By now you have probably heard Sen. Joe Manchin break his promise not to support a tax-raising, inflation-inducing reconciliation bill. After a year of standing firm, the West Virginia senator bent the knee to the radicals in his party, signing off on nearly $400 billion in climate change spending coupled with a corporate tax hike that will be passed directly to consumers.
Manchin refused to reward those who supported him or acted in good faith. Instead, he decided to give in to leftwing hysterics and harass him publicly and accuse him of being criminal. What did Manchin get from the deal?
The details have been released, making Manchin even more miserable.
BREAKING Offered by Dem leaders to help secure Manchin commitment for clean energy subsidies https://t.co/TdGvER5nm8 pic.twitter.com/fHi5NAOGkU
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) August 1, 2022
The thing I found most striking about the outline was the vagueness and inapplicability of many provisions. The first section, titled “Designate and Prioritize Projects of Strategic National Importance,” is nothing more than an advisory to the executive branch. Even though the “balanced” requirement is a generic one, the president and bureaucracy will retain full control. Let’s take an educated guess as to what priorities will be set.
The rest of the text isn’t objectionable per se but it is mostly irrelevant and hollow. This permitting reform does not allow for politicization, which it doesn’t. It only requires that denials of crucial projects be made in a shorter period of time. Is it really a win for an oil pipeline to be shut down by a corrupt bureaucracy in 2 years, instead of 5?
Moving down, there is a section on enhancing federal government permits for electric transmission facilities. Who makes those decisions again? That is because the Secretary of Energy has that power. Who is currently in that role? Jennifer Granholm is a radical leftist, who suggested repeatedly that Americans need to suffer to get to “greener” energy.
Heck! We aren’t done yet and this “compromise” already feels like another sign to climate lobby. What is the deal? Was Manchin really able to gain anything?
The truth is that he made some very vague promises about a West Virginia LNG pipeline. The document states that he wanted to “request all relevant agencies to make the necessary steps to allow the construction and operation the Mountain Valley Pipeline.” You don’t have to say this if you want to get bought.
But what makes this Manchin’s performance even more disappointing is the fact that it’s highly unlikely that he will ever get what he wants. The entire deal could be canceled by the House Democrats, and they will. This outline only represents the best case scenario. It delivers very little substance. It was a worthwhile effort for West Virginia Senator. To please those who don’t like him, he destroyed his credibility and now he only has empty promises that can be enforced. He is a complete fool.
