By what possible definition of democracy is it OK for Joe Manchin, a single senator elected with a mere 290,000 votes from the tiny state of West Virginia, to wield power that exceeds that of his 99 colleagues and rivals that of the president of the United States?
The self-described "conservative Democrat" appears to have just decided what our national climate change policy will be. Before that, he decreed the future of the filibuster. For all intents and purposes, he gets to say what President Joe Biden's legacy will be.
He's in total control, it sometimes seems. But why him, of all people? Well, it's the numbers, stupid, as James Carville might say.
-copy-29e15046.jpeg?w=600)
