March 23, 2020

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin duked it out with the Majority Leader because he wouldn't kowtow to him and allow most of the massive stimulus package go to corporations, Wall Street, and Steve Mnuchin's $500 billion slush fund.

A furious Moscow Mitch was pointing his finger at Senator Manchin and whining about how mean Democrats are for blocking the cloture vote he has been trying to force, but Sen. Manchin came through for the working class and medical professionals today.

While McConnell was blaming Democrats for holding up the stimulus package that was written entirely by Republicans, Manchin said, "You can throw all the money at Wall Street you want to.”

“People are afraid to leave their homes," he told McConnell. "They’re afraid of the health care. I’ve got workers who don’t have masks. I’ve got health care workers who don’t have gowns.”

"The American people are waiting for us to act today! We don’t have time for this! We don’t have time for it!” McConnell yelled back.

Manchin reclaimed his time, reminding McConnell that they should be able to get to a deal by unanimous consent, were it not for the way Republicans are approaching the problem.

“You can’t throw enough money to fix this if you can’t fix the health care,” Manchin said, explaining his objections.

“My health care workers need to be protected,” he insisted. “But it seems like we’re talking about everything else about the economy versus the health care. That doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever.”

“It seems like we’re more concerned about the health care of Wall Street,” he observed. “That’s the problem that I’ve had on this.”

We are now seeing reports saying that Donald Trump is getting tired of experts recommending social distancing as a way to mitigate the spread of the disease and possibly bend the curve. This means that he is fine with people dying -- thousands and likely millions -- because he's more interested in his Wall Street record than anything else.

The big sticking point in the negotiations is on the Mnuchin Bucks -- the $500 million Wall Street slush fund with no accountability and no money for the little folks. Is it any wonder Democrats are standing firm? If Trump won't listen to Manchin on this, then he won't listen to anyone. West Virginia is all in for Trump, but they know Joe Manchin and they know he works for the people.

Karoli Kuns contributed to this article
h/t Raw Story

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