4775 The Manchin on the Hill

 Capitol Hill really isn’t a hill. And there’s nothing mansion-like about Joe Manchin. Here we have a yokel from a state that doesn’t need to exist tying the United States’ legislative branch in knots by holding his votes for ransom.  

In a halfhearted effort to be fair and balanced. Let’s look at the good side of Joe before we get to the point. 

 

OK, the good stuff: um… well, he’s not a lawyer. That’s always a step in the right direction. He represents a state owned and operated by Big Coal and represents his corporate sponsors well.  It’s always nice when an elected official stands for the corporations who elected him.  Also, Wait a minute.  Also…

 

Nah. That’s it. 

 

He’s a registered Democrat and gets elected because the republicans are too busy out trumping each other to figure out to topple him. So, he stands out from the crowd.

 

And he’s in a really good position right now from a politician’s perspective.  A democrat in an evenly divided senate, meaning his vote counts more than a person of that caliber from a state of that caliber deserves.

 

So let’s all get together and kiss Joe’s… um… ring. He’s sitting so pretty that he can topple the rest of his party by casting a “no” vote. You can say that the United States Senate is coal-powered.  You can also say if the guy has a grain of sense, he’ll hire private security.

 

Operating behind a facade of representing his state, (“the only people who can hire or fire me,” he says) he is the go to guy for getting anything done in the Senate.  He’s built a pretty good mousetrap.

 

The former Senator Biden of another small and relatively inconsequential state is pretty good at glad handing his former legislative colleagues and is trying his best to get a huge package of spending on social and infrastructure repair approved. It seems to have worked. But the vote hasn’t yet happened.

 

Now, it all depends on Joe Manchin.

 

Oh, some version of the Biden agenda will pass. It’s nice to see Moscow Mitch sit on his hands and not count.  But Manchin counts.  All he has to do to screw things up for America is wave the West Virginia flag and vote with the disloyal opposition.  No one person of any affiliation belongs in that position.

 

I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®

Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com

© WR 2021