(#4698) Biden must convince Manchin

      Today is a big day. Joe Biden is meeting with Joe Manchin to get some legislative things done. If after this meeting Manchin is still an obstacle then I don't see any legislation in the near future that will address the Build Back Better legislation nor the voting rights protections bills. Which will be a bad thing for our democracy. One man, Joe Manchin is the one who will stake his name in history as the one person who allowed our democracy fail. It is that simple and that serious. For me it won't matter much because I am on the downside of my life. But for those who are coming along after me and others my age the reality they will face is daunting and troublesome.
     I expect that enough pressure from Joe Biden will be made to get Joe Manchin back into the fold of getting the democratic agenda done. There is no more time for posturing nor equivocating. The rubber meets the road this week and much forward motion must be attained for our democracy to survive. In several hours from now the cable news outlets will be trying to divine what comes out of the Biden/Manchin meeting and at that time we will have at least an idea. Manchin is already signaling that he needs assurances that the bill for Build Back Better is close to zero and not some astronomical cost.
     However it goes today will go a long way toward what our democracy will look like going forward. This week truly will set the tone for the rest of the period leading up to the election on November 8, 2022. Whether we are serving our economy and society through the programs in the Build Back Better bill and whether our democracy is functioning with an electoral system that is fair and equitable across state lines. Much is on the line with how we democrats come together this week. From what I can glean there is no animosity nor ulterior motive coming from either Manchin or Biden so hopefully logic and boldness will overrule hesitancy and laws will be passed to make more modern our society.