There are two things I never imagined happening.  I never imagined that, when America took a turn for the totalitarian, the person in the Oval Office under whose aegis it was happening would be the dimwitted, corrupt Joe "Plugs and Dentures" Biden.  I also never imagined that, once Biden and his communist cohorts got control of all the levers of power, West Virginia's Sen. Joe Manchin would be the one who pulled the whole nation back from the cliff's edge.  Yet that's exactly what Manchin has done with his refusal to sign on to the Democrats' crazed "Build Back Better" bill.

"Build Back Better" is the ultimate misnomer.  The plan is a disaster for America, for it creates an insurmountable debt, puts into place all of the "climate change" wish list items that will destroy America's economy, and provides a pathway to voting rights for the millions of illegal aliens the Biden administration is encouraging to pour into America.

Still, with an evenly divided Senate and Kamala Harris as the deciding vote, if the Democrats corralled all their senators, the bill would have become law.  Manchin, however, kept muttering about the cost.  Because I'm a cynic and a pessimist, I assumed that Manchin was simply positioning himself to negotiate better terms of West Virginia (for he does bring the bacon home to his state).

Manchin, however, proved to be more principled than I ever imagined.  Appearing on Brett Baier's Fox News Sunday (and what an insult that was to a Democrat administration), Manchin drove a stake through the heart of the Build Back Better bill:

In a later statement, Manchin expanded on his obligation to West Virginians and to America that deserves to be reprinted here in its entirety:

For five and a half months, I have worked as diligently as possible meeting with President Biden, Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi and my colleagues on every end of the political spectrum to determine the best path forward despite my serious reservations. I have made my concerns clear through public statements, op-eds and private conversations. My concerns have only increased as the pandemic surges on, inflation rises and geopolitical uncertainty increases around the world.

I have always said, 'If I can't go back home and explain it, I can't vote for it.' Despite my best efforts, I cannot explain the sweeping Build Back Better Act in West Virginia and I cannot vote to move forward on this mammoth piece of legislation. 

My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face. I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.

The American people deserve transparency on the true cost of the Build Back Better Act. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined the cost is upwards of $4.5 trillion which is more than double what the bill's ardent supporters have claimed. They continue to camouflage the real cost of the intent behind this bill.  

As the Omicron variant spreads throughout communities across the country, we are seeing COVID-19 cases rise at rates we have not seen since the height of this pandemic. We are also facing increasing geopolitical uncertainty as tensions rise with both Russia and China. Our ability to quickly and effectively respond to these pending threats would be drastically hindered by our rising debt.

If enacted, the bill will also risk the reliability of our electric grid and increase our dependence on foreign supply chains. The energy transition my colleagues seek is already well underway in the United States of America. In the last two years, as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and with bipartisan support, we have invested billions of dollars into clean energy technologies so we can continue to lead the world in reducing emissions through innovation. But to do so at a rate that is faster than technology or the markets allow will have catastrophic consequences for the American people like we have seen in both Texas and California in the last two years. 

I will never forget the warning from then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, that he delivered during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing during my first year in the Senate. He testified that the greatest threat facing our nation was our national debt and since that time our debt has doubled.

I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the needs of all Americans and do so in a way that does not risk our nation's independence, security and way of life.

The White House reacted with fury, accusing Manchin of lying:

Senator Manchin's comments this morning on FOX are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances.

The same statement reiterated the Democrat lie — a lie exposed by the Congressional Budget Office — that the bill is fully paid for, won't add to inflation, and will help the economy.  Meanwhile, Ilhan Omar claimed that "the excuses that he just made, I think, are complete b-------."  Stay classy, girl!

We're not out of the woods yet, because Democrats never give up, but at least we have a breather.  It remains to be seen whether both Manchin and Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema will hold strong on the filibuster and Supreme Court–packing.

Image: Joe Manchin.  YouTube screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.