Let’s Go, Brandon!

Joe Biden’s catastrophic slide in the polls has robbed him of the persuasive power that more successful presidents enjoy. We see this in the way the deep split in the Democratic Party is playing out: Biden wants to tip the scales toward the far left, but he lacks the ability to do so.

Thus he casually lets it be known that Kyrsten Sinema isn’t returning his phone calls:


While it didn’t directly involve Biden, the fact that Joe Manchin had no compunction about walking out on Chuck Schumer last night shows how little sway the Democrats’ leaders–preeminently, Biden–currently have:

Sen. Joe Manchin couldn’t bear to watch Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s GOP-trashing floor speech Thursday night — covering his face and ultimately walking away during the comments.
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As Schumer cast blame on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and GOP senators, Manchin first appeared to shake his head, then pressed his palms to his face in dismay.
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Less than a minute later, as Schumer continued targeting McConnell, Manchin was seen walking away.

Afterward, outside the chamber, Manchin condemned the speech.

“I didn’t think it was appropriate at this time,” Manchin told reporters.

Like everyone else, I assume that the Democrats will ultimately come together on a spending blowout along the lines of $1.5 to $2 trillion. But it has become obvious that the party’s heavy-handed attempts to bully Manchin and Sinema have failed, and the party’s leader, President Biden, has no influence. So the wheel, at this point, is still in spin.

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