RIP BBB: 2021 – 2021

On Sunday West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, announced that he opposed Joe Biden’s reckless tax-and-spending spree known as “Build Back Better”, significantly halting, if not dooming, the legislation. Manchin’s announcement was a major blow to the Biden-Harris administration’s legislative agenda and launched Democrats into further disarray.

Wall Street Journal: Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said he would oppose his party’s roughly $2 trillion education, healthcare and climate package, likely dooming the centerpiece of President Biden’s economic agenda as currently written. . . In his Fox News appearance and in a written statement, Mr. Manchin reiterated many of the concerns he has expressed about the bill, including its possible effect on inflation and how the cost was calculated.

Manchin’s opposition led to harsh criticism from the White House, Chuck Schumer and progressives. AOC said Democrats were “furious” and Bernie Sanders accused Manchin of being beholden to pharmaceutical companies.

Republicans, however, praised the West Virginia Senator for opposing BBB, which would have added $3 trillion to the national deficit and sent inflation skyrocketing even further. Senator Lyndsey Graham said he “very much appreciated” Manchin’s stand against the radicals in his party and Senator Ben Sasse said he “deserves credit” for listening to West Virginians.

Sasse: “President Biden’s mega-spending bill is dead and Joe Manchin put the nail in the coffin…. Joe Manchin deserves credit for listening to West Virginians, rather than to bullies and screamers who follow those who disagree into bathrooms and who shut down traffic.” pic.twitter.com/N7PSZPRyHw

— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) December 19, 2021

The Wall Street Journal editorial board suggested Democrats thank Manchin for “rescuing” them from the runaway inflation and massive deficits that BBB would have created.

WSJ Editorial: Joe Manchin’s decision on Sunday to oppose the Build Back Better Act is a service to the country, sparing it from huge tax increases and new entitlements that would fan inflation and erode the incentive for Americans to work. Paradoxically, it is also a blessing for Democrats if they get the message, and it offers President Biden a chance to reboot.

Bottom Line: BBB — along with its rampant inflation, massive deficits and huge tax increases — was too much, even for a unified Democratic government. With Republicans well-positioned to take control of Congress in the 2022 midterms, the Biden-Harris administration’s legislative agenda is on thinner ice than ever.