Manchin Plus!

Lot of us are mad at Joe Manchin.  One guy from a small state who so far has successfully thwarted the will of the majority and opted not to support child care, climate change and a lot more.  His argument?  Spurious lamentations about inflation and taxes and the budget deficit, etc.

We're right to be disgusted by this guy.  With crocodile tears he is pandering to Republicans in West Virginia.  In other words he's trying to keep his job.  In the end it won't do him any good.  He'll be thrown out no matter what he does.

But as we chastise Manchin we're forgetting that there are 50 Senators on the other side of the aisle who will vote en masse to kill Build Back Better.  Any one of them could make the difference that Manchin is making.  They shouldn't be let off the hook.  They too are pandering, in this case to the fear that the Democrats might get credit for doing something positive for tens of millions of Americans who are in need.

Shame on them!  But this is just today's outrage.  Tomorrow there will be another one.  Our system is broken and it may be beyond repair.