Oh, Manchin, you had it all going for you pal. When you shot down President Biden’s ‘Build Back Broke” bill you gave us hope that maybe, just maybe there was a Democrat left that hadn’t totally gone insane.

Remember this? “I have always said, ‘If I can’t go back home and explain it, I can’t vote for it. Well, the Joint Committee on Taxation made it very clear that the ‘Inflation Reduction Bill’ will increase taxes on all income brackets and even you yourself admitted that it would further add to the record-high inflation rate. So what happened Joe?

As the United States enters a recession following two-quarters of negative growth, Sen. Joe Manchin is now disputing data that shows his bill would raise taxes on the middle class during what many Americans believe will be tough times ahead.

“We have to agree to disagree, a difference of opinion,” Manchin, D-W.Va., said when asked by Fox News Digital about analysis from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on taxation showing his bill would in fact raise taxes on the middle-class.

The committee’s analysis said Manchin’s bill, officially titled the “Inflation Reduction Act,” would raise 2023 taxes on six of eight income categories lower than $200,000.

Manchin quickly dodged the question to discuss parts of the bill he says should be bipartisan.

“My Republican colleagues are my friends and I’ve worked with them tremendously. And I will continue to work with them anyway, shape or form,” Manchin said. “But these are things that we’ve all talked about in bipartisan groups. How can we start paying down our debt and… take our finances seriously, our financial house in order? These are things every time we get together as a group, bipartisan support, this is what we talk about. How can we get more production?”

The bipartisan Joint Committee On Taxation said it themselves, that taxes would be raised on several income brackets, all the way down to those making below $10,000 who would get hit the hardest. Republicans are now echoing those concerns.

“The median household income in West Virginia is $48,037. This bill will raise taxes of Americans making well below those levels in order to help families making more than five times those levels purchase electric cars,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, tweeted this weekend.

According to Fox News Digital, Cornyn was citing a provision in the bill that would provide up to a $7,500 tax credit for families making up to $300,000 to buy certain electric vehicles.

Manchin continues to dispute the fact that this bill will continue to raise taxes on the middle class in separate comments.

“There’s not one penny of change in taxes, I have no idea where they’re coming down,” Manchin said. “The only thing that was done… if you are a company of a billion dollars or more… you should pay at least a minimum of 15%.”

Manchin further said that, “I can’t believe that they would say” the bill would affect average Americans’ taxes.

“It’s not going to affect… not at all,” he said.

So it’s Manchin’s word versus the Joint Committee of Taxation I guess. If I were a betting man, I’d probably go with the Joint Committee’s analysis versus a ‘thieving Democrat’. Just my opinion though…