Mitch McConnell Is Crushing Joe Manchin's Bipartisan Fantasies

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

14. Manchin is being paid off for his recalcitrance.

It's the only thing that makes sense. It's not about the sacred principle of "bi-partisanship." As long as he keeps the Democratic president at bay the money stream flows. If he relents and joins his party's efforts, the money stops. He knows the money train stops when the GQP wins back the Senate, so he's striking while the iron is hot, and he still has power to block any piece of legislation his benefactors want to kill.

At some point enterprising reporters are going to follow the money and expose Manchin's duplicity. I'm not saying he's a bad person -- he has supported or been a co-sponsor of a lot of good legislation in the past. He's just on the wrong side of history in this case. All Biden and the other Democrats can do is keep trying to persuade him to change his mind, or failing that, to come up with a work-around. I wonder how much can be done with Executive Orders?