© Courtesy of the Washington Examiner
There are plenty of political losers in 2022, but perhaps none bigger than Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
Manchin's Permission Reform Bill crashes and burns, he tries a third time and fails to pass the bill. His latest attempt is to add it as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which requires 60 votes to pass. He only scored 47 goals.
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Manchin reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to pass the authorization bill if Manchin passes the Inflation Relief Act, a climate change bill that, according to Democrats, will contribute to inflation. It was clear that the law would increase inflation a bit, but Manchin signed it anyway.
But while Manchin's Inflation Reduction Bill passed in August, his Authorization Bill did not. So Manchin cut a deal to give up the one benefit he was going to give up, then promised to backtrack on the bill to convince Democrats to back the bill. Then the Democrats rejected it.
The West Virginia senator is not a political expert.
Moreover, while Manchin is no longer getting a vote in the Senate, thanks to the new 51-49 Democratic majority, he has actually lost more weight. New Independent Senator Kirsten Sinema (I-AZ), still a Democrat, will now be the deciding vote. Manchin's 50-50 senate split has weakened considerably.
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Due to the issue, Manchin's approval rating also increased in West Virginia. After starting the year with an approval rating of 60 percent, that figure dropped to 42 percent among registered voters in Manxin. He now has a 51% approval rating in his state, the third highest among all senators, with 53% Republicans, 52% independents and 45% Democrats disapproving of his performance.
Any chance of Manchin fighting political gravity in the 2024 election campaign is lost. Manchin, a centrist Democrat from a red state, signed the climate change bill and promised to help push his bill to the finish line by increasing inflation. It was an entirely predictable failure, but Manchin's departure from influence hurt him along the way and could ultimately cost him his job.
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Tags: Zone Secrets, Opinions, Joe Manchin , Senate Democrats, Senate, West Virginia
Original author: Zachary Faria
First up, Joe Manchin is the biggest political loser of 2022.