Senator Maserati Houseboat Opposes Billionaire Tax
Sen. Joe Manchin is out there trolling us all again on President Joe Biden’s agenda to tackle climate change and economic inequality. This time he’s telling reporters that he’s certainly open to a package that could include increasing taxes on the climate and energy proposals and prescription drug pricing reforms. He even suggested a timeframe: “I’ve heard people say that before the July 4 break, you should have something done if you’re going to do anything because coming back might be futile.”
Note this is Manchin saying that “people are saying,” giving himself full deniability. Asked what he thought about that—whether it was a good thing—Manchin again demurred. ”If you can do something. I’m not saying anything’s gonna be done.” Then he suggested that he’s not talking to anyone—“we’ll look and see if anybody wants to talk but no, there’s nothing serious going on there”—but that he’s at the center of all the talks to know what’s going on—“Everybody keeps talking but I’ve given you the three subject areas we’re talking that I’m considering.”