Thank You, Sen. Manchin

The saying, "One man with courage makes a majority" has been attributed by historians to different sources.

But regardless of who said it, there is one man who stands out today worthy of this description.

It's West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.

Manchin has been a one-man show in the Democratic Party, standing often in solitude, holding feet-to-the-fire of his president and his party's leadership, pushing back on the massive and irresponsible spending avalanche in the Build Back Better act.

Now, Manchin has slammed the door, saying he can't vote for the bill, effectively killing it.

In so doing, Manchin has done a great service to his country and to his party.

Ideologues in leadership in the Democratic Party, intoxicated with the power voters gave them in the last election, lost touch with those same voters.

Last February, immediately after the elections, Democrat voters gave the Democrat-controlled Congress a 61% approval rating, per Gallup. By October, the approval rating for Congress by Democrat voters was down to 33%.

And, of course, President Joe Biden's own approval rating has plummeted from 57% from early last February to 42% by the end of October.

Voters gave Democrats control of Congress in the last election by a tiny eight-seat margin.

Yet, they have been governing like they were voted in in a landslide with a major mandate to transform the United States into a new secular humanist bastion of socialism.

It's not true, and Manchin has been a bulwark holding fast against this usurpation of power by the far left in his party. As he said in his statement announcing that he will not vote for the bill, "My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face."

The senator also expressed very legitimate concern that it was all being done dishonestly, accusing his colleagues of camouflaging the real cost of the legislation they were advancing.

House Democrats advertised the cost of the Build Back Better act at around $2 trillion.

However, the nonpartisan University of Pennsylvania Penn Wharton Budget Model, run by former government economists, estimated it at more than twice this at $4.6 trillion.

Then the Congressional Budget Office, which answers to Congress, issued its estimate at close to $5 trillion.

The issue is dishonest game-playing by congressional Democrats. Multibillion-dollar programs that clearly will be permanent are scored by those who produced the bill to expire after one year. Informed observers agree that this is ridiculous. The Congressional Budget Office scored the bill, assuming these programs last for the 10-year duration of the projection. As a result, the CBO estimated the cost of the bill at 2 1/2 times more than those who produced the legislation.

Manchin also did voters a great service by calling inflation, which has been one of his great concerns about the bill, "inflation taxes."

Inflation is indeed a tax and also a result of sleight of hand of legislators. How many politicians would specifically legislate $2 trillion in tax increases to pay for a $2 trillion spending bill? Did you say none?

Instead, funds get borrowed and then the central bank prints money to pay the bills.

More money in circulation means every dollar is worth less. Prices go up -- inflation.

The latest report of a 6.8% increase in the CPI means a 6.8% reduction in the real income and savings of every American.

All this without even getting into the misguided plans for all these funds. And, hidden in it all, elimination of the Hyde Amendment, which, for almost a half-century, has prevented the use of federal funds for abortions.

Thank you, Sen. Manchin. Every American who cares about saving our country is indebted to you.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.