Joe Manchin knifed progressives in the back. They
won’t forgive, and won’t forget
Andrew
Gawthorpe
The senator’s betrayal is devastating for the future
of trust and cooperation within the Democratic party
‘This outcome is devastating for the future of trust
and cooperation within the Democratic party.’
Thu 23 Dec 2021 11.27 GMT
On Sunday,
Senator Joe Manchin finally said the word that many have expected from him for
a long time: “no”. After a year of mammoth negotiations over the Biden
administration’s social welfare and climate legislation, called Build Back
Better, the senator from West Virginia told Fox News that it was time to stop
trying and move on. At the same time, he released a statement blaming inflation,
the national debt and Covid-19 – in other words, anything but himself – for the
failure to reach a deal.
The White
House was reported to be “blindsided” by the news. But progressives have long
seen this moment coming. All year long progressives in Congress have been
negotiating with moderates like Manchin over the Biden administration’s
legislative priorities. They agreed to support an infrastructure bill which the
moderates badly wanted (and which was, to be fair, a good piece of legislation)
in exchange for assurances that Build Back Better would also pass Congress.
They stuck by this deal through thick and thin, even when Manchin insisted on
defanging many of its climate provisions. They didn’t even balk when asked to
drop their demand that both pieces of legislation pass Congress at the same
time, which would have prevented Manchin from shirking on the agreement later.
In return,
progressives got screwed – badly. For all the talk over the last few years of
the emergence of a “tea party of the left” or moderate hair-rending over the
social media antics of “the Squad”, progressives in Congress approached these
negotiations constructively, reasonably, and in good faith. They put aside
their concerns about Joe Biden and gave him the wins he wanted on centrist
priorities, even when that meant delaying action on their own. And they did
this even though the evidence is that the main components of the Build Back
Better agenda are overwhelmingly popular with the public at large and might
even help to save an administration which the public sees as badly adrift.
Progressives
can hardly be expected to subordinate their own goals to those of the moderate
wing in the future
This
outcome is devastating for the future of trust and cooperation within the
Democratic party. Progressives can hardly be expected to continue to
subordinate their own goals to those of the moderate wing in the future or
trust moderate leaders to work towards progressive goals. There’s not likely to
ever be a “tea party of the left”, but progressives can be expected to start
exerting themselves much more vigorously through public debate, legislative
negotiation and launching primary challengers against the centrists who thwart
their agenda.
Progressives
are also likely to be emboldened because Manchin’s betrayal provides additional
validation for two important components of their critique of the Democratic
party. The first is that the party has been too willing to put corporate
interests above tackling social welfare and climate change. Manchin not only
represents the coal state of West Virginia but also profits handsomely from the
industry personally. This consideration can hardly have been far from his mind
when he forced the removal from the Build Back Bill of a provision which would
have done more than anything to force energy companies to phase out fossil
fuels. With the future of the planet at stake and figures like Manchin blocking
the party from doing anything about it, progressives can only conclude that the
party itself needs transforming.
The
Democratic party’s leadership is too complacent and chummy to face up to the
challenges facing America today
The second
progressive critique which has been vindicated by this turn of events is the
charge that the Democratic party’s leadership is too complacent and chummy –
some might also add old – to face up to the challenges facing America today.
Throughout this year, Biden has barely lifted a finger in public to shepherd
Build Back Better through Congress. If activists used to worry about the deals
that got done behind closed doors in smoke-filled rooms, then 2021 was the year
of the smoke-filled Zoom: a hazy interminable conversation between the
president and Manchin which never seemed to yield any concrete results, but
which did just enough to keep Biden quiet in public. If the president had seen
himself as more of a crusader for progressive goals than a former senator still
working the room, there’s no guarantee the outcome would have been different.
But one thing is for sure: the approach he did take failed.
Trust takes
years to build and only a single act to destroy. And unfortunately, there’s no
time now to rebuild it, because Manchin’s blow comes as Democrats have only a
short time to pass major legislation before campaigning begins for the
midterms. This could meanlosing out not only on salvaging some parts of Build
Back Better, but also on crucial action on safeguarding voting rights. And
without any significant new accomplishments, the party faces dim prospects in
2022 and 2024.
As
imperfect a vehicle for progressive hopes as it is, the Biden presidency may be
the last in a long time with both the desire and the capabilities to tackle
social inequality, hold back the rise of the oceans, and safeguard American
democracy. Manchin and his enablers may have just killed it. Progressives will
never forgive, and they will never forget.
Andrew
Gawthorpe is a historian of the United States and host of the podcast America
Explained
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