Posted on 12/22/2021 6:44:46 AM PST by Kaslin
The saying, "One man with courage makes a majority" has been attributed by historians to different sources.
But regardless of who said it, there is one man who stands out today worthy of this description.
It's West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
Manchin has been a one-man show in the Democratic Party, standing often in solitude, holding feet-to-the-fire of his president and his party's leadership, pushing back on the massive and irresponsible spending avalanche in the Build Back Better act.
Now, Manchin has slammed the door, saying he can't vote for the bill, effectively killing it.
In so doing, Manchin has done a great service to his country and to his party.
Ideologues in leadership in the Democratic Party, intoxicated with the power voters gave them in the last election, lost touch with those same voters.
Last February, immediately after the elections, Democrat voters gave the Democrat-controlled Congress a 61% approval rating, per Gallup. By October, the approval rating for Congress by Democrat voters was down to 33%.
And, of course, resident Joe Biden's own approval rating has plummeted from 57% from early last February to 42% by the end of October.
Voters gave Democrats control of Congress in the last election by a tiny eight-seat margin.
Yet, they have been governing like they were voted in in a landslide with a major mandate to transform the United States into a new secular humanist bastion of socialism.
It's not true, and Manchin has been a bulwark holding fast against this usurpation of power by the far left in his party. As he said in his statement announcing that he will not vote for the bill, "My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face."
The senator also expressed very legitimate concern that it was all being done dishonestly, accusing his colleagues of camouflaging the real cost of the legislation they were advancing.
House Democrats advertised the cost of the Build Back Better act at around $2 trillion.
However, the nonpartisan University of Pennsylvania Penn Wharton Budget Model, run by former government economists, estimated it at more than twice this at $4.6 trillion.
Then the Congressional Budget Office, which answers to Congress, issued its estimate at close to $5 trillion.
The issue is dishonest game-playing by congressional Democrats. Multibillion-dollar programs that clearly will be permanent are scored by those who produced the bill to expire after one year. Informed observers agree that this is ridiculous. The Congressional Budget Office scored the bill, assuming these programs last for the 10-year duration of the projection. As a result, the CBO estimated the cost of the bill at 2 1/2 times more than those who produced the legislation.
Manchin also did voters a great service by calling inflation, which has been one of his great concerns about the bill, "inflation taxes."
Inflation is indeed a tax and also a result of sleight of hand of legislators. How many politicians would specifically legislate $2 trillion in tax increases to pay for a $2 trillion spending bill? Did you say none?
Instead, funds get borrowed and then the central bank prints money to pay the bills.
More money in circulation means every dollar is worth less. Prices go up -- inflation.
The latest report of a 6.8% increase in the CPI means a 6.8% reduction in the real income and savings of every American.
All this without even getting into the misguided plans for all these funds. And, hidden in it all, elimination of the Hyde Amendment, which, for almost a half-century, has prevented the use of federal funds for abortions.
Thank you, Sen. Manchin. Every American who cares about saving our country is indebted to you.
All of this praise for Manchin is completely uncalled for. Manchin in a Democrat, not even a RINO, certainly not a conservative. He’s a coward and drama queen. The only reason he occasionally votes with Republicans is that the people in WV will vote him out of office if he didn’t. He’s afraid of the people. He has no principles. Eff Manchin, he’s a Rat. Treat him as such.
Voters? Or the cabal counting the votes and creating the votes after the polls closed?
Yup, the Arizona girl too. Collins didn’t vote to impeach Trump but Manchun did, twice.
The election was clearly stolen. Those that don’t see it are blind as a bat.
Take yer pick.
A. Heroes are sometimes the most unlikely of people. Manchin really stepped up here. In this particular instance he is a hero.
B. Manchin sort of drifted into this position. Anyway, so far so good.
C. Manchin is cynically waiting for a better deal, one that will be better for him personally.
If I had to bet, I’d go with ‘B’. But I wouldn’t bet much.
The only question is by how much and which down-ticket offices. I’m reasonably certain that Nancy Pelosi’s little lamb (Conor Lamb) from Pennsylvania was one of them based on his opponent’s large lead before the massive mail-in votes from Allegheny County magically appeared the morning after to put Joe Xiden over the top.
One thing this mess exposed......democrats have no interest in compromise, not even among each other......so compromise with the other side will never be a consideration and should never be expected.
The closest you’ll get to compromise with the left is agreeing with them without dissent.
Sounds a little like communism to me
I agree 100%. Thanks for saving your behind Manchin. Really, this is too close of a margin, and I’m thankful that he can’t go along, for now…
I don’t trust a politician as far as I can throw them. That goes for Republicans too.
It ain’t over yet.
I hope he doesn’t fall for a “scaled down” version of the same crap.
What is his price?
His wife got a cushy federal appointment for the last one.
Maverick!
That's the way I see it, too. I'd love to be wrong, but if I were a betting man, I wouldn't be too confident that he'd adhere to his current position.
Is thanking Manchin, this Biden voting fraud, the official Conservative Inc. position???
According to you and the far left Dems who can't stand being thwarted.
Manchin in a Democrat, not even a RINO, certainly not a conservative.
Manchin is actually a much better human being than RINO’s like Romney and Murkowski. I'd take Manchin over RINO's like those two any day. It's really amusing to see you Dems seething over being thwarted.
Agree Manchin is no hero. He voted to impeach Trump without due process and after he left office. He rubber stamps all of Biden’s appointments. Manchin caves almost all of the time. You can expect a revised, smaller BBB bill that Manchin will vote for.
So was Reagan at one time.
Well, he is a Democrat. He hasn't left the Democratic Party yet.
As a Democrat, he is going to vote with the Democrats most of the time.
Manchin did what was right for the American people.
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