Just the other day we discovered that Joe Manchin told Chuck Schumer he wouldn’t vote for an infrastructure bill if it was higher than $1.5T. Someone leaked the notes about that, and they showed up on MSNBC last Thursday.
But for weeks, since that conversation was said to take place, Manchin has been telling anybody who asks that he “hasn’t looked at the numbers.” That’s a lie.
Granted, it wasn’t his focus a little over a week ago.
The prior week, seemingly oblivious to the urgent nature of the climate change crisis, Manchin didn’t say anything about the numbers. He just said, “What’s the rush?”
Joe’s personal fortune (and his son’s) are tied directly to the fossil fuel industry. His son now controls the coal brokerage company Manchin originally founded.
That’s the reason Joe Manchin won’t support Biden’s plan. Well, one of the reasons. The other is his daughter’s position working for Big Pharma.
Remember the EpiPen scandal? That’s her. So, Manchin also won’t be supporting a deal that allows the government to negotiate for lower drug prices. Obviously.
When questioned, however, you won’t find Manchin telling Dems which programs he wants to cut from Biden’s infrastructure bill because that would look bad. It would look almost as if Manchin doesn’t want lower drug prices for Americans, and he isn’t motivated to address climate change either.
Manchin’s latest excuse for doing his part to derail the Biden agenda is that he doesn’t want to create an “entitlement” mentality.
I have news for Senator Manchin: We already have an entitlement mentality.
It belongs to old white men who think they’re entitled to destroy the planet for profit. (That’s not what Joe’s talking about though.)
He’s concerned that people who barely earn enough to pay for food and rent might get uppity if we offer them free community college. Likewise, he fears the negative impact on society if people start expecting childcare so they can go to work.
(People like Joe and his wealthy Republican friends take care of themselves, they don’t rely on the government.)
Oh — Wait a minute, they do!
Their salaries come from taxpayer dollars. How is it okay for them to live on taxpayer dollars, but when we ask Congress to spend tax dollars on programs that benefit us, we’re bilking the system?
Joe feels entitled to the fund-raising mechanisms that allow him to receive contributions from the fossil fuel industry — the same companies he is supposed to regulate for the safety of our planet. He doesn’t see any problem with that entitlement or the inherent conflict of interest it presents. Nor does he seem to be aware of the hypocrisy of his position.
The problem, for Joe, is when the American people ask him, Sinema and the Republicans to
a) acknowledge the threat of global warming, and
b) stop lining their pockets for a minute or two so we can focus on saving our planet.
That’s out of line. We’re not entitled to do that.
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Democratic Senator Chris Murphy was interviewed by Chris Hayes last Thursday. When he was asked what would happen if Dems can’t persuade Senators Manchin and Sinema to vote for a bigger infrastructure bill, he said, “We’ll have to make a choice. Are we going to save the planet or save middle-class families from bankruptcy?”
Please read that last sentence again.
So, which is it? Should we save the planet or save middle-class Americans?
Which do you pick: death or financial ruin? Your choice.
Who says life isn’t fair?