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 After getting Republicans Dick Cheney and (his daughter) Liz Cheney's endorsement, Kamala Harris can't get Democrat Joe Manchin to follow suit.  Of course in a "normal" political world, the Democratic nominee for POTUS would welcome the endorsement of a conservative Democrat before a conservative Republican, especially one who was hated by Democrats in the early 2000's. However, there's nothing normal about this political season (other than the donors calling the shots in the background, that is). 

 You would think that someone who has " liberal stances on health care, education, organized labor " and other such issues would think that giving a child tax credit with no strings would be a slam dunk for Rep James Clyburn. You would think : In an interview with the Washington Post, Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that during negotiations over Democrats' stalled Build Back Better package, " Manchin made it very clear that he had a problem... not with the child tax credit per se, but he wanted to see it means tested ." " I'm not opposed to that ," Clyburn said. " Who would oppose that? So, I would like to see him come forward with a bill for the child tax credit that's means tested. I think it would pass ." In fact, many—including dozens of Clyburn's fellow House Democrats—have voiced opposition to Manchin's demand for a lower income cut-off for the program, which lawmakers and the Biden White House are aiming to revive in some form. I...

  The Jean-Luc Picard of the Democratic Party, who had no problem keeping the NBA from protesting or consolidating support around Joe Biden to help sink Bernie Sanders' chance of winning the 2020 primary, is noticeably absent as Joe Manchin has decided to decapitate Biden's (supposedly) signature legislation. Anything to the left of Democratic Party Leadership is a threat .

It's possible that this story from David Corn is just Sen. Manchin trying to scare Sen. Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden into capitulating on the infrastructure bill, but there are more good reasons to call his bluff and let him leave than back down like a scared little bunny: The Democrats will no longer have to listen to Manchin . Is there a chance that Manchin caucuses with the Republicans, giving them power over the Senate? Yep. But the Democrats still have the House of Representatives and the White House, so the GOP aren't going to be able to pass anything either. As powerful as Manchin will seem in the Senate, he will no longer be a factor in the overall process of lawmaking. The Democrats can now run someone against Manchin in West Virginia . It's doubtful that they'll run someone like Paula Jean Swearegin , but any candidate who is to the left of Manchin economically would be an improvement. And let's not forget that Manchin pushed a gubernatorial cand...

 In his latest attempt to play congressional gadfly, Joe Manchin has decided to make the more left-leaning Democrats in Congress choose which of the following three policies they want to keep : expanded child tax credit, paid family leave or subsidies for child care . While this may look like Manchin may finally be willing to negotiate, there's a reason to be suspicious. It's possible Manchin would just be against whichever option was picked, claiming that the other two are more reasonable. It's also possible that Manchin wants someone else to make the choice instead of him, which will take the anger and frustration off of him while splintering the people who want all three policies.  For the most part, the left-leaning Democrats aren't buying it , but time will tell. After all, the midterms are fast approaching and Manchin has just as much pull with Republicans in charge.