Tentcloth

Senator Joe Manchin D (well, depending on who you ask anyway) West Virginia is currently living life in the spotlight for being the man who has derailed President Biden's Build Back Better plan for the United States. And, okay, as a matter of Congressional process, there is some truth in this.

But it might also be worth pointing out that there are an awful lot of voters who don't really care for the Build Back Better plan, and not simply because they're partisan Republicans who would be loath to allow the current President to rescue them from a burning building. One of the really difficult jobs in front of the Democratic Party (and one that I think a lot of people would say that they're bungling) is making the case that the plan that they have is both better for everyone in the long run and sustainable. Again, partisanship plays a factor; once someone's convinced that the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is only s step removed from a force of supernatural Evil, it's hard to get them to consider the benefits of policy proposals.

The Democrats are in the position of having to bow and scrape before Senator Manchin because they were unable to pick up enough seats in the chamber that they could allow their less liberal members to buck the team to shore up their numbers back home. Presumably, Senator Manchin ran for office because he believes that he can do something good for the people of his state, and maybe the entire nation. Sacrificing his political career doesn't help him reach his goals, or he'd have done it already.

If the Democratic Party is going to have any hope of getting things done, they're going to have to attract more voters to their cause. Right now, their coalition may be broader than that of the Republican Party, but it's thinner, and right now, that means that it tears easily. Increasing polarization means that there are fewer people in play who can be convinced to join up. The Democrats are going to have to get out there and find them.