Biden can save his Build Back Better agenda by just listening to Manchin
I understand why Democrats are trying to fix every mess in one giant bill. But it's time for them to listen to Manchin: Do less but longer and better.
Jill LawrenceIf you look really hard at Sen. Joe Manchin's statement on President Joe Biden's Build Back Better bill, you can find a tiny loophole. "I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation," he said.
This piece of legislation. But what if it changed? It’s time for Biden and Democrats to listen to Manchin’s longstanding demand to do less, and do it better and more permanently.
I say this as someone who until now was in the "do everything, just do it shorter" camp. History is littered, as they say, with scuttled deals and wrongheaded decisions that could have saved today's political parties from massive headaches and, more important, could have done all kinds of good for people, families and the economy. I completely understand the determination to try to fix all of these legacy messes in one massive bill.