'Kick Joe Manchin out': Left-wing pundit Robert Reich urges Democrats to banish West Virginia senator



Robert Reich, a former U.S. Labor secretary and now hard-left pundit, is calling on Democrats to kick Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) out of their party, claiming that they have "already lost control over the Senate" because Manchin opposes an extreme left agenda.

Reich, who served as secretary of Labor for President Bill Clinton and was a member of President Barack Obama's economic transition advisory board, argued in an email newsletter that Democrats should ditch Manchin before the midterm elections in November. He wrote that the party should tell voters that even though Democrats have a 50-50 majority, they never really had full control of government because Manchin wouldn't support the most extreme elements of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda.

Last week, Manchin reportedly told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that he would not support a Democratic spending bill that would fund a left-wing climate agenda and raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations. The West Virginia lawmaker said he could not support $500 billion in new spending while inflation is squeezing Americans and he asked Democrats to drop those provisions from the bill and focus on lowering prescription drug costs instead.

Progressives fumed at Manchin, accusing him of "obstructing" or "sabotaging" the president's agenda — which they have done previously when Manchin refused to go along with left-wing demands to end the Senate filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, pass extreme abortion legislation, and more.

Reich echoed those criticisms, accusing the moderate senator of "putting a final spear through the heart of what remained of Biden’s and the Democrat’s domestic agenda."

He argued that Manchin's concerns about inflation were illegitimate and that the lawmaker was corrupted by campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry.

"If the Democratic Party had any capacity to discipline its lawmakers or hold them accountable (if pigs could fly), it would at least revoke Manchin’s chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources," Reich wrote. "To continue to allow this key position to be occupied by the man who has single-handedly blocked one of the last opportunities to save the Earth is an insult to the universe."

He went on to write that the reason Democrats have not punished Manchin is because they fear he would accept Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's invitation to join the GOP.

"Why exactly would this be so terrible? Manchin already acts like a Republican," Reich asserted.

"Oh, no! they tell me. If Manchin switches parties, Democrats would lose control over the Senate. Well, I have news for Democrats. They already lost control over the Senate," he wrote.

Reich argued that Democrats "look like they control the Senate," but insisted they really don't because "they can't get a damn thing done."

"So after almost two years of appearing to run the entire government, Democrats have accomplished almost nothing of what they came to Washington to do," Reich complained.

"America is burning and flooding but Democrats won’t enact climate measures. Voting rights and reproductive rights are being pulverized but Democrats won’t protect them. Gun violence is out of control but Democrats come up with a miniature response. Billionaires and big corporations are siphoning off more national wealth and income than in living memory and paying a lower tax rate (often zero), but Democrats won’t raise taxes on big corporations and the wealthy."

He wrote that by kicking Manchin out of the party now, Democrats will have an excuse they can take to voters to explain why the party failed to keep its promises.

"Democrats could at least go into the midterms with a more realistic pitch: 'It looked like we had control of the Senate, but we didn’t. Now that you know who the real Democrats are, give us the power and we will get it done,'" he concluded. "Maybe this way they’ll pick up more real Democratic senators, and do it."

Biden’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Agenda Is Setting Republicans Up To Win Big In November

Biden's inability to get things done is unfortunate for Democrats, but a big win for Republicans who hope for a red wave in the 2022 midterms.

Kamala Harris urges Dems to seize 'opportunity' on filibuster, but Manchin immediately extinguishes the idea



Vice President Kamala Harris urged Democrats on Tuesday to seize the “opportunity” to pass voting reform, disparaging the Senate filibuster and suggesting the mechanism should be eliminated. But Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) immediately threw cold water on the idea.

The Biden administration and Democratic Party leaders have been pressuring moderate Democrats — like Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — to abolish the Senate filibuster, thereby allowing Democrats to ram through Biden's agenda unencumbered by the constraints of democracy.

But a massive problem, aside from recalcitrant Democrats, stands in their way: the 2022 midterm elections. Nearly all election forecasts predict that Democrats' control of Congress will evaporate when November hits. Harris recognized this reality during a speech in Atlanta on Tuesday.

What did Harris say?

Accusing Republicans of exploiting "arcane rules" — a trite reference to the Senate filibuster, a mechanism that Democrats and Republicans both have used as a means to block one-party rule — Harris urged lawmakers to act on voting reform.

"We do not know when we will have this opportunity again," she said. "Senate Republicans have exploited arcane rules to block these bills."

"And let us be clear: The Constitution of the United States gives the Congress the power to pass legislation. And nowhere — nowhere — does the Constitution give a minority the right to unilaterally block legislation," she added.

While Harris is correct in stating that the Constitution does not explicitly provide the minority party "the right to unilaterally block legislation," neither does the Constitution explicitly permit the majority party total control over the lawmaking process. In fact, the spirit behind a bicameral legislative body, in which one chamber is composed of proportional representation (House) and another is composed of equal representation (Senate), is to create a balance of power by distributing power.

What did Manchin say?

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Manchin reiterated support for the filibuster, yet another indication that he refuses to buckle under pressure from his Democratic colleagues.

"We need some good rules changes to make the place work better. But getting rid of the filibuster doesn’t make it work better," Manchin said.

"The filibuster is what makes the Senate hopefully work when it's suppose to work."

MANCHIN to @MacFarlaneNews\n\n\u201cWe need some good rule changes to make the place work better but getting rid of the filibuster doesn\u2019t make it work better.\u201dpic.twitter.com/s4y1HtS6WH
— Alan He (@Alan He) 1641914056

The media narrative would have you believe that Manchin and Sinema are the lone wolves blocking the Democratic Party's agenda, but Politico reported that other moderate Democrats do not outright support abolishing the filibuster, either.

In fact, Politico cited four other Democratic lawmakers — Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Chris Coons (Del.), Jon Tester (Mont.), and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) — as examples of the "range of views and Democratic hesitance" to fundamentally changing Senate rules.

Anything else?

While speaking in Atlanta on Tuesday, Biden said the quiet part out loud, so to speak.

As Biden urged lawmakers to pass voting reform, he declared, "Let the majority prevail." He then immediately advocated changing the rules of the Senate — i.e. abolishing the filibuster — if the majority that prevails is not the one he wants.

"Let the majority prevail," Biden said. "And if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this."

The truth of the matter is that a majority is prevailing. That majority — currently 50 Republican senators and some moderate Democrats — is responsible for blocking Biden's agenda. The senators who support passing Biden's agenda are the minority.

Even if the filibuster did not exist, because the Senate is currently split 50-50, Democrats would have to win the support of moderates like Manchin and Sinema to even have a chance at passing legislation. In an evenly split Senate, one Democratic dissenter immediately makes the Democratic Party the minority.

Do not let the media and Democrats fool you: Democracy is working as the framers of the Constitution designed.

Democrats reportedly drop free college tuition from Biden's spending bill



In what appears to be a major concession to moderate Democrats, President Joe Biden reportedly told House progressives Tuesday that tuition-free community college will not be included in the final version of a multitrillion-dollar spending bill to fund the president's economic and climate agenda.

CNN reported Tuesday that Biden discussed a $1.75 trillion to $1.9 trillion top line figure for his spending bill, which Senate Democrats hope to pass via budget reconciliation to dodge the 60-vote requirement imposed by the filibuster. Those numbers are more in line with the $1.5 trillion figure demanded by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who's vote is needed in the 50-50 Senate to pass any legislation.

From that advantageous position, Manchin has successfully prevented the Senate from advancing the original $3.5 trillion spending package supported by progressives, which included free community college as well as Medicare expansion, expanded child tax credits, paid family leave, and a watered-down version of the Green New Deal.

To cut the costs of the bill down to a level Manchin would support, Biden reportedly told House Democrats that in addition to dropping free community college, the child tax credit will only be expanded for one year — far shorter than what progressives had wanted. The child tax credit will also be means tested, which Manchin had demanded.

Other concessions include reducing proposed funding for so-called homecare for the elderly and disabled to less than $250 billion, down from $400 billion. Paid leave benefits might only last four weeks, down from a proposed 12 weeks.

Democrats still plan to expand Medicare to cover hearing, dental, and vision plans, and according to several House progressives, the bill will include some form of higher education aid if not free tuition.

"There will be something for higher education, but it probably won't be the free community college," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Tuesday, said after CNN reported the details of the meeting with Biden. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" that Biden would include "community college scholarships" in the bill.

The idea of free public college tuition was once a fringe idea promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his 2016 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination but has since become something of a litmus test for Democratic candidates with the progressive base. Biden endorsed the idea on the 2020 campaign trail and it has since become a top priority for the White House, which also wants universal pre-kindergarten paid for by U.S. taxpayers. But the cost of that program may prove too great for moderates like Manchin or Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to support.

The announcement of key compromises follows an Axios report detailing Manchin's "red lines," the changes he says are necessary to earn his support for the reconciliation bill. Manchin has reportedly told the White House that the child tax credit expansion must include a work requirement and be capped so that only families making up to $60,000 annually will be eligible to receive the benefit.

Manchin's firm position that the spending bill shouldn't be more than $1.5 trillion has led to rebuke from progressives like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who accused him of "killing the bill" in an angry tweet sent Tuesday.

Progressives may boo and hiss, but as long as they don't compromise even further to win Republican support for their spending bill, they'll need every Democratic senator's vote to pass it. That means giving Manchin most of what he wants or having no bill at all.