It’s true that Joe Manchin has often caved to the Left, but how could anyone really be shocked that he would deny Democrats their massive welfare expansion — a plan that circumvented normal Senate order, relied on a bunch of budgetary scams, and crossed numerous red lines the West Virginia senator had openly warned against for months?
Manchin might be adept at navigating the middle ground and rationalizing his support for liberal-agenda items in his deep-red state, but nearly 74 percent of West Virginia voters want him to oppose “Build Back Better.” This is surely among the highest, if not the highest disapproval rate for the Dems’ plan in any state. At the same time, Manchin enjoys over a 60 percent approval rating among West Virginians. Only 37 percent disapprove of the job he’s doing. Those numbers will likely improve now. On the other hand, Joe Biden, running one of the most unpopular first-year presidencies in history and holding one of the narrowest partisan majorities in history, has a 32 percent approval rating and a disapproval rating of 65 percent in West Virginia. If Biden, who functions under the mythology of Senate dealmaker, really wanted the support of a West Virginia senator — even one that often caves — he wouldn’t have let Bernie Sanders write his agenda.