Manchin and Sinema Muck Up the Works. With Help From Joe Biden

Dem Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona just can’t bring themselves to support paying Americans a living wage of $15 an hour. It’s just too much for them. It’s a bridge too far, it’s beyond the pale, a red line in the sand that they just can’t cross (pick your own tired and over-worn cliche’). What is wrong with these people?

Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders is working overtime to demonstrate to the Senate parliamentarian that a $15 minimum wage bill is permissible within the rules of budget reconciliation. He’s optimistic, which is the precise attitude one needs when approaching a task of this importance. Who else is optimistic? Apparently not Joe Biden.

From the Orange County Register:

But the effort is facing an unexpected roadblock: Biden himself. The president has seemingly undermined the push to raise the minimum wage by acknowledging its dim prospects in Congress, where it faces political opposition and procedural hurdles.

Biden should step up to his bully pulpit and become an outspoken champion for a $15 an hour minimum wage. He should call Manchin and Sinema into the Oval Office and deliver a blistering lecture on who’s in charge. The 2022 mid-terms loom large, and the biggest risk for democrats on this issue is failing to fight for it. For God’s sake, at least fight for it. Take your talking points from Bernie Sanders:

“A $15 minimum wage is not a radical idea. What’s radical is the fact that millions of Americans are forced to work for starvation wages, while 650 billionaires became over $1 trillion richer during a global pandemic.”
—Sen. Bernie Sanders

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