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On President Joe Manchin (So Much for Federalism, Part 4)
I did not vote to elect Joe Manchin de facto President of the United States of America, not because I disagree with his policy positions or location on the political spectrum (which I do), but because I live in New York State. As someone once said in another context, “It is what it is.” Manchin, along with Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, is holding the rest of the Democratic Party hostage, and with them the ability of Congress to function. He wields more power than Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer combined. If that does not make him de facto President, I do not know what would.
I am not saying this hyperbolically or tongue-in-cheek. Support for the For the People Act, both nationally, and in his home state of West Virginia , is high. Still, Manchin has affirmed that he will not vote for the bill. Nor will he support eliminating or modifying the Senate Filibuster, which necessitates a supermajority to pass any legislation. The consequences of keeping the filibuster are apparent in the Senatorial stalemate of Biden’s Infrastructure plan, and the refusal of all but six senate Republicans to investigate an insurrection that could very likely have resulted in their murder. Everything that the Democratic Party wishes to accomplish now hinges on the compliance of Sen. Manchin, as well as Sinema, and Manchin has pledged that he will not budge.
