Time for conservatives to thank Joe Manchin
Well, it didn’t take long before the COVID-19 relief bill became less about coronavirus relief and more about advancing the liberal agenda.
Well, it didn’t take long before the COVID-19 relief bill became less about coronavirus relief and more about advancing the liberal agenda.
Liberal discussions around the bill have included adding a federal $15 minimum wage, $50,000 student loan relief, and increased $2,000 stimulus payments. And with Democrats using the reconciliation process to circumvent the 60 majority vote filibuster requirement, one man is best placed to prevent a liberal overload.
The Democratic senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin.
Manchin has cemented himself as the blocker to the blank check control Democrats thought they had won by taking control of the presidency, the Senate, and the House. With Republicans still reeling from their November losses, Manchin’s centrist resolution is deserving of conservative applause. Indeed, Manchin has already delivered for Republicans, blocking a $15 minimum wage requirement that would have hurt already struggling small businesses and would have eliminated millions of jobs.
We should not exaggerate Manchin’s position. He is not a Republican and will vote against conservative interests on many issues. But he has drawn a red line in the sand against the worst excesses of liberal policy. In turn, for those conservatives who thought Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would become the puppet masters behind President Biden, there is a new cause for hope. At the strategic level, Manchin’s position of real power and influence gives Republicans two more years to realign and rebuild. Republicans should not take these two years for granted.
Come 2022, Republicans will have a chance to flip Arizona and Georgia back to red, cementing the firewall against the liberal agenda. To do so, the party will have to decide on a unifying policy agenda to appeal to both the Trump and Trump-skeptical wings of the party. Conservatives should get behind that effort. After all, surely, we conservatives can all agree that the liberal agenda is not good for our country. Surely, we all agree that the triumph of that agenda might even cause permanent damage to America? But if more Senate seats are lost in 2022, well, Manchin will be far less relevant. His own party will be able to overwhelm him.
So, let’s say, “Thanks, Joe (Manchin),” and get focused on winning next time around.
Chris Ford is the former chairman of the Dallas Young Republicans and a former 2016 Texas RNC delegate to Ted Cruz.
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BIDEN NOT MY PRESIDENT
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