West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is the most powerful politician in America. No one else even comes close, these days. Bold statement? For sure. True? That, too. Without Manchin’s vote in the Senate, the Democrats are screwed. And boy do they know it. Even better, so does Joe Manchin.

Case in point: Manchin, on Thursday, released a statement declaring his opposition to Biden’s executive order requiring businesses with at least 100 employees to force their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo regular testing by Jan. 4.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the new Omicron variant emerges, I will not vote to shut down the government for purely political reasons. There is too much at stake for the American people.

But let me be clear, I do not support any government vaccine mandate on private businesses. That’s why I have co-sponsored and will strongly support a bill to overturn the federal government vaccine mandate for private businesses.

I have long said we should incentivize, not penalize, private employers whose responsibility it is to protect their employees from COVID-19. I have personally had both vaccine doses and a booster shot, and I continue to urge every West Virginian to get vaccinated themselves.

Amen, Democrats — and that is precisely why federal appeals courts continue to block Biden’s unconstitutional mandates, regardless of his various circuitous attempts to impose them on the country.

Any questions, Dems? if so, Google it. 

Tonight I voted to prevent a government shutdown and fund the federal government through February 18th, 2022 through a continuing resolution. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/UBicLvMpeq

— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) December 3, 2021

Understand, the opposition isn’t what’s powerful, here. As I suggested, it requires only a modicum of knowledge and common sense to understand that. Federal courts have blocked vaccine mandates in multiple states and the majority of Americans oppose them. In the case of Manchin, it’s just simple math.

Manchin carries one vote in a body of 100 votes that currently stands at 50-50, with the vice-president who shall remain nameless in this article waiting in the wings to cast tie-breaker votes.

Hence, Manchin be da boss. Bigly.

Here’s the thing. I’ve always both admired this guy and questioned his hypocrisy, sometimes, oddly, at the same time. He perilously and hyper-consciously walks a fine line on important issues to West Virginians between the left and the right, always choosing sides with the voting booth mattering more than the issue at hand. While that is paramount with all politicians, Manchin often finds himself in the unique position of trying to kiss two butts at the same time.

Here’s the other thing. I’m not suggesting Manchin’s approach is wrong, here. On the contrary, he is 100 percent right. Simply, the federal government does not have the constitutional right to mandate vaccines, no matter how hard lying Biden tries. That right rests with individual states. Period.

That is the reality of Senator Joe Manchin. Thankfully for us non-loons, he carries that 50th vote.

In related news, as RedState reported on Friday, the battle against corporate vax mandates rages on, most recently against a federal vaccine database. What could possibly go wrong? Exactly. This is both ominous and it is never going to happen. 

And as we reported on Thursday, the vaccine mandate thingy isn’t going that well in Murder City, at all. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has dropped the Windy City’s vax mandate lawsuit against its own police department. That sentence almost reads like it’s from the satire site, The Babylon Bee, huh? Go figure.

While I “appreciate” the left effectively peeing into the fan, constitutional realities do not support their ever-increasing power grab.

Specifically, relative to vax mandates.

Period.

And they never will.

More Manchin on RedState:

Joe Manchin Stumbles Upon the Perfect Piece of Leverage Against Joe Biden

Manchin’s Latest Remarks on BBB Bill Are Going to Cause a Leftist Meltdown

WATCH: Climate Loons Surround Manchin Then Make up Despicable Lie About Him