The most powerful Joe in America is really an independent, not a Democrat. He says he wants to bring back moderate, bipartisan legislation. That sounds noble in theory; how is it working in practice?
In order for Manchin to bring the parties together, he needs to play hardball with the right as well as the left. There is precious little evidence of him doing that; he tells off the progressives, and then repeatedly engages in hopeful, but ultimately unproductive negotiations with the GOP. He never engages in coercion. He doesn’t threaten, for example, to vote to abolish the filibuster to get concessions from the right on fundamental issues such as voting rights.
The result of this is a gridlocked legislative process, not a bipartisan one, which plays into the hands of the Republicans. And while Manchin may be McConnell’s favorite senator today, wait until the GOP wins a majority in the midterms. Once Mitch has 51 Republican votes in his pocket, the most powerful Joe in America will become Mr. Irrelevant, wandering around alone in a bipartisan universe of his own mind.