Democratic Senator Joe Machin came out against the president’s $3.5 trillion spending bill this week. A departure from celebrating bipartisanship in August agreeing on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. “This is something we should be proud of, this was a give and take proposition. no one got what they wanted everyone got what they needed,” said the senator from West Virginia.
At the time, it seemed like smooth sailing for Democrats. However, one month later, Manchin appears to be sinking his own party’s ship.
Much of this stems from a September Wall Street Journal op-ed, in which Manchin said he won’t vote for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, “without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects of inflation and debt have on existing government programs.”
Now, Democrats find themselves pitted against themselves, progressives versus moderates, Sen. Bernie Sanders against Manchin, who is being accused of stabbing fellow party members in the back.
MSNBC’s Joy Reid address the issue on her show, saying, “It’s a fact of life that Kindergarteners know – a deal is supposed to be a deal.”
Meanwhile, Republicans get to sit back and watch it unfold before them, as the $3.5 trillion budget is a reconciliation, meaning if Democrats agree, it will pass without any Republican votes.
Human infrastructure is the sticking point. Traditionally, infrastructure includes things like roads, bridges, railroads and ports. While Human infrastructure addresses issues, like expanding Medicare, free community college, national paid family leave and extending child tax credits
Traditional versus human infrastructure is at the core of the Democratic divide.
“I happen to think Manchin is right, physical infrastructure is terribly important, but I happen to think the needs of the human beings of our country – working families, the children, the elderly, the poor are even more important,” Senate Sanders explained during an interview with ABC’s This Week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while more of a moderate, has spoken highly of the women’s issues that are rolled up in the human infrastructure.
While Pelosi might be third in line to the Oval Office, it’s Manchin who now holds the keys to the castle, telling his colleagues they can’t have all those things if they can’t pay for them.
“No one is concerned without debt- do you know our debut Friday was 27.5 trillion dollars,” Manchin said during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.