Forget all those highly rated political dramas on HBO and Netflix. Just watch this hot political show in real life, in real time. Yes, I am referring to the ongoing budget battle in Washington, D.C., where two Democrats, Joe Biden and Joe Manchin, are busy scrambling for the moral high ground in the swamp.
For the Republican minority, nothing is more entertaining than watching this Democratic infighting for money and power. Sitting on their hands, Republicans are outsourcing their congressional work to Senator Manchin from the State of West Virginia, which Donald Trump won by a huge margin in the 2020 election. As the old saying goes, elections have consequences.
Take a listen to what Mr. Trump might be saying to himself: "I didn't win a second term, but somehow I still have enough leverage to come back with a vengeance, thanks to Joe Manchin. Revenge is sweet, sweeter when Joe the senator is my avatar that beats Joe the president. By the way, where's President Joe?"
Joe Biden just enjoys a paper-thin majority in Congress, thus needing every Democrat's vote. Promising pork barrels isn't enough to move the needle. Setting a moderate agenda is beyond him while doing the far-leftists' bidding. Clumsily, he tries to shove the $3.5 trillion liberal bill down the throat of a conservative Democrat from a Trump state.
Did Biden forget the Tea Party backlash against Obamacare? At the moment, Senator Manchin is holding up as a one-man Tea Party, appearing more presidential than President Biden. Unlike the far-leftists, Manchin reads the public mood correctly and acts accordingly. He is earning himself political currency at the expense of his president who's hiding behind the skirts of Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Going along with Pelosi and AOC, the West Virginian gentleman would have been nobody. Going against the ladies, he is somebody. You can hate Joe Manchin all you want, but he has successfully positioned himself as the one who is practically calling the shots. "Give me whereon to stand," said Archimedes, "and I will move the earth."
This is the beauty of American democracy: an ounce of wisdom could push back a ton of folly.
--- Lingyang Jiang
Source: Milford Daily News
"Have a nice trip over my foot, Mr. President!" --- LY Jiang
