The Heat Is On

The heat is on. It’s on the street.   Kenny Loggins   The Heat Is On

Politicians can survive a lot of stuff. They can survive a primary challenge. They can survive a general election opponent. They can survive negative advertising. They can survive all of that, as long as they continue to be seen as a man of the people.

But when a politician runs into a grassroots rebellion at home, this is where the shit hits the fan. Right now, both of the Boobsy Twins, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, are facing popular grassroots revolts at home in regards to their current stances in the negotiations for the Build Back Better Act.

Joe Manchin is in the food processor at the moment. Being the more senior, and the more outspoken, Manchin has attracted grassroots protest first. North Carolina activist the Bishop William Barber brought his Moral Monday protest to Manchin’s backyard, and rather than just protesting, they started engaging with local voters on the issues. Manchin’s strength in West Virginia is that Everybody knows Joe. You can talk to him at the car wash, on the street, in a restaurant, at the gas pumps. He’ll engage with his voters. But when the voters begin to find out that the engagement is bullshit, then the shit starts to hit the fan.

Manchin had activists on actual kayaks paddle out to his houseboat on the weekend to confront him on why he was arguing against things that would improve their lives. And then Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted an op-ed in Minchin’s hometown paper, graphically explaining the things that Manchin was against that would improve life in West Virginia. Manchin angrily responded with a op-ed that no Yankee Senator was going to preach to West Virginians. But the damage was done.

And now, rather than swimming with the dolphins, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema finds herself in the shark tank. She has not gone out of her way to bond with her constituents. They have consistently complained about her aloofness. She refuses to hold any town halls or meet-and-greets, is surrounded by a small circle of loyalists, and is seldom in her district office. The Arizona Democratic party took the highly unusual step of holding a vote, and returning a bill of No Confidence on their senior Senator.

But it just got worse for Sinema. Today, five of the veterans serving on her veterans issues advisory board resigned en masse. That’s bad enough, but they took it a step further. They posted an attack ad on local Arizona television channels, taking turns reading off their resignation letters, and lambasting Sinema for her conduct. When the veterans turn against you, you have a problem.

There was news reported on MSNBC tonight that Sinema had agreed with Biden in principle on funding the four major parts of the reconciliation bill, including raising taxes on the richest, as well as keeping the Medicare drug program negotiations in the bill. And Manchin is vehemently denying allegations that he is getting ready to go full Benedict Arnold and turn to the dark side, and suddenly he’s sounding a little fuzzy on the idea of a filibuster carve out for voting rights.

These two chuckleheads craved the brightness of the spotlight in this critical moment, and did everything possible to turn it on themselves. But both of them forgot that, like tourists in Maui, that bright light can burn. And now both of them are starting to get blisters. Biden has played this masterfully. He has the majority of the country on his side, he has negotiated, looked presidential, and let outside factors come alive and hit the necessary pressure points. Don’t touch that dial.

Follow me on Twitter at @RealMurfster35