Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" legislation appears to be dead on arrival, all because of one West Virginia lawmaker who refuses to bend. Sen. Joe Manchin (D) issued an unequivocal no vote regarding BBB during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
And it didn't take long for the left to go bonkers.
Joe Manchin (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
His own party has vilified Manchin for standing in the way of a massive spending bill the Biden administration maintains won't cost the country a dime. But the Congressional Budget Office, which is assigned the duty of impartially determining the cost of legislation, calculated that BBB "is projected to add hundreds of billions of dollars to the federal deficit over the next decade," according to Liberty Nation economics guru Andrew Moran.
Manchin has been against the Biden plan for months; however, fiscal conservatives worried that he might cave in light of substantial pressure put on him by his party. The West Virginia senator appeared to have had enough earlier this week and lashed out at reporters hounding him with questions about his refusal to support the Biden spending bill. "You guys, let me go. This is bulls–t. You are bulls–t! OK? I'm done! I'm done! God Almighty," Manchin bellowed to a gaggle of Capitol Hill reporters.
Within minutes of the West Virginia senator’s final rejection of the legislation on Fox, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) fumed to CNN's Jake Tapper on State of the Union, "I think he's going to have a lot of explaining to do to the people of West Virginia." Political columnist Jennifer Rubin sounded nothing short of hyperbolic regarding Manchin's no vote, tweeting, "If Manchin is no on both BBB and voting, Biden is done. Democracy is hanging by a thread. Hard to think of anyone more destructive."
Twitter blew up as soon as Manchin confirmed his rejection. Excoriated as a "liar" and vilified as "gutless," those on the left appeared more deranged than usual. One tweet characterized the vehement reaction by saying, "I'd say Bill Kristol and Jen Rubin are having psychological breakdowns at the Manchin BBB news, but they lost their minds long ago."
Another lamented:
“The Manchin First agenda . . .
Betrayal.
Treachery.
Corruption.
That craven a****** needs to GO.”
The Associated Press quoted White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in what it termed as "an unusually confrontational response." Psaki stated that Manchin's rejection of BBB is "a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position" and "a breach of his commitments." The White House then posted the following: "Maybe Senator Manchin can explain to the millions of children who have been lifted out of poverty, in part due to the Child Tax Credit, why he wants to end a program that is helping achieve this milestone – we cannot."
The AP summed up the raging anti-Manchin rhetoric by writing, "The legislation's apparent collapse is sure to deepen the bitter ideological divisions within the Democratic Party between progressives and moderates."
No kidding.
The good senator from the Mountain State has held to his principles and will most likely have to endure a lengthy lashing for not going along to get along with his fellow Democrats. However, based on his most recent statements, Manchin does not seem to care that he has become the left's latest whipping boy. As for those on the right, they might be wise to heed the often-quoted adage, “Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.”
~ Read more from Leesa K. Donner.
