad†voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill – is that because they think it’s a bad bill and don’t support it’s goals, or is it signaling their displeasure for a never-compromise base? I think it’s clearly the latter.
I think they are lucky he is voting no. They ought to pick 2 or 3 things out of the bill, pass them and call it a day.
“it wasn’t the Governor who oversaw the creation of a public pre-K program. It was the country club Democrats.”
The plural there counts. Pick up Manchin and lose 12 others? Not happening.
Steve
“Pick up Manchin and lose 12 others”?
Is this not the dilemma of “majoritarianism”; that one must have an actual majority? Manchin is just as crucial to Senate passage as the SALT caucus is to House passage. With their slim majorities, Democrats need to have Manchin, SALT caucus, Sinema, the Squad, House Progressive Caucus, etc. That each fractions redlines are different (and conflicting) is why I suspect the legislative text so far is not a “focus on 2 or 3 things” bill.
An alternative is to expand the pool of possible “votes” by working with Republicans, but that would remove all the partisan priorities which is the point of the bill.
Anyway, listening to Manchin’s interviews, it seems much of his alienation was due to abrasive treatment by White House staff. The three WH staffers most responsible for BBB are Ron Klain, Susan Rice, Steve Ricchetti. Would not be surprised if Biden appoints a bunch of special envoys to X (which don’t require Senate confirmation).
You are such an optimist. I don’t see any R working with them.
Steve
Why work with a party more aligned with the CCP and their punitive ways of dealing with those who oppose their policies?
NYC has become unlivable unless a person is “vaccinated.†Washington DC will follow suite, in mid January, in disallowing any protest there unless a vaccination status is approved. Are these the standards, or new normal,
people want to live under? If you stick with the democrat party this is your future.
BTW, where are all the positive MSM stories how benign the omicron variant really is – so much so that S Africa is well on it’s way to herd immunity. Just as a contrast, the Capitol Police killed more people than omicron has. But, why bother with facts that buoys people when you can keep their fears alive and well, along with mandates and other punitive ploys that keep people under control.