Sen. Bernie Sanders, writing in Sen. Joe Manchin’s hometown newspaper, criticized the West Virginia Democrat for not supporting President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill:
>@SenSanders Op-Ed in @wvgazettemail calls out @Sen_JoeManchin for his opposition to the $3.5T human infrastructure bill.
"We now have a historic opportunity to support the working families of West Virginia, Vermont and the entire country…" https://t.co/wJ9ZOkqHE3
— Julie Tsirkin (@JulieNBCNews) October 15, 2021
And one particular area of interest for the elderly Vermont socialist is the bill’s focus on climate issues:
“this legislation begins the process of cutting carbon emissions and transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuel … Two Democratic senators remain in opposition, including Sen. Joe Manchin”
Manchin gonna have to report this oped as an in-kind campaign contribution https://t.co/CjPZ0LfQfb
— Bill Scher (@billscher) October 15, 2021
You see, Sanders thinks the $3.5 trillion price tag is “already a compromise”:
NEVER ENOUGH: Bernie Says $3.5 Trillion is ‘Already a Compromise’ Because He Really Wanted $6 Trillion https://t.co/XX1I1C5T0k
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) October 15, 2021
But then Manchin nuked the entire thing, writing in response that “this isn’t the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to our state”:
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1) Manchin in response to Sanders push for him to back social spending pkg: This isn’t the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to our state.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 15, 2021
And he made it clear he’s siding with the GOP:
2) Manchin: Senator Sanders’ answer is to throw more money on an already overheated economy while 52 other Senators have grave concerns about this approach. I will not vote for a reckless expansion of government programs.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 15, 2021
Full statement here:
https://t.co/iU96GLGzsT pic.twitter.com/ly944dr2dE
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) October 15, 2021
And thus endeth “Biden’s most ambitions climate proposal”:
NYT reports that Manchin has effectively killed Biden's most ambitious climate proposal https://t.co/zAaunQie1n
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 15, 2021
Biggest winner? Mitch McConnell:
Mitch McConnell joyously reading this statement where Manchin aligns himself and Sinema with the entire Senate Republican Conference https://t.co/cQsBsvVF5E
— Lindsey McPherson (@lindsemcpherson) October 15, 2021
Biggest losers? Dems. All of them:
For people like Manchin, spending over $7 trillion on defense over the next decade is somehow fiscally responsible, but spending $150 billion on climate is reckless. Just unspeakably warped priorities. https://t.co/KhQBSdLMxA
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) October 15, 2021
ROFLMAO:
If Joe Manchin is concerned with the price of gasoline he should pass a law that sets the price of gasoline. https://t.co/uZoyUo3tWj
— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) October 15, 2021
Oh, and Sanders also called out the media for not doing enough to tell people what’s in this bill:
In new statement, Bernie Sanders blames the press for doing an “exceptionally poor job in covering what actually is in” the Dems’ reconciliation bill.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 15, 2021
Bernie: “There have been endless stories about the politics of passing Build Back Better…the conflicts in the House and the Senate, the opposition of two senators, the size of the bill, etc. – but very limited coverage as to what the provisions of the bill are”
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 15, 2021
Sorry, Bernie. Game over.
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