Mitch McConnell fumes after Joe Manchin comes around to the Democrats

| 12:01 pm EDT June 30, 2021
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If you were a member of the Resistance just three or four years ago, there’s a good chance you were getting frustrated with Republicans like Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski for not “growing a spine” or doing the right thing – even if they came through occasionally on things like healthcare and made enough of a difference to keep the Affordable Care Act from being repealed. It helped to remember in these moments that they were still Republicans, as much as they liked to boast their credentials as moderates – so we couldn’t be too disappointed when they saw the right opportunity to vote along Republican lines – particularly when it came to confirming judges or supporting tax cuts.

Now, Republicans are beginning to realize that at the end of the day, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are both Democrats, as frustrating as they may sometimes be to liberals and pundits with their cryptic messaging. Mitch McConnell has been entertaining the possibility that some Republicans might pull out of the bipartisan infrastructure deal – just to spitefully sabotage President Biden’s agenda.

The trouble is that there’s not much of an upside for Republicans beyond just shooting it down – particularly when it comes to what their donors want. They were hoping they could count on Manchin to insist on this all being done in a bipartisan fashion – but Manchin clearly wants nothing to do with it and won’t even let McConnell perform for us – by agreeing to vote for the second reconciliation bill on infrastructure. It’s clear that infrastructure changes are happening regardless of how much McConnell stands in the way – and no one from the other side of the aisle is looking to join him.