Manchin draws red line in infrastructure talks

[Calista241]

Source: The Hill

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) warned on Tuesday that he wants both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a separate Democratic-only bill to be fully paid for.

“I think everything should be paid for. We’ve put enough free money out,” Manchin told reporters.

Manchin’s demand, if he sticks to it, could create real problems in Democratic negotiations.

The party in a matter of weeks is seeking to exercise a complicated legislative goal of winning Senate approval of both a bipartisan infrastructure measure opposed by many progressives and a budget resolution that will tee up a larger Democratic bill filled with spending priorities. The latter bill will not win any GOP support and will need to pass with just Democratic votes, including Manchin's.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/562746-manchin-draws-red-line-in-infrastructure-talks

[Garion_55]

1. so whats his tax increase plan?

im assuming he has one ready to go. and im sure he will get 10 goppers to agree to it.

[regnaD kciN]

11. Most likely "cuts to entitlement programs"...

[Rebl2]

40. Well that

would be big no from majority or all Democrats.

[Deminpenn]

25. Yep, Dems aren't the problem when it comes to paying

for their spending. Rs are the ones who object to raising taxes or cutting DoD's budget. However, I do think just enforcing tax laws on folks like Trump would bring in a lot of money.

[Mawspam2]

49. There's your answer.

The US military is pulling out of Afghanistan after a 20 year lost cause. There are more than a few $Billion right there. Are there any military bases in Manchin's West God Dammed Virginia? No? Then he shouldn't have any objections.

[Botany]

2. Manchin works for the Koch Brothers aka ALEC

https://www.alec.org/about/alumni/

The mother fucker knows that there will never be enough Rs to vote for the infrastructure bill
so it can pass.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

9. ALEC is a republican

Org isn't it?

Koch bros push all sorts of republican bullshit.

What Dem aligns themselves with these toxic republican groups..

Makes you question where Manchin stands..

His obstruction and demands fits right into the republican agenda.

Why I wonder. He knows what being a Dem is about doesn't he?

[Botany]

16. Manchin is the only D who is listed as a member of ALEC

To the Koch Brother and fossil fuel companies Joe Manchin is worth the millions they are
paying him.

Joe Manchin like his daughter* sees only winners and losers and the more money you have the
bigger a winner you are.

* The drug maker she was in charge of raised the cost of epi-pens by like a billion %, she made millions,
and then after the election she screwed the people around Morgantown, WV by closing the company and
moving it someplace else.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

27. A speaker at a GOP get together told the participants to write Manchin and Sinema "thank you"

letters, even if they aren't from W. Virginia or Arizona. "They're preventing the Democrats from enacting their radical socialist agenda," he explained.

The sad thing is, he's not far from wrong. Manchin keeps talking about getting the Repugs to negotiate on the bills he's objecting to, but he won't negotiate with the Democrats to come up with a solution in line with the preferences of the majority of voters. All he does is "draw red lines."

"My way or the highway" is the Trump/QRepug attitude toward governing. Actually, they don't give a shit about governing -- all they care about is having power. And all they're going to do with that power for is to appoint judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade, which is their base's only interest, even if it means voting against their own interests, like the Recovery Act and the infrastructure bill. They want huge tax cuts for the uber wealthy and corporations, who donate the money which keeps them in power. And they want to buy more military hardware. They won't be happy until the U.S. has ten times the military capability of the rest of the world's nations combined -- and then they'll want more. The QGOP doesn't give a shit about the well-being of those who are or have been in the service. They want things they can stand next to, so they can look "strong."

I wonder if anyone has explained to Manchin that the end of the 225+ year American experiment in self-government is going to be his legacy. I guess he's sure the RW will write all future textbooks, and in them he'll be portrayed as a patriot.

I'm going to go get a drink.

[NewHendoLib]

3. D. I. N. O.

[PSPS]

4. "I think everything should be paid for" - I do too. Just make the damn parasite class pay taxes!

[kysrsoze]

5. His red line is the point where he'd actually do anything to pass this bill or help the country.

[Marrah_Goodman]

6. Okay, cut the massive waste out of the military.

[WHITT]

7. No It Wouldn't

Manchin’s demand, if he sticks to it, could create real problems in Democratic negotiations.

If he sticks to that, which he hasn't so far, the reconciliation package will be fine, as it's fully paid for. It's the 'bipartisan proposal' in the Senate, which Manchin supports, that is NOT paid for.

[FalloutShelter]

8. Who TF elected Joe Manchin president?

It drives me crazy that this jerk has so much power.

[Budi]

10. 👍 Manchin & a couple other egomaniacs.

[WHITT]

12. I Keep Sayin' That

Biden needs to emulate LBJ. That would shift the power back to the Majority Leader, where it should be,

[former9thward]

15. When LBJ was elected he had Democratic supermajorities in Congress.

The 89th Congress had 68 Democratic Senators and 295 Democratic House members. It was not that hard for LBJ to be LBJ with those numbers.

[WHITT]

18. Completely Irrelevant

It was technique, not numbers.

[former9thward]

54. If you say so.....

I think both President Biden and Senator Schumer would say something different.

[Deminpenn]

26. A lot of those Dem senators were conservative Southerners

nt

[former9thward]

53. Who voted for all of LBJ's programs except Civil Rights.

[WHITT]

55. You

misdescribe Dixiecrats.

[regnaD kciN]

13. The voters of Maine and North Carolina...

...whose support for waste-of-space Republicans guaranteed we would need Manchin and Sinema to get to fifty votes.

Also, Cal Cunningham. If he'd had the self-discipline to keep his pants zipped in the middle of a Senate campaign, we'd have a flat-out Senate majority.

[EndlessWire]

34. Yep.

His 15 seconds of fame, and then he is gone, without anyone caring. What a waste. I think he is a troll.

[Chainfire]

14. It is apparent to me that Manchin does not want an infrastructure bill, of any kind, passed.

[Bettie]

35. I'm starting to think he just wants

gridlock so he doesn't have to have a record of voting for or against anything.

Sinema too. Gridlock allows them to tell one audience that they were for something and the next that they were against it and since there was never a vote, it isn't technically a lie.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

17. Sounds like this is more a shot across Bernie's bow

The 6T number that Bernie is floating around isn't paid for fully, is it? But Biden's plan around 3T is, correct? Or at least ostensibly paid for.

[WHITT]

20. Everything Bernie Has Proposed

is fully paid for. He's Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee now.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

21. The six trillion is paid for?

Serious question, everything I read was that it wasn't.

[WHITT]

22. Serious Answer

It's paid for. It's not that difficult. The amounts the Rich & Corporate are underpaying in taxes is phenomenal.

On Edit:

BTW, that $6 trillion is over 10 years.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

24. This is despite all the reporting otherwise?

I'm not trying to be difficult, I've read multiple reports that Sanders 6T package is not fully funded, only about half is.
Like these:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/us/politics/democrats-infrastructure-deal-congress.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/17/senate-democrats-infrastructure-reconciliation-494977

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bernie-sanders-floats-6-trillion-democratic-spending-plan-for-infrastructure-medicare-drug-prices-immigration-01624024272

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/overnights/559055-on-the-money-sanders-democrats-considering-6-trillion-spending

[bluewater]

33. Thank you for the links

So many people just make assertations, it's nice to see actual numbers.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

38. And then say they are wrong with nothing to back it up nt

[bluewater]

57. It's an emerging pattern, unfortunately.

Best regards.

[WHITT]

36. OK

The 'NY Times' article is about the not paid for "bipartisan proposal".

The 'Politico' article makes the same point as 'MarketWatch'.

From the 'MarketWatch' article:

Half of the total in the $6 trillion plan is expected to be paid for largely with Biden's proposed taxes on corporations and those earning more than $400,000.

Exactly. Sanders takes Biden's proposal on taxes as the base payment. That doesn't mean that's all there is in 'pay fors'.

The only mention in 'The Hill' article are a hypothetical by Tester.

[IamHappy]

19. They need to find away to go around this guy. He is ego is too big for governing.

[Cobalt Violet]

23. it's called Investment!

Not free money. I can't take this shit anymore.

[Traildogbob]

31. He has no

Understanding of an investment loan at nearly zero percent interest. With his Koch Candy he always pays cash for homes and cars and such.

[SamsDrink]

28. Manchin gets his $millions in donor money if the Dems are in power or not

Other than all the attention he is currently receiving, it doesn’t matter to him who’s in power. He has no incentive to assist in getting meaningful legislation passed.
Manchin’s words and lack of action are guaranteeing a Republican re-takeover of both Houses of Congress next year.

Get the money out of politics and politicians like Manchin would immediately retire.

[George II]

48. It may surprise you that Manchin has been backing Biden's agenda 100%.

[Traildogbob]

29. So Manchin

Had a plan to pay for Bush/Cheney wars before approving, right? Gettin really sick of him and bipartisan shit. He knows damn well nothing from GQP will ever be bipartisan.

[whistler162]

30. Problem is the red line was drawn

on pavement that broke apart and there is a 5 foot gap between the now two parts of the line!

[aocommunalpunch]

32. LMAO

Dude’s got a lot of power, it appears. I’m sure the legislation that ALEC writes will help many.

[jalan48]

37. Fuck around, fuck around until after the 2022 midterms and then nothing may happen until after the

2024 election.

[turbinetree]

39. IT is not hard to figure out how to pay for this lets ask Amazon, Wells Fargo, Facebook

and others that don't pay shit now....and he's worried about what... "free money"...I need a drink.....

[RVN VET71]

41. Manchin is a plutocrat, not a democrat

He stands in the way of wealth equality not because of this “it’s gotta be paid for” b.s., but because that what his 0.01% sponsors want to hear. He’s likely not a fascist -- and that’s where his delusion kicks in because you really can’t be one without the other.

[tishaLA]

42. Call his bluff. WV needs the infrastructure bill more than most

And he knows it. If he wants to help his state as much as he says, he gets to be flexible just like every other lawmaker.

[no_hypocrisy]

43. He keeps moving the goalposts.

It CAN'T be bipartisan b/c that means tax cuts canceled and/or raising taxes, both unpalatable to Republicans.

[bringthePaine]

44. fuckhead will go down in infamy, which is too good for that miserable lowlife

[Polybius]

51. Manchin is not a " miserable lowlife"

He's still a Democrat.

[LudwigPastorius]

45. Hey Senator Dino,...

saying government infrastructure investment is "free money" may get you a couple of votes from some low info voters in West Virginia, but it's screwing your party and your president's agenda.

Also, we haven't had a "everything should be paid for" balanced budget in 20 years. You, yourself, have voted for appropriations that weren't "paid for" several times...including voting to increase the debt ceiling in 2015.

In case you haven't noticed, we have the House and White House under control for the first time in a while. Why this "fiscal responsibility" act now? Your timing SUCKS.

[FailureToCommunicate]

46. It's so insanely maddening that a handful of Dems (and turtle man) block the will of...

MILLIONS of voters!

[George II]

47. That's not a "warning" or a "demand". It's a simple statement of his position.

[Historic NY]

50. This is really getting annoying...

If Schumer can't whip him into line then it time to cut him loose from any Democratic money raised.

[area51]

56. +1 n/t

[zanana1]

58. We should stop hoping he'll vote like a Democrat.

Manchin has never been a progressive, but since the Democrats won the senate it's become apparent that he has an agenda. I don't know how much he's conspired with the Republicans but I'm sure he's enjoying all the attention he's getting. I consider him a lost cause.

[Politicub]

59. Then proceeds to yell, "Look at me!", before doing a

handstand in a swimming pool.

[TheFarseer]

60. This is all a game so they can get to

“Asset recycling” where corporations and private equity groups “help” fix the infrastructure and suddenly there’s a load of toll roads, toll bridges and parking meters everywhere. And the government doesn’t have to front any money, so those same corporations and PEGs don’t get their taxes raised either.