Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Not all heroes wear capes.

I really should read my own blog.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

No one could have predicted…

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

After roe, women are no longer free.

In my day, never was longer.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

You cannot shame the shameless.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Commentary / Asshole / Lucy Pulls the Football

Lucy Pulls the Football

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If you’re surprised by this, you have not been paying attention:

Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) told Democratic leaders Thursday he would not support an economic package this month that contains new spending on climate change or new tax increases targeting wealthy individuals and corporations, marking a massive setback for party lawmakers who had hoped to advance a central element of their agenda before the midterm elections this fall.

The major shift in negotiations — confirmed by two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the talks — threatened to upend the delicate process to adopt the party’s signature economic package seven months after Manchin scuttled the original, roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better Act, which President Biden had endorsed.

But Manchin told Democratic leaders he is open to provisions that aim to lower prescription drug costs for seniors, the two people said. And the West Virginia moderate expressed support with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), the party’s chief negotiator, for extending subsidies that could help keep health insurance costs down for millions of Americans, one of the sources said.

I’m not even angry because at this point it’s the scorpion and the frog.

Reader Interactions

126Comments

  2. 2.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I imagine the people pulling the strings on Manchin laugh at him behind his back, but he’s the only game in town (and beyond him were always Sinema and then the Gottheimer 9, or 8, or whatever). Schumer, and Biden, had to try to get him to vote for something on the off-chance the bats in his belfry would fly in the right formation right up to the roll call.

  4. 4.

    Shalimar

    I wonder why they even bother calling them “negotiations” at this point.  Just ask Manchin to write a bill and then decide if everyone is willing to vote for it.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    Yup.  Not even sure it’s news.

    Manchin:  a vote for Biden judges, and for a Democratic Senate Majority Leader.

    Anything else is cake.  Do not take this attention grabber seriously.  And we are lucky to have him, at the present time, because West Virginia is a red state.

  9. 9.

    Mike in NC

    Sickening that the media keep calling Manchin a ‘moderate’ when he’s very much the same as any fascist Republican.

  11. 11.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @kindness:

    How does it play out in West Virginia media John?  What do the locals there say?

    “What about that Ben Gahzi fella that was having an affair with Hillary? Did they lock him up yet?”

  12. 12.

    p.a.

    One headline I read said: “… deficit reduction still on the table…”

    ummm errrm without tax increases, deficit reduction means spending cuts.  Can’t wait to see what’s cut from the defense budget… yeah.

  13. 13.

    rikyrah

    Make this muthapucka irrelevant in November.

     

    VOTE DEMOCRATIC ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

     

    LET’S GET THOSE SENATE SEATS.

  16. 16.

    SFAW

    I thought I read that Manchin claims/believes that federal spending is the main driver of recent inflation. Now, I am not an economist, nor a financial planner/advisor, nor a large-brained policy wonk, but for some reason I thought the key driver(s) of inflation is/are the COVID-related supply chain issues, plus the oil price spikes. Oh, and pent-up demand for things like real estate, etc. (said demand due in no small part to COVID-related shutdowns).
    So I guess Manchin is much smarter than I am about these things.

  18. 18.

    James E Powell

    @p.a.:

    It’s all bullshit. The deficit is down.

    Manchin is just a dishonest right wing asshole that we are stuck with because voters are morons.

    @SFAW:

    For Manchin, the main driver of inflation is whatever Manchin doesn’t like.

     

    I want to scream “I give up!” except I don’t want to give up. I may be crazy, but I think we have an opportunity to improve our position in the senate. We need to make sure we don’t lose NH or NV though. Not enough attention to the races in those states. I will probably never forgive NH for going to Bush in 2000.

  20. 20.

    Jackie

    @Baud: I agree. In fact, I deliberately ignored all media reports re this. If a deal ACTUALLY came/comes to fruition, THEN I’d pay attention.

  21. 21.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Anything I would have to say to Mr. Manchin can only be preceded by an apology in advance to the horse he rode in on.

  24. 24.

    CaseyL

    I’d love to see a national energy policy that hyperspeeds anything to replace coal (solar, wind, nuclear, gerbils on exercise wheels), and do it fast enough to make Manchin’s holdings in that industry worthless.

    Bankrupt the motherf*cker.

  25. 25.

    ian

    I’m not even angry because at this point it’s the scorpion and the frog.

    In this fable the scorpion’s actions kill both of them.

    In Congress, Manchin’s actions enrich him and may be setting him up for re-election.

    What do you think Cole (or others familiar with WV), does Manchin stand a chance in 2024?

  26. 26.

    syphonblue

    Oh please let us keep the House and expand our Senate majority so we can finally tell this expired jar of mayo to eat shit

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    @CaseyL: +1

    Build-build-build-build, then build more. Solar, wind, geothermal, in-stream generation, whatever suits the locale. Get this done. We’re seeing warming trends that are at the extreme ends of the models, from which we can ascertain the models are rather conservative WRT how long we have. (not long)

    ATM CAISO reports 45% of the state’s electricity generation is from renewables (the percentage will increase until early-mid afternoon). That’s more than a tenth of the US population, and in a year of extremely low big hydro generation.

  28. 28.

    trollhattan

    @ian: WV’s special trick they learned on the internet is that booting Manchen gives us a WV Republican senator. A Hobson’s choice if ever there were one.

  29. 29.

    artem1s

    @ian:

     

    What do you think Cole (or others familiar with WV), does Manchin stand a chance in 2024?

    I’d like to know if there is anyone in WV who is prepared/qualified to primary him from the left. Doesn’t have to be a One True Progressive firebagger or a celebrity. An actual moderate would be fine. Get them some money and show the DCCC they have fundraising creds. We need a dozen more Stacy Abrams and Beto O’Rourkes who can help drag states like WV and OH back from the brink of insanity.

  31. 31.

    Edmund Dantes

    @Betty Cracker: this is alpha male/narcissism bullshit with Manchin. He doesn’t want to do any work. He just wants to sit back let them work hard and then go “nay, dance more for me”.

  32. 32.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    President Manchin knows what America needs and he’s going to give it to her hard.

  34. 34.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Shalimar: That’s basically what they did. Manchin spews some argle bargle, everyone worked to make it happen, and then Manchin say “psych!” as he pulled the plug.

    That guy really needs to be sent out on his yacht with improper liquor cabinet provisioning.

  35. 35.

    rikyrah

    Make this muthaphucka irrelevant 

    Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) tweeted at 10:21 AM on Fri, Jul 15, 2022:
    Manchin’s sudden reversal on climate and tax legislation is galling. Dem leaders offered to cut climate spending to $375 billion and even to nix incentives for electric vehicles, a Dem tells me. I’m told much legislative text was already written. Awful.
    https://t.co/QjUdn3jteR
    (https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/1547964536111525889?t=i0ylF-Bpc6Pa6qGSIGe6ww&s=03)

  36. 36.

    JaySinWA

    @SFAW: IANAE (i am not an economist) but there is a certain logic in starve the poors to prevent inflation. If the government hadn’t handed out money to keep people who were out of work because of COVID, they wouldn’t be able to spend money on stuff (like food and shelter) , and prices wouldn’t have gone up as much. Economics isn’t called the dismal science for nothing.

  37. 37.

    kindness

    Manchin won’t win in 2024 no matter what.  He only won in 2018 (by 3.5%) because it was a three way race with the right split by the other two.  Republicans won’t allow that to happen again.  So Joe is history no matter what.  Sadly that history is us having stepped deep in shit and now we can’t get it off.  The Supreme Court has and will continue to support Democrats winning more Senators in ’22.  We need at least 3 more (DiFi won’t support eliminating the filibuster) to 1) eliminate the filibuster and 2) raise the Supreme Court to 13 members and let Republicans howl like struck critters like they do anyhow.

    (Siena won’t win in ’24 either but with her it’s because she’ll lose the primary)

  38. 38.

    scav

    Manchin is pretty much a one-trick pony — with the usual serious need for the spotlight.

  39. 39.

    Dangerman

    Fuck him.

    Haven’t had my first cup of sweet, sweet caffeine yet, but global warming is undeniable, oil was a large cause of World War 2 (and maybe determined it’s outcome)…

    …and this motherfucker sucks up to that industry.

    Fuck him again.

  42. 42.

    GoBlueInOak

    @p.a.:  Yup.  That point is not getting enough press.  He says he won’t agree to tax increases, and he wants any spending package to include deficit reduction.   There’s only one way to solve for that and that means overall Federal budget cuts.   And defense is gonna be off the table (because reasons), and Social Security/Medicare aren’t getting cut (obviously), so only leaves domestic “discretionary” spending: housing, human services, education, etc.

    At this point, Dem caucus should just show Manchin their ass and be done with this charade.

  44. 44.

    RinaX

    I refuse to give this any of my energy until Manchin votes for something. Focus on keeping the house and expanding the Senate.

  45. 45.

    zhena gogolia

    @RinaX: You’re on the wrong blog! We have to expend all our energy castigating Manchin! With a few breaks for castigating Synema! Or discussing Kentucky judges!

  46. 46.

    West of the Rockies

    @syphonblue:

    Love that term for him (“expired jar of mayo”).  I’m sick of his pointy nose and chin and look of perpetual irritated surprise.

  48. 48.

    Baud

    At least Manchin has reminded voters who has been throwing sand in the Dems’ gears.

  50. 50.

    Steeplejack

    @Baud:

    I’m still angry, but with all of the big catastrophes in play simultaneously—Trump, January 6, COVID, Dobbs, Uvalde, inaction on climate change, now the Secret Service, etc., etc., ad nauseam—the anger has morphed into a fin de siècle Vienna vibe. You can still get a good cup of coffee and a pastry, and we’ve got some great art and music, but the empire feels a little shaky if you tap on the walls too hard. And watch out in public—you might stop a bullet.

    The source of the rot feels like our institutions seem incapable of dealing with these issues. In some ways, it feels like they’re willfully ignoring that they are existential issues. Cue the band on the Titanic, or something.

    On the other hand, I see some green shoots of optimism. Someone on MSNBC last night (maybe on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show) was making the point that the Republicans are silent on almost every issue now because they are terrified of not taking the House in November and possibly losing some Senate seats. And when they do open their mouths—on 10-year-old rape victims, lately—they firmly insert their feet.

    Plus they are terrified that Trump will announce his 2024 candidacy before this election and further drive voters into the arms of the Democrats. And it looks like Trump is planning to do that, perhaps as early as September.

    So there are some grounds for hope. But our whole system feels like it’s in dreadful disrepair.

  52. 52.

    Citizen Alan

    @James E Powell:

    Manchin is just a dishonest right wing asshole that we are stuck with because voters are morons.

    Honestly, in spite of everything, I’m still not as mad at Joe Manchin, who is pretty much exactly what I would expect from a senator from West Virginia,  As I am at Sara Gideon, who left millions of dollars in the bank in her race against as Suzy Furrowbrow, and Cal Cunningham, who couldn’t keep his fucking pants zipped up for the duration of a Senate campaign.

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    @Shalimar:

    Even that doesn’t work! He and someone else (Susan Collins?) were going to take the lead and write a bill about something last year—Kay would remember—and they produced exactly nothing. It went on for months until it got forgotten, which is Manchin’s modus operandi.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    @Steeplejack:

    A lot depends on the election. I’ll admit I had somewhat higher expectations of Manchin and Sinema and am disappointed, but I retain enough awareness to realize where we would be if we didn’t control Congress.  There’s a lot of stuff that should be ready to go if we can get two more Senators and keep the House.

  58. 58.

    spc123

    @jeffreyw: Will that even happen though? His daughter’s company made a killing jacking the price of EpiPens – the entire family are all straight-up grifters.

  59. 59.

    Ned F

    This always reminds me that all you need are two repub senators to vote yes and Joe M is irrelevent.  They don’t have to of course because they’ll never pay a price.

  62. 62.

    James E Powell

    @Citizen Alan:

    Sara Gideon, who left millions of dollars in the bank in her race against as Suzy Furrowbrow, and Cal Cunningham, who couldn’t keep his fucking pants zipped up for the duration of a Senate campaign.

    I’m mad at them too, and at the voters of their respective states, but I don’t have enough rage to cover all of them in one day.

  63. 63.

    Baud

    @Ned F:

    Exactly. If you’re in a state with a Republican Senator and you’re mad at Manchin, you’re wasting everyone’s time.

  68. 68.

    Jinchi

    @jeffreyw: ​
     Medicare Rx bargaining is huge, as are the subsidies. Take the win.

    What win?

    There’s no bill. Manchin has just said he’s open to a deal. He said the same thing about BBB.

  72. 72.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, my rage gland is depleted (“fully expressed,” in veterinary terms). Over to some light Kindle reading.

    I just finished bingeing the Slough House novels. Any recommendations for a good segue? I was thinking maybe Olen Steinhauer, but I can’t remember exactly which ones of his I’ve already read. Need to keep a list.

  73. 73.

    Jesse

    @Shalimar: Didn’t he do just that last year with his America Votes Act (name probably wrong, but it was a voting rights thing). Later, he sided against his own bill, IIRC.

  74. 74.

    trollhattan

    Peter Navarro thinks Peter Navarro is the Peter Navarro that exists in Peter Navarro’s head. I question this belief.

    July 15, 2022 at 12:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

    “Former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro rejected a plea offer from the Justice Department,” CNN reports.

    “The deal would have allowed Navarro to plead guilty to one of two contempt of Congress charges for not cooperating with the House’s ongoing January 6 investigation. Navarro would also be required comply with the House select committee’s subpoena ‘to the satisfaction of the Justice Department,’ and would cap Navarro’s potential jail sentence at 30 days.”

  78. 78.

    Spanky

    Well, maybe some chickies are coming home to roost. From the WaPo:

    This just in: Sen. Heinrich, furious at Manchin, questions his energy committee leadershi

    ETA: Also too, from the article:

    The frustration at Manchin’s decision to further curtail the party’s legislative plans spread across the party quickly, with Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) tweeting Thursday night: “Rage keeps me from tears.”

  80. 80.

    Major Major Major Major

    @SFAW:

    I thought I read that Manchin claims/believes that federal spending is the main driver of recent inflation. Now, I am not an economist, nor a financial planner/advisor, nor a large-brained policy wonk, but for some reason I thought the key driver(s) of inflation is/are the COVID-related supply chain issues, plus the oil price spikes. Oh, and pent-up demand for things like real estate, etc. (said demand due in no small part to COVID-related shutdowns).

    From what I’ve read (I get a lot of this from Jason Furman, former chair of Obama’s CEA) the American Rescue Act is thought to have contributed something in the vicinity of one point to headline inflation, so it’s not nothing, but it’s far from most of it. Without supply shocks we’d still be looking at around 4%, which would be great, we’d be seeing real wage growth instead of loss. But, the government and Fed do have a big say in core inflation, which at 5.9% annualized would have the median worker more or less treading water.

  82. 82.

    Anyway

     

     

    @Steeplejack:

    I just finished bingeing the Slough House novels.

    I enjoyed those– and binged them as well .  I liked his world view and the contemporary nature of the stories.

    Next time I have a little down time I am going to sign up for the freebie new Apple+ account and binge the teevee series.

  83. 83.

    Soprano2

    I listened to the O’Boy’s podcast this morning. They said something that was right that we don’t think about much – the reason Roe was overturned was three elections. In 2014 Democrats didn’t win the Senate, so McConnell was able to block Garland. Then, in 2016, we didn’t win the presidency or the Senate, so Trump got to appoint 2 judges (does anyone think Kennedy would have retired if Hillary had been president?). In 2018 Democrats didn’t win the Senate, so Trump was able to get Barrett. Those are the three that enabled them to overturn Roe. It wasn’t necessarily a cunning 40-year plan, it was about who won and lost elections. No one ever mentions that 2014 election, so I thought that was interesting. If Democrats had controlled the Senate in 2016, things would be very different now.

  84. 84.

    Another Scott

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I haven’t clicked the WaPo link.  Speaking of RollCall:

    The next consumer price index data release is set for Aug. 10, when the Senate is scheduled to be in recess for its August break. Manchin has said Sept. 30 is the real deadline for the budget negotiations, since that’s when the underlying blueprint enabling passage of a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill expires.

    But the problem for top Democrats is that by mid-August, many states will announce premiums for health insurance purchased on the exchanges set up by the 2010 health care law. By then it will be too late to avoid stiff rate increases — that voters will learn about well in advance of the midterm elections — as insurers will price policies higher in anticipation that many healthy individuals could leave the exchanges without the bigger subsidies in place.

    So the urgency of extending those larger exchange subsidies combined with passing prescription drug pricing legislation, which many Democrats view as delivering on a prime campaign promise, may be enough to get a health care-only budget package over the finish line for starters.

    “Seize the day! If we can get relief from the spiraling cost of prescription drugs facing American families, take it,” Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., tweeted on Friday.

    Yup, get it done, take the win, and MoveOn. Incremental wins are the stuff of Progress.

    And increase the House and Senate majorities in November so that more can be done next year.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  85. 85.

    Paul in KY

    @James E Powell: It was either him or some evil Repub shit that ran against him. I think he’s better than that POS. He can count and is making the most of his position. I think he wants another term, so he’s trying to be Repub-friendly on anything he can get away with.

  86. 86.

    Paul in KY

    @CaseyL: In Rick & Morty, Rick has this race of aliens he created that turn flywheels all day to power his car battery.  There’s always that….

  89. 89.

    Soprano2

    @Major Major Major Major: It’s amazing to me that people complain when economics works the way it’s supposed to. When there are shortages, prices go up. That’s how it works! Good grief, everyone knows that there have been ongoing shortages of all kinds of odd things – both canned and dry cat food, for example, have been pretty short where I shop until the past couple of months.  Same way with dog food. I saw a sign at Panera today saying that because of shortages some substitutions may have to be made. I’m gonna go back after work because I didn’t get my free cookie!! Bastards…..

  90. 90.

    Steeplejack

    @Anyway:

    I also read the three novellas at their “proper” points in the series. They did some useful fill-in on some side stories, mostly the “milkman” John Bachelor.

  91. 91.

    Will

    Sinema is the problem, not Manchin. Manchin is an ass, but he would actually vote for some of this stuff if the revenue was there, but Sinema took away any significant revenue by refusing any rise to corporate tax rate. Everything now is just theater, game was over when she said no new taxes a year ago.

  92. 92.

    Another Scott

    @artem1s: The DSCC and DCCC support Democratic incumbents.  That’s their job.  They’re not going to do anything to support a Democrat running against Manchin.  Now, if it’s an open primary and Manchin isn’t running, then they might jump in.  Maybe.  But the state being Red by +EleventyBillion at the moment would probably make them (rightfully) think that anything more than token resources could be better used elsewhere.

    The way to make Manchin (and Sinema) irrelevant is to increase the Team D majority.  That’s about the only way.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  93. 93.

    Citizen Alan

    @Immanentize:  I assume it’s constituent service combined with the advantages of incumbency.  I remember the summer after I graduated law school having a discussion with several friends of mine who are all much you’re all much more liberal than me (at the time;  I’ve since been radicalized).  All of them were nevertheless happy to vote for Thad Cochran even though he was (A) conservative and (B) in the early stages of dementia.  He was still the ranking Republican on the appropriations committee, which is how Mississippi got a lot more federal funding for nearly everything imaginable, including a dozen or so government buildings that bear his name.

  94. 94.

    Paul in KY

    @Will: Sinema is going to find out (if she wins the primary) that when voters are presented with the choice between a real Republican and a fake one, they’ll pick the real Republican every time. That observation courtesy of the late, great Pres. Truman.

  95. 95.

    taumaturgo

    What about the dirty lefties always spoiling the party’s agenda. They are the reason we always lose. Oops, maybe not this time?

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Citizen Alan:

    As I am at Sara Gideon, who left millions of dollars in the bank in her race against as Suzy Furrowbrow,

    She was up against Susan Collins’ bewilderingly (to me) successful long con, and from what I understand they literally couldn’t figure out how to spend the money they had. I don’t think you overcome a seven point deficit with more ads.

    I’ll defer to MomSense and other Mainers, but I was just reading an article about Colins the other day and it said outsiders really can’t understand the influence of the idea of people “from away”– I think is the expression– trying to influence Maine politics, including a local TV news anchor, retired, who was something a local Walter Cronkite and cut an ad for Collins on the idea of them outsiders trying to tell us how to think

  97. 97.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trollhattan: @Starfish: “Your yacht is my yacht’s dinghy! Suck it, Joe.”

    “Hey Schmail’s my dingy’s bigger than your whole boat!”

    (did he say “dinghy?”)

  99. 99.

    Ksmiami

    @Steeplejack: I’m there with you. The Founders actually predicted that the system they designed on the fly would outgrow it’s usefulness. Instead of preserving these anti humanity institutions, maybe we need a vision of America 2.0.

  105. 105.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Soprano2:

    Those are the three that enabled them to overturn Roe. It wasn’t necessarily a cunning 40-year plan, it was about who won and lost elections.

    I don’t know how cunning it was, or even a plan, it was relentless forty (I would say fifty) year movement, though. I’m sure there were elections when low morale depressed their turn out, but nobody ever said “Don’t vote!” Just the opposite. When R’s were disappointed with Poppy Bush, pro-life (now never-trump) writer Mona Charen proposed a slogan of “Only Four More Years!”

  106. 106.

    J R in WV

    @Baud: ​

    Some random guy on Reddit said Manchin’s approval in WV has gone up to 58%. No confirmation.

    I don’t know about that number, but there are a shit ton of commercials about Manchin working to protect us from the godless liberals in DC. Raising taxes and shutting down American Industry, thank Senator M for keeping the lieberals from accomplishing their commie goals….I’m not exaggerating the level of bullshit either! Meaningless committee name to protect America sponsored this message!​​
     

    ETA: I also contributed to Sinema’s campaign in AZ, and was glad she won. What a dumbass move that feels like now. O well, wins some, lose some. At least Georgia went our way.

  107. 107.

    ETtheLibrarian

    Joe Manchin is not someone that anyone can negotiate with in good faith. I understand why you try because that is life but I don’t understand why he doesn’t get that being That Guy doesn’t actually get you anything because no one trusts you to be an honest broker.

    Is there no one on is staff who understands that being this way all the damn time is not good politics for him or his constituents.

  108. 108.

    Geminid

    @J R in WV: I think we’re better off with Sinema than we would have been with McSally. She votes for judges etc. And there wouldn’t even be any legislation for Sinema to drive us crazy over if she hadn’t voted to organize the Senate with a Democratic majority.

  110. 110.

    J R in WV

    @Another Scott: ​
     

    Scott Quoting Roll Call:

    “Seize the day! If we can get relief from the spiraling cost of prescription drugs facing American families, take it,” Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., tweeted on Friday.

    My supplelmental insurance (Humana) in theory covers prescriptions. BUT they frequently tell me its too early for them to cover a tube of prescription cream, which I then have to pay $48 for. I can see timing refills for pills of which you take so many a day.

    But this cream gets slathered on both ankles… how the hell does Humana know how many square feet of steroid creme I need every day? They can’t possibly know when that tube is empty, their refusal to pay for the new tube is arbitrary and capricious.

    I also take a distant second best medication for another condition after the best generic was purchased by some rich bastard and the price raised by 4,000% — from pocket change to a couple of thousand dollars — just to make trust fund Johnny richer, to make daddy more proud of his baby’s business sense. Grrrr!

  111. 111.

    J R in WV

    @Geminid:

    I guess you’re right. I had higher hopes for her voting, she acted like a real liberal personally… but here we are. At least it is a Dem majority leader!

  113. 113.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    IMO Joe Mansion is a Republican who decided to join the Democratic party to rake in the big bucks as a party sellout while working with the Republicans to make the Democrats look as bad as possible.

    He sure as fuck isn’t a Democrat, that’s for sure. He negotiates just like a Republican, another tell.

  114. 114.

    matt

    The problem is the existence of the Senate where West Virginia has as much representation as California, which has 20x the population and 50x the GDP.

  115. 115.

    Geminid

    @J R in WV: Yeah, Sinema has been a disappointment, and a frustrating one. She joined the Blue Dog Caucus when she entered the House, so she did not present herself as especially liberal for her Senate run. But the Blue Dogs of the House have been consistently supportive of House leadership and President Biden’s agenda in this Congress, while Sinema has been a weak link in her Senate Caucus.

  116. 116.

    Geminid

    @matt: You could say the same about Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Delaware. The problem is that Republicans control more of these low population states than we do.

    Fun West Virginia facts: the state had six Congressmen going into the 1960 election. It was a battleground state that year and John Kennedy barely won its 8 electoral votes. I like to think that star NFL linebacker Sam Huff helped by campaigning with Kennedy (Huff was born in a West Virginia community named Coal Camp Number 6).

    After the latest reapportionment, West Virginia has just two Representatives. It’s the only state whose population is smaller now than in 1950.

  118. 118.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Paul in KY: if a Dem wins the AZ governors race in November and the Dems still hold a tight Senate, Biden should appoint Sinema to a not so powerful or non controversial cabinet position like Veterans Affairs that she seems to be interested in.  Everybody gets a win. She can preen and the Dem governor can nominate somebody who won’t block Biden’s agenda.

  121. 121.

    Geminid

    @Bobby Thomson: Those two are dinosaurs in a way. Collins might be the last Republican Senator elected  from east of the Hudson River for decades. Manchin could be the last Democratic Senator from West Virginia this century.

  122. 122.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Major Major Major Major:

    From what I’ve read (I get a lot of this from Jason Furman, former chair of Obama’s CEA) the American Rescue Act is thought to have contributed something in the vicinity of one point to headline inflation, so it’s not nothing, but it’s far from most of it.

    Dead thread, but there is this excerpt that commenter Brachiator posted a month or so ago about this:

    A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco concluded that pandemic relief packages probably contributed to 3 percentage points of the rise in inflation until the end of 2021 – a factor that goes a long way to explaining why US inflation outpaced the rest of the world.

    So, it wasn’t just the ARA that contributed, but all of the other COVID relief packages too, at least until the end of 2021

  123. 123.

    Another Scott

    POTUS weighs in. WH.gov:

    Statement by President Joe Biden
    JULY 15, 2022

    STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

    Action on climate change and clean energy remains more urgent than ever.

    So let me be clear: if the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment. My actions will create jobs, improve our energy security, bolster domestic manufacturing and supply chains, protect us from oil and gas price hikes in the future, and address climate change. I will not back down: the opportunity to create jobs and build a clean energy future is too important to relent.

    Health care is also critical. After decades of fierce opposition from powerful special interests, Democrats have come together, beaten back the pharmaceutical industry and are prepared to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices and to prevent an increase in health insurance premiums for millions of families with coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Families all over the nation will sleep easier if Congress takes this action. The Senate should move forward, pass it before the August recess, and get it to my desk so I can sign it.

    This will not only lower the cost of prescription drugs and health care for families, it will reduce the deficit and help fight inflation.

    I want to thank Leader Schumer for his dogged and determined effort to produce the strongest possible bill to bring down costs, reduce the deficit, and combat the climate crisis while boosting our energy security – even offering significant compromises to try to reach an agreement. I also want to thank Speaker Pelosi for her leadership – thanks to her hard work, the House passed a strong bill on climate change and reducing costs last year. Now, Congress must act quickly and get legislation to my desk to deliver for American families.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  124. 124.

    Hardheaded Liberal

    @Shalimar: Unfortunately, letting Manchin write a bill may be a waste of time, too.  He had said he was on board with the green energy provisions that were almost completely drafted, only to do a 180 at the last minute.

    Even if he personally dictated the terms to one of the staffers who drafts legislation, Manchin’s always able to look at any new post from 15 minutes ago & announce:. “Oh, sorry, that new [irrelevant] information completely changes things. ‘Fraid I can’t do this after all.”

    Greg Sargent announced “the Manchin Rule” today: “Until he demonstrates that he’s acting in good faith, we assume that he’s not.” (Or close to that.). My gloss on the rule: Until he votes for final passage of the bill, no rational observer can know whether or not he supports it.”

  125. 125.

    Kropacetic

    @Immanentize: The intern’s gonna be fine. A couple people on Twitter who don’t yet know better were just temporarily convinced the NYT isn’t a right-wing rag. Maybe they can turn that into a subscription or two.

    Definitely worth what an intern gets paid…

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