Stiehm: The tragedy of Joe Manchin in three acts

By Jamie Stiehm

Sen. Joe Manchin gives new meaning to the old saying, "One man, one vote."

The West Virginia Democrat is in the center of three major bills his president and party desperately need to pass for a big story to tell voters in 2022. Or any story at all.

Tall, dark and outgoing, Manchin has displaced Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as the Democratic big man on campus. Where he walks, reporters follow. He loves that.

Never have the stakes been so high for so many, in the hands of so few: Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the few who fail to come to the aid of their party.

I'm talking about American democracy and the planet in peril, running out of time.

Here's the shared vision for President Joe Biden's maiden voyage with Congress: restoring voting rights, shapeshifting climate legislation and redefining infrastructure to help women, children and seniors.

All are at serious risk.

This was seen as a new New Deal, a fountain after the Trump presidency's vale of tears.

But Democrats need each of their 50 senators if they are going to prevail on any front. By standing apart since summer, the centrist Manchin plays a starring part, outsized compared to West Virginia's place in the country.

That's the Senate for you.

The Freedom to Vote legislation is named for the late civil rights hero John Lewis. It restores federal voting rights which were stripped by the Supreme Court in 2013. After it was passed by the House, Manchin agreed to advocate for a good compromise version and to round up 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster.

Sadly, that promise did not come to pass Wednesday, even as 19 states - hello, Texas - moved swiftly to restrict voting rights. Manchin invites Republicans to socialize on his houseboat, perhaps for moments to meet in the middle, but they never bend or break formation.

That's the first tragedy of Manchin, weakening fair elections right on time for former President Donald Trump to run in 2024.

The second tragedy is that Biden's climate crisis measures are also at Manchin's mercy.

Coming from a coal-rich state, Manchin considers clean energy legislation a threat to his state's economy. Manchin's hostility to cutting carbon emissions could not come at a worse time. The United Nations is holding a climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, next month.

Finally, in a third tragic act, Manchin plays the heavy to Biden's FDR-like package of social infrastructure, insisting it be cut almost in half.

Let me count some ways it would improve our lot: free community college, home health care, universal pre-K, child care, and expanded Medicare - for the people, including West Virginia, one of the poorest states.

American history is full of twists and turns toward the right thing.

At an urgent, fragile moment, 100 senators gather to cast votes to be counted in person. They are keeping time, yeas and nays, with the Senate tradition that dates to 1789. But there may be no need now.

Just ask Joe.

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