Earmarks Are Good
Why shouldn’t Democrats curry Joe Manchin’s favor with a few sky bridges and concert halls?
You may have seen this meme going around: a futuristic, utopian rendering of a city with gleaming skyscrapers, jet-suited commuters, and hanging gardens. The caption: “West Virginia after we’re done bribing Joe Manchin.”
January’s Georgia runoff elections delivered Democrats the most tenuous possible control of the Senate, and gave Manchin, the most conservative member of the caucus, a functional veto over legislation. A $15 minimum wage, $2,000 checks, universal preschool, green-jobs initiatives: The question is not whether elected budget reconciliation bills they will be able to get through Congress. Why shouldn’t Democrats curry his favor with a few sky bridges and concert halls?
