Democrats have had a difference in opinion when it comes to President Joe Biden’s agenda in office and Sen. Joe Manchin has signaled that he has had enough. He has opposed many aspects of the Democrats’ trillion-dollar spending proposals, which led Sen. Bernie Sanders to pen an op-ed on why Manchin should accept the funding. But the op-ed only fired Manchin up even more, with him adding that no “self-declared Independent socialist” is going to change his mind on reckless government spending.
Sanders published an op-ed attempting to elaborate how the Medicare expansion and drug pricing reforms would help Manchin’s home state, West Virginia. He also tried to make a case for climate change, insisting that the expansion in programs would help a “historically poor state” that is aided by many federal programs.
But Manchin snapped back that this isn’t the first time an “out-of-stater” has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to the state. Sanders has been attempting to pressure Manchin and Sinema into agreeing on Biden’s agenda, adding that it covers health care and education expenses. Manchin pushed back that there are already millions of open jobs, strained supply chains, and unavoidable inflation taxes on workers’ wages.
“Senator Sanders’ answer is to throw more money on an already overheated economy while 52 other Senators have grave concerns about this approach,” Manchin said.
Sanders has promised in the op-ed that the bill will take on the “greed” of others and make sure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes despite reports showing that the tax rates would fall down on the middle class. Many socialists have called themselves Democrats and believe that the solution is to spend like there is no tomorrow, including raising the debt limit and having no understanding of economics.
Sanders has gone so far as to propose a $6 trillion infrastructure plan, later saying that it was “probably too little” and that Democrats should stand together to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance companies, fossil fuel industry, and wealthy campaign contributors. He said they needed to stand and protect the interests of the elderly, children, sick, and poor while the very rich are “becoming richer” and millions are struggling to put food on the table.
Sanders said that the current $3.5 trillion social spending package “should be a minimum” while Manchin has firmly stood his ground in not raising the bill above $1.5 trillion. In the Senate, they need every Democratic senator to vote yes on the bill or have it fail to pass. Sinema and Manchin have made it clear that they won’t be bullied or pressured into Biden’s plan, especially if it’s from a socialist. Sinema has made it clear that she would not support the president’s spending bill until a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill has passed through Congress.
Negotiations between Manchin, Sinema, and the White House have only gotten complicated, with Biden suggesting that the final price would be around $2 trillion. Manchin, however, has refused to support anything above $1.5 trillion. Sinema has also been hounded by far-left activists over her refusal to support Biden’s social spending bill, which has even led her to be stalked and followed into a bathroom where she works.
Manchin and Sinema are not budging, no matter what Sanders and the rest of the DC Swamp claims.