Commentary
Never doubt the power of The Swamp.
That’s the apparent lesson to be learned from Senator Joe Manchin’s reversal on the energy-related provisions of the pending reconciliation bill. Last month, Manchin derailed the measure which included some $300 billion in energy-related provisions. Manchin was pilloried by climate activists and by former Obama advisor, John Podesta, who declared that Manchin had “single-handedly doomed humanity.” But last Wednesday, Manchin switched his position and agreed to a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer which has been dubiously dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.”
The Manchin-Schumer deal shows, yet again, that the Washington Favor Factory never sleeps. The 700-plus-page bill is filled with outrageously expensive subsidies for the solar and wind sectors and lavishes lollipops on nearly every energy-related special interest in Washington. The legislation is so broad and has so much corporate welfare that it has been endorsed by—get this—Exxon Mobil and the Natural Resources Defense Council….