“Manchin versus the White House,” published Dec. 29, 2021, contains assertions that are demonstrably untrue. Let’s focus on just two subjects of note that are misrepresented or misunderstood by the author.

Firstly, virtually every legislative decision is driven and defined by politics. Altruism is a lovely concept but it’s not how the arithmetic of legislative action works at the federal level. It has always been this way.

Yes, Joe Manchin is a Democrat, a very popular former governor and two term senator from West Virginia. He is and always has been a centrist.

Now let’s take a look at the political chemistry of his state. The other U.S. senator is Republican, all three U. S. house seats are Republican, the governor is Republican, 23 state senators are Republican to 11 Democrats, and the state house is composed of 78 Republicans with just 22 Democrats. West Virginia voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016 and 2020 (70 percent – 30 percent both elections) – a deeply red state. When Senator Manchin opposes BBB (a.k.a The Green New Deal) he is indeed representing the people of West Virginia, not the progressive wing of the Democrat party. That’s his job and he’s doing it courageously.

Secondly, the author repeatedly uses the term “revenue neutral” – cleverly concocted by some political wordsmith. Yes, it’s clever but deceitful – a lie intended to mislead the less discerning citizen. BBB is the biggest tax and spend legislation in U.S. history – check the CBO’s analysis of the bill. It will be paid for by the working man through soaring inflation, corporate taxes passed down to the consumer and future middle class tax hikes to solve the “debt problem.”

As usual, the little guy will get the shaft – the same guy that Democrats used to represent.

Brian Di Neilli

Enumclaw