Joe Manchin has spent the last eighteen months developing his street cred.  I remember an article in The Telegraph, not long after the 2020 election, which has played in my head many times since reading it.  Basically, stating Joe was going to be the most powerful man in DC.  I think, for the most part, The Telegraph was spot on.  But his latest quest for bipartisan support on a green energy deal seems quixotic at best, proforma at worst.  No self-respecting Republican can hang their hat on anything even adjacent to the “Green New Deal”, not just six months out from election day. That would be political suicide.  And as Dan Bongino likes to say, “Don’t get dead!”

According to Axios:

“Bipartisan Senate energy talks led by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) are essentially over, with Republican senators convinced that Manchin is close to a reconciliation deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: The death of the bipartisan approach will allow Manchin and Schumer to focus on a potential deal that includes green energy tax credits and the tax increases to pay for them.”

My magic eight ball says that nothing will get done on this at all, but if I’m wrong I’m gonna look for the silver lining.  Tax increases.  Seriously, let the Dems talk about green energy and tax increases for the next six months and watch all but the most die-hard, capital P progressives hold their nose and vote for a Republican come November.  It’s like they don’t even want to win!

As Axios continues,

“…[A]ny deal will also need 49 other Senate Democrats, including the support of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who hasn’t been directly involved in the Manchin and Schumer negotiations.”

Thus, my prediction that any deal on the table is DOA.  Krysten Sinema is not going to risk being primaried on an energy bill that is chock full of green energy rebates (read “grift”) and tax increases that would piss off both sides of her constituent base.  And that has a lot of blowhards posting their l’s online:

I have a consolation cupcake to offer pastor Pavlovits, Dems are NOT going to get a true majority in November.  But keep dreaming dude.

It's really that simple.@SenatorSinema and @Sen_JoeManchin have obstructed Biden at every turn. If Dems get a true majority in November we will be a healthier, safer nation. If they don't, our collapse will be unavoidable.

Maybe voting strategically matters. https://t.co/hTfnHATDYa

— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) June 1, 2022

No, on a more serious note, we do need to talk about energy in a bipartisan manner.  Unfortunately, no one wants to be seen talking to the enemy right before the upcoming election.  Which means our government isn’t serious about solving our current energy crisis at all.  And we clearly are in crisis.  Gasoline is all but unaffordable to most people.  Actually, unaffordable to some.  Page 2 news and conservative radio is sounding the alarm for rolling blackouts this summer.  But the Dems want to talk about making energy harder to produce, not easier.  Good luck with that.

But as our own Toni Williams pointed out a couple of months ago, energy independence continues to take a back seat to virtue signaling and bowing to the alter of Global Warming.  A concept so idiotic, that even conservatives who value our blessed earth, we cannot help but roll our eyes and walk away.

That said, Joe Manchin, is caught between a rock and a hard place.  He is just too much a democrat to think rationally about green energy, yet he is just pragmatic enough to know something must be done.  Watch as he explains how Presidentish Potted Plant creates obstacles at every turn, when it comes to offering near term solutions to our growing energy crisis: 

All I know is that I am determined to be prepared, as much as one can be, when the $#!@ hits the fan.  I called a generator company to come talk about a permanent, whole-home installation.  Even if I sign on the dotted line, I won’t see one until next year.  FJB.

No, even Manchin knew these talks were a hail Mary pass, as Axios states:

“The bipartisan talks were always viewed with skepticism by some Democrats who weren’t convinced Republicans would agree to the corporate tax increases that Manchin wanted for deficit reduction and to fund green energy tax credits.”

I have to say, I have a small crush on Joe Manchin.  He’s put his neck on the line quite a bit these last two years, trying to keep his party from killing our country forthwith.  But anything that begins with “green” in connection with a legislative action must be stopped.  We literally cannot afford it.

Featured Image: “Windmill farm Parm Springs” by Joe Y Jiang is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0., cropped & modified