Will Joe Manchin switch parties?

Based on multiple articles, including this one and this one, it's looking like Joe Manchin is living rent-free in the Democrats' heads. The water cooler talk in DC centers around whether Sen. Manchin will switch from being a Democrat to being a Republican. One thing that's certain is that CNN's Kirsten Powers is tired of Manchin being a Democrat.

Appearing on Don Lemon's show, Powers replied to Lemon, who asked "So he is for the child tax credit, but he has been saying all along that he had a problem with the price tag and the scope, so why are Democrats surprised that this isn't going anywhere?" Powers replied, saying "Because the price tag has come down substantially, and at this point there is no reason for Joe Manchin to believe that this entire bill should be written to his specifications as if the only opinion that matters is his." Then she dropped this bombshell:

Honestly, at this point I think it would be better off if he just became an independent or a Republican so that we can stop playing this game that Joe Biden has these Democrats that he’s not bringing around because there’s just no reason to not support this bill if you’re a Democrat.

Apparently, Kirsten Powers doesn't understand, or doesn't like, the power of leverage. The Golden Rule in leverage is that the person with the gold makes the rules. With Biden's Build Back Better Bill, Sen. Manchin has the gold, aka the potential 50th vote for the bill in the Senate. Kim Strassel highlights in her latest Potomac Watch column the Democrats' failure:

What Mr. Biden and Democratic leaders got wrong was thinking they were immune to the consequences of their microscopic congressional majorities. Mr. Biden’s stalled agenda is no one’s fault but his own, the result of an epic miscalculation of his mandate and votes, compounded by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mismanagement of the process.

Sen. Schumer knew this summer what Sen. Manchin's red lines were:

In his July agreement with Mr. Schumer detailing his reconciliation requirements, Mr. Manchin insisted on a top line of $1.5 trillion, means testing for programs, "fuel neutral" climate provisions, and an end to the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (signaling his concern about inflation). That is pretty much exactly where he stands now, give or take a concession of a few hundred billion on the top-line figure.

Let's not forget Biden's ability to F things up:

Pelosi shares in the blame, too:

Mrs. Pelosi instructed her committees to draft a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, despite Mr. Manchin’s repeated statements he wouldn’t go anywhere near that figure. She restarted on a $1.75 trillion bill, only to employ obvious budget deceptions to pass a bill with $5 trillion in spending. (Hoping that, what, Mr. Manchin wouldn’t notice?)

To be fair, Sen. Manchin has gotten rolled before so Ms. Pelosi's beliefs weren't unreasonable. This time has proven different, though, because Sen. Manchin is worried about Biden-created inflation.

I'd be surprised if Manchin switched parties, though I'm enjoying watching him cause Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer twist in the wind. It serves them right after they tried pushing the American people around.