Democratic Representative Cori Bush of Missouri did not hold back (she rarely does) when on Monday she told the country just what she thought about Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and his latest ploy to block and/or destroy the Democrats’ social and economic agenda.
“Joe Manchin does not get to dictate the future of our country”, Rep. Bush wrote in a statement.
“I do not trust his assessment of what our communities need the most. I trust the parents in my district who can’t get to their shift without childcare. I trust the scientists who have shown us what our future will look like if we fail to meaningfully address the climate crisis. I trust the patients and doctors crying out for comprehensive health coverage for every person in America”.
Manchin said that he would not vote for any measure without first “thoroughly understanding the impact it will have on our national debt”, and that the price tag of $1.75 trillion – that he earlier indicated he could support – now says he’s concerned the price tag could end up “hurting American families suffering from historic inflation”.
But (and there’s always a ‘but’ with pols like Manchin), the part of the spending that he really doesn’t like is the part that is geared for movement towards clean energy measures. He thinks the United States is moving away from fossil fuels too quickly.
West Virginia is one of the largest producers of coal in the country, second only to Wyoming. And, Senator Manchin owns a coal company that he’s made millions from. In addition, Manchin’s largest donors are coal industry leaders and coal industry lobbyists who are trying to kill the climate-crisis part of the spending package.
And if that doesn’t show us who and what this guy is, there’s this:
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a key foil of Democratic plans to fight climate change, was a top speaker at a recent secretive confab of coal company executives.
Manchin’s role was revealed when the event program and a video touting the “Coal and Investment Leadership Forum” in September was unearthed by an investigative journalist for Documented. The three-day, invitation-only event was held in Virginia at the luxe Olde Farm golf resort, owned by Jim McGlothlin, a founding partner of the United Coal Co., Documented reported Monday.
Those attending — which included coal and energy CEOs and other top executives and bankers, according to an event roster — had to pony up $7,000, plus lodging expenses, according to a website’s information on the gathering, which was tracked by Documented.
It would appear Manchin only thoroughly understands coal, the coal industry, and his coal millions.
