Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) placed his nation before of his party when he informed Democrat leaders on Thursday that he will not support any extra spending on climate gimmicks or tax increases as part of a more limited Build Back Better (BBB) plan.

It appears that Manchin’s colleagues were attempting to lose in November by aggravating inflation. Congressional Democrats persisted in their efforts to revive substantial financing for BBB, which would increase inflation and reward criminals through increased waste, fraud, and abuse.

The Democrats’ attempt to revive BBB exemplified President Reagan’s warning that government expenditure is the closest thing to immortality. Manchin, who is still a Democrat, wants increased spending on prescription drug prices and health insurance subsidies, which pose its own challenges for taxpayers, although it is an improvement from BBB’s initial huge cost.

Multiple analyses have demonstrated that the nearly $6 trillion in stimulus spending pushed through during the coronavirus epidemic greatly contributed to the record-high inflation affecting American families today. The statistics on Wednesday indicating that inflation reached a 40-year high undoubtedly tilted the scales in Manchin’s favor. Given that the price tag for this new spending spree was close to $1 trillion, it might have exacerbated the crisis.

A significant portion of the BBB proposal that Manchin rejected was the green energy giveaway, which would have been unpopular in his heavily coal-producing state. According to the Washington Post, the initial proposal contained “a climate package of around $300 billion to $350 billion.”

Manchin, whose support is required for his party to approve a funding plan, opposed fiscal recklessness vehemently late last year when he pronounced the initial BBB bill dead. Undoubtedly, he continues to suffer an outpouring of animosity from party members.

Manchin stated that he backed the revised BBB proposal because he wants to reduce the budget by increasing taxes on corporations and people. As the nation teeters on the brink of a recession, however, tax increases are a horrible and ineffectual approach to combat supply-side-driven inflation. Manchin, on the other hand, is obviously astute enough to understand how economically and politically risky it would be to raise taxes on anyone at a period of skyrocketing inflation.

Manchin did well to resist tax increases and green energy schemes. Let’s hope he resists more levies for socialized medical. It is a disgrace that Democrats continue to play politics with inflation while families continue to suffer.