By Stephen Macaulay

It is easy for those who are moderate or progressive Democrats to consider Sens. Joe Manchin, D-WV, and Krysten Sinema, D-AZ, as some sort of stone-age or blood-sucking creatures that we will shortly see on our doorsteps asking for candy.

While it may not be entirely incorrect in terms of characterization -- does Manchin really think that coal has a future? Yes, he has to take care of his constituents -- but wouldn’t a better move be to figure out ways and means to facilitate the further training or education of those people so they can get jobs that aren’t under a black cloud, literally and figuratively?

Here’s the thing that gets somehow overlooked vis-à-vis the Build Back Better bills: Is there not a single Republican who thinks it is his or her job to help advance infrastructure, workers, families, the environment, etc? Where are they? Just what are they doing to earn their paychecks? 

Somehow simply being intransigent isn’t going to fix the roads. Somehow they were all juiced up during the Trump “infrastructure” weeks. What did that deliver? Nothing.

We cannot afford to continue doing that as our global competitors work to advance. Evidently the Grand Old Party is proving that they aren’t in the least bit grand, and they are happy to see the bridges, roads, grid, etc. get old. Want to compete? That won’t cut it.