Sometimes the shamelessness of Democrat politicians still surprises me. I mean, you expect them to be two-faced and self-serving, but really, Sen. Joe Manchin’s latest move is just a bit much.

In late July, Manchin stabbed his Republican friends in the back, many of which had stood up for him in the past, by suddenly green-lighting the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. That contradicted his prior pledge to not sign on to another large spending bill in the midst of the country’s inflation woes. Worse, he waited for the GOP to vote for the CHIPS Act, giving up their leverage, before doing his about-face.

It was a total slap in the face, and in return, all Manchin got from the radicals in his own party was a promise to pass so-called “permitting reform.” As predicted, that’s not going too well. RedState reported on Saturday that Democrats in the House might be looking to nuke the proposal over “climate” worries. So what is Manchin doing to try to save his end of the deal?

He’s begging Republicans to bail him out.

NEW: Manchin is enlisting the help of energy company CEO's to marshal GOP support for his permitting package, privately expressing concern it might not get enough Republicans. https://t.co/ctdrHD89xd

— Ari Natter (@AriNatter) September 12, 2022

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is enlisting the help of energy-industry executives to marshal Republican support for his plan to speed up the process of getting federal approvals for energy projects, according to people familiar with the matter.

…Manchin has said privately he thinks he needs more than 10 Republicans in the Senate to support the measure, which is still being drafted, the people said. He is also concerned that a separate GOP permitting-reform bill, introduced Monday by his Republican West Virginia colleague Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and backed by 38 of her GOP colleagues, could strip needed Republican support for his version, according to the people. Manchin’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hang on a second, I just spit my drink out everywhere laughing.

Let me get this straight. Joe Manchin, who betrayed Republican senators by breaking his word to them, actually expects those same Republican senators to give him their votes for his permitting reform bill because Democrats, who originally made this deal with him, won’t uphold their end of the bargain? That’s how he’s going to play this?

You can only shake your head at the brazenness with which the West Virginia senator is operating. He really thinks he can just throw the mask back on and suddenly become a bi-partisan figure again. But that’s not how this works at all. Manchin had a chance to do the right thing, maintain his credibility, and not give into Joe Biden’s harmful policy proposals. Instead, he fed into his own delusions of grandeur in an attempt to appease a group of people who still hate him. That’s a bed he made and that’s the bed he gets to sleep in.

This isn’t a difficult calculus. Manchin made his deal with Democrats, and now they should be the ones to uphold it. It is not up to Republicans who got shanked in the back to rush in and save Manchin’s payoff from a deal the GOP didn’t want in the first place. The suggestion is ludicrous, and I sincerely hope Republicans in the Senate aren’t stupid enough to go along with this. They should support the Capito plan on permitting reform, and let Manchin enjoy his new best friends.