The mercurial senator calls for a “pause” when Democrats desperately need to move fast
One of the most bullish indicators for Joe Biden’s presidency came just a week after his inauguration, when Joe Manchin said, “We’re going to make Joe Biden successful.” Manchin’s comment seemed to reflect an understanding that there was no way Democrats could survive by detaching themselves from their president. Manchin holds the pivotal vote in Congress, and his desire to make Biden a success represents the single largest variable.
Manchin seems to be confusing stimulus spending — which jolts the economy into faster levels through deliberate infusions of deficit spending — with permanent social spending increases, whose fiscal and inflationary effect is negated by their financing source. The compromise negotiated in the House requires an expedited schedule, with an infrastructure vote by the end of the month. The sequence is still workable, as long as both factions have an understanding of what they’ll include in the social spending bill. Without that understanding in place, progressives have every incentive to vote down the infrastructure bill, which will in turn contribute to the impression of dysfunction and chaos.
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