Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDecoding Joe Manchin
from the NYT The Morning by David Leonhardt
Good morning. Joe Manchins history suggested he could vote for Build Back Better. Why didnt he?
Five reasons
Until this week, Joe Manchin tended to side with his fellow Democrats on major questions of economic policy.
During the Trump administration, Manchin voted against both the attempts to repeal Obamacare and a tax cut skewed toward the rich. Earlier this year, he insisted on changes to President Bidens $1.9 trillion virus rescue bill, but still provided a deciding vote for it.
Manchins breaches with his party have tended to come on issues other than economic legislation, like abortion, voting rights and Supreme Court confirmations. This pattern makes sense, too: Manchins West Virginia constituents, like most Americans, largely agree with the Democratic Party on economic policy, while being to the right of the party on many social issues.
Bidens Build Back Better program looked like the kind of bill that Manchin would support. Its provisions are generally popular, polls show, and Manchin has said that he wants Biden to be a successful president. Manchin could have shored up his image as a moderate by demanding a few high-profile changes to the bill and then voting for it.
Instead, he went on Fox News this past weekend and announced his opposition. The announcement led to a public spat between Manchin and the White House and has left many Democrats feeling despondent about Bidens agenda.
What happened? There is no simple answer, but Ill walk through five main possibilities in todays newsletter. As is often the case, the full answer probably involves more than one explanation.
1. Face Value. . .
2. Class consciousness. . .
3. Climate and coal. . .
4. Democratic disarray . . .
5. Performative politics
Each of the five includes "reasons for doubt" of each explanation. I wish I could post the entire article. You can sign up to receive the newsletter in your email inbox at https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/morning-briefing?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20211222&instance_id=48424&nl=the-morning®i_id=66602566&segment_id=77626&te=1&user_id=e807f22faace3e1eaaed35ce67f15ca1
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
4 replies, 1122 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (2)
ReplyReply to this post
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Decoding Joe Manchin (Original Post)
SharonClark
Dec 2021
OP
Celerity
(43,499 posts)1. You forgot the article link, here it is
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)2. Thanks for finding it on google, there is no link to my inbox.
Celerity
(43,499 posts)3. To find a link to a newsletter article that has none, just search the title of the article
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)4. Yes, I usually do that, especially from sources I don't subscribe to.