Over the past year, Mr.
Manchin has taken more money from the oil and gas
industry than any other member of Congress — including every Republican —
according to federal filings. A Times investigation found that he also personally profited from coal, making roughly $5
million between 2010 and 2020 — about three times his Senate salary. Coal has
made Mr. Manchin a millionaire, even as it has poisoned the air his own
constituents in West Virginia breathe.
As Upton Sinclair put it:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends
on his not understanding it.”
But one
thing I have never understood about Mr. Manchin is how he looks his
grandchildren in the eye. While he may leave his descendants plenty of
money, they will also inherit a broken planet. Like other young people, Mr.
Manchin’s grandchildren will grow up knowing that his legacy is climate
destruction.