Sinema and Manchin Know What They Are Doing

IT’S A CORE PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMICS THAT people do what they are incentivized to do. That may be why Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia haven’t hesitated to oppose popular progressive policies in their own party’s spending bill: They can bet on getting a payoff in the end.

During the fight over Democrats’ social spending reconciliation bill, Sinema, for example, has played a prominent—albeit silent—role in watering down the party’s plan to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. She’s also helped gut Democrats’ plan to expand Medicare benefits, nixed tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations and pushed to make the overall bill smaller. While Sinema isn’t up for reelection until 2024, she is polling terribly and already facing the threat of a well-financed primary challenge.

While Manchin has a personal financial interest in protecting the fossil fuel industry, he’s also worked diligently to deny new Medicare dental benefits that seniors in his state desperately need. Manchin has been on a fundraising tear this year, despite