Joe Manchin’s Interviews Aren’t Going Well

BUCK: Joe Manchin. Joe Manchin. He’s doing a lot of dancing around on TV saying, “No, it won’t raise taxes! Oh, it’s gonna do all these great things. It’s just a big, evil corporation…” Well, hold on a second. Aren’t major manufacturers corporations? I’m pretty sure major manufacturers are corporations, and I’m also pretty sure that manufacturers do a lot of hiring. We want more on-shore manufacturing. This is key to American economic prosperity going forward. So, when the National Association of Manufacturers analysis shows that this is going to cost — the Biden bill — a lot of jobs. This is gonna cost GDP growth.

What is Joe Manchin saying about this?

BUCK: Oh, yeah, it’s gonna be wonderful ’cause senators — the left-wing loons who are pushing this — know a lot about how to build things faster and how to streamline the processes of manufacturing and commercial and economic growth. They know nothing about that. Oh, but all of a sudden, they have a bill that’s going to do that that we hadn’t heard about ’til five minutes ago? This is bareknuckle politics.

It is Democrats shoveling cash to what they want and raising taxes to stick it to those they don’t like right before a midterm election so they can say, “See? We wield power in the name of the left. Ha-ha.” The Green New Deal is getting $300 billion for energy. You think that money’s going to coal and oil and natural gas and nuclear? How about nuclear? “Nucular,” remember, we had a whole time and people gave Bush a hard time about that.

First of all, a lot of people say “nucular” and second of all, the decider… I think that’s a word. If that is not a word — I’m a decider — it should be a word. That’s a great word, you know, makes a lot of sense. It’s one we should add into our lexicon. So back to Manchin here, here we go saying stuff, any anyone listening to this is going, that doesn’t even make sense. And this was on I think CNBC, right? Was it CNBC? Yeah.

And good job — ’cause look. CNBC is all about business. The association of manufacturers are saying they hate this bill. Joe Manchin’s sitting up there saying, “But, no, this is gonna make it better for the manufacturers.” This is classic Democrat. They tell you they know what’s better for you in your area of expertise that they don’t know a damn thing about. Classic Democrat maneuver, you know. Nancy Pelosi, can’t you just see her?

(impression) “The chips manufactured through this… We get the chips. They will be so much better They’ll taste better. They’ll be crispier and not too much salt. She doesn’t know a thing about chips.” She knows how to shovel cash, though, and she knows how to push information about the cash that’s getting shoveled to people that do very well with that information. I’m not saying. Here is the continuation, though, of Joe Manchin dodging again when he’s asked, but, hey, man, the manufacturing association is saying this is really bad for them.

Here’s what Manchin says.

BUCK: So now he’s just been reduced to, “They’re lying. Everyone else is wrong and lying about what this will do to taxes. Everyone else is lying and wrong about what this will do to manufacturing and jobs.” Apparently, Joe Manchin, who barely by and in of his teeth managed to pool just enough West Virginians into voting for him the last time around. And look. We all make mistakes. I voted for Romney in 2012, so I’m not casting stones. But, again, what was the alternative?

But barely managed to hang on by I think three percentage points the last election. And here he is telling everybody you don’t know, you’re just a stupid head. I know. I’m better at all the math and the projections and the economic impact of this, please, right? This is the Democrats. s Chuck Schumer did a sit-down with him and probably said look, “We all know you’re not gonna win election. We all know you’re toast the next time around. You want the apparatus…?”

(interruption) Well, what are you looking at me for? What did I do? (interruption) Oh. The team here is giving me a look. Did I do something? Did I let like a bleep word fly? I’m so fired up right here. They’re giving me crazy looks in New York that had nothing to do with me. You just psyched me out, guys. Yeah, look. I think that Manchin had the sit-down. What is one of the things I always tell you? And it’s so important.

The Democrats have a whole… You notice the word “apparatus” is in much wider usage now. I don’t know. I’m not gonna say, but it is kind of my work. The apparatus of the Democrats is so effective at making the offer to people, kind of like Xerxes to the guy who betrays the Persians, just throws all the money and all the power at them or whatever. They’re so much better at getting that you book deal.

I don’t know if you caught that reference to “300,” which is just a great, timeless film. But they’re so much better at throwing the money and book details and speaking fees and corporate board seats and all of that. If you want to go the Schumer way and be invited to the fancy cocktail parties and you want to be somebody who gets that quarter-of-a-million-dollar-a-year contributorship at CNN to show up once a month, or you want to be a principled person who does what’s best for his state and keeps his promises, like a loser. I think we all know the answer from Joe Manchin. I think we all know what we’re seeing here.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

BUCK: Welcome back to Clay and Buck. This is Buck. And that was Joe Manchin and that was just amazing. (laughing) He’s like, “What…? What do you not see here?” Some of you I’m sure saw the timeless classic the Nineties Cinema Office Space. Remember when one of the characters — actually, I can’t remember his name — but he has to meet with the two Bobs who were the consultants who were there to do layoffs and he just at some point they’re like, “So, what would you say you do here?”

It’s one of the greatest lines of the movie, and he starts… He realizes this is not going well and he looks at the two Bobs and he goes, “I’m good with people! I’m a people person. What the hell is wrong with you people?” (laughing) Joe Manchin is basically at that point. “I’m a legislator! I’m good with people! What is wrong with you? This is gonna save America!” No, man, it’s really not.

But everyone’s kind of seeing this for what it is. Craven capitulation Manchin. That’s what’s happening. Put that one on a bumper sticker. That would actually work pretty well. “I’m a people person! I’m good with people!” I love it too. They go, “So you basically take the sketches from the engineers over to sales. Why can’t the engineers just do that themselves?” “’Cause I’m a people person!” Joe Manchin’s a people person. If you have not seen Office Space, by the way, highly, highly recommend.

And I am psyched to see how many people are writing in who agree with me that Peaky Blinders is just so good, it’s just so good. I cannot go wrong by advising… (interruption) Oh, here we go. Bob Slidell says, “What would you say you do here?” Tom Smykowski. That’s his name. “Look, I already told you! I deal with the gosh damn customers. So the engineers don’t have to. I have people skills!”

Joe Manchin needs to watch Office Space for sure. Oh, man, that’s a great scene in a great movie. When they finally take the baseball bats and they beat the printer in the field into smithereens? “Why does it say ‘paper jam’ when there is no paper jam!” For those who have had office jobs, especially late nineties, early 2000s, you know that really hit home, man.

We’ve all wanted to take a baseball bat to a printer or a copy machine or a combination at some point in time. So that’s a particularly good one. Anyway, Joe Manchin, you’re gonna hear more and more. That’s one of my favorite Manchin clips in a long time? “Why you asking me about Joe Biden? Why you asking me all these gosh darn questions? What I did is amazing!” I don’t think so, buddy. I think people are starting to see this for what it is.