eric eyre how unique is mud lick west virginia and what happened to it? >> it is a really small community there is about 30 residents outlive their and to show you how small it is, it took me a while to figure out how to spell it i heard mud lick is one word in mud lick as two words and i actually had to call the sheriff's office in wayne county to figure out exactly how to spell it and she says it's two words but don't worry there's only 30 people that live there and they won't be reading your book. it's a typical hollow and west virginia and between the mountains, that is where the overdose that started this whole story and this all occurred with the overdose on oxycontin it's very small and very rural. >> at one point did 12 million oxycontin arrived in the count of 30 residents reads alert? >> it really raised alerts we had to go to court to unseal some documents, there was a modified complaint that was filed in circuit court in a case of the distributors, west virginia versus the drug distributors and these are companies that shift onto chip opioids

joining us from west virginia is stephen smith, co-chair of west virginia can't wait.for governor of west virginia in 2020 placing second in the democratic primary. and joining us from chicago is branko marcetic, staff writer at jacobin magazine. in march he wrote an in-depth profile on senator kyrsten sinema for jacobin headlined "how kyrsten sinema went from lefty activist to proud neoliberal democrat." he's also the author of "yesterday's man: the case against joe biden." you certainly cover a lot. let's start with kyrsten sinema. she was a campaign manager for ralph nader in arizona. talk about what is happening now. you have all of the advisors quitting saying that she is putting the profits of donor over people. talk about what she stands for. branko: i mean, sinema has really sho to stand for the interests of the corporate sector, the wealthy. this is not a new development. in the house she was one of the lawmakers who tried and did repeal fancial reform laws. she went after obamacare. trng to repeal taxes on medical technology makers. she tried to get rid of in

democratic center for west virginia. we need to hold the majority, but we also have to deliver to joe, like at least be a good negotiating partner in good faith, meet me to where you think you can go and you know, to his frustration to center centers, frustration, you know, there hasn't been a lot of beat to the bones that i, he's asking, you know, what are the details, what are the things that you would support? what are the things that you wouldn't support and, and had that hasn't come out. so center standards of view has been, well, a president biden, and senator and schumer, the majority leader, can do you know, a job on trying to bring jo mansion along. he's also happy for that to be the case . sometimes maybe other people might be better messengers with, with jo mansion in any case. let's just get a deal done. i mean, when process mechanics are and they've been going on for so long, people are frustrated about increasingly you see the pull numbers and jump right in dipping because they're just annoyance that you kn

eric i who won a pulitzer prize for his reporting on opioids at mayo and now a reporter in west virginia and the author a coal country fight against the drug companies that develop the opioid epidemic. patrick, let me start with you in your devastating, absolutely devastating portrait of the family and their role in that opioid epidemic. can you give us a brief description of empire of pain and tell us what led you to write this book. >> absolutely first of i'm really humbled and honored to share a panel with the two of you and who have written such amazing stuff on this issue, the opioid crisis is so big as an issue that i feel different parts of it have been worked over by people in different ways there's great books on opioid crisis i wanted to look closely at the perpetrators so i was very interested in the family who owned purdue pharma connecticut pharmaceutical company that a lot of people with the tip of this. of the crisis the drug that started this on the road to where we are today. it is not in opioid crisis per se it's a broad look of three generations of the families of fami

here's the thing was with warren, can't get elected in west virginia. joe mansion probably couldn't get elected as a democrat in massachusetts. that's why we need to think that in probably the most truth, however, i think that that's accurate, but i think that's why we have to have a big tent party and break everybody in. and i think the democrats are doing that, you know, look, you know, i know the senator and i know a lot of folks across the way and, and when i have spent time with him, i've had other democrats come to me and say, are you gonna go take a shower now after, after your time with the senator mansion. ah, my question is, do you think democrats, your democratic party friends understand that that bernie sanders would not be chair of the budget committee? if you did not have that seat in west virginia, that you would not have in control off all, you know, both houses of congress and the white house. probably. if you did not have a, a person in that seat, that the fragility of presence means you have a fragility of presence. and that means tha

the sun is rising on west virginia.. so stunning it's referred to as almost heaven. ♪ almost heaven ♪ ♪ west virginia ♪ >> reporter: that classic tune "country roads" by john denver celebrating 50 years. ♪ take me home ♪ ♪ country roads ♪ a park ranger eve west has worked at new river gorge for ten years. >> it's actually considered one of the oldest rivers in the national park system. you can hike. you can river raft. you can fish. >> reporter: and it's become an international mountain biking destination. i even got to put my foot on the pedal. >> "rise & shine" west virginia. >> reporter: for a quick boost, we grabbed a pepperoni roll. >> i'm they have been discussed and they're ingrained in the dna of west virginia. >> reporter: if this father and son duo, the family recipe named grt-grandmother julia has fed west virginians for nearly 100 years. >> immigrants from italy, they would roll the sausage up in the dough and make these little s sandwich sandwiches. >> reporter: and if you closed your eyes, you can hear the

through the complexity of the issue feels impossible. >> climate change is so complicated here in west virginiae it as a direct attack on their livelihoods. but it's also interesting, too, that inaction of our business leaders and inaction of our decisionmakerers is also a direct attack on livelihoods. >> reporter: now coal -- bottom line is coal is very expensive. there are cheaper energy sources, and the industry is shedding jobs because of automation, jake, but they are holding on to this dying industry. many say the reason for that is simply because of the undiversified economy in west virginia. so, you know, even despite the impact of climate change, you heard the people in that piece say, let it flood. >> that was remarkable. rene marsh, excellent report. and it's so good to have you back. thanks for joining us. >>> a private school bans children who got the covid vaccine. yeah, you heard me right. got the vaccine. the junk science behind this bizarre move and what parents are saying. that's next. support, and 5g included in every plan, so you get it all. the u.s. government will soon rec

and manchin really doesn't like it when people from outside west virginia come into west virginia.r when vice president harris did a tv interview. do you think this is the end of it? will this completely stop the bill? >> no, look, i think that the public sparring is notable and reinforces some of the divisions that still exist among democrats over what provisions should be in this bill. but ultimately what really -- what this comes down to is whether or not democrats can come to some sort of agreement and can they do it by this self-imposed deadline of october 31st. >> the latest self-imposed deadline. >> missed a couple of the other ones. the white house today signaling that president biden is open to some of the proposals that senator manchin has put forward like means testing or cap on income for tax credit. also questions of whether they'll cut some of these entirely like clean energy or allow medicare to negotiate. progressives are open to not cutting programs entirely but scaling back how long they'll be funded for. so that's really what the challenge is now for biden. can h

west virginia. they now basically alone have been dragging out negotiations on the larger budget bill for weeks and weeks, with no apparent progress, and no real bottom line or finish line that either of them seem able to articulate in public. and that is why just tonight the spirit of last night's congressional baseball game took to the potomac. several of senator joe manchin's constituents from west virginia voted up to him today. they paddled a kayak up to the hospital where senator joe manchin lives when he is in washington. do you see him in the back of the boat there? the constituents are in the kayak, and in the little boat. and they have voted, is that the word? they have voted in themselves up to him to the back of his vote to talk to him, to plead to him, to get on board with the budget. to get on board with president biden's agenda. you can see here that these kayakers on his houseboat, are at one point in the video that we've seen of this, ask them where they are from. and they shut out

look how fast west virginia has moved to the right. last year west virginia 39 point win for trump. in 2012, four points in 2016 for trump and biden winning. so west virginia and arizona two completely different trajectories. >> still though clearly a very divided state. so for a senator who needs statewide approval you can make the argument that she wants to appeal to as many voters there as possible. she is hoping to keep as many republicans on her side. there are a lot of other democrats who have won in arizona in recent years. >> yeah. it is a divided state. it is a purple state. it's not a red state. if you look at arizona and you compare it to west virginia, you see that kyrsten sinema is one of a number of democrats who have won since 2018. seven. you look at west virginia, it's just joe manchin. joe manchin is literally the only democrat who can win in west virginia. and so you look at the other senator like mark kelly. he won by exactly pretty much the same margin, i think 2.35 verses 2.34. i might be a little off on that but give me credit. and if you look at that, you can

does senator manchin believe that working-class parents in west virginia and vermont should not have to pay, does he believe they should have to pay 25 or 30% of their incomes on childcare all over this country. working class are paying 20 to 30% of their incomes so that they could go out and do their jobs. are the children of this country not entitled to high quality childcare and pre-k education? did senator manchin not believe that they are entitled to affordable housing and that we shouldn't have some 600,000 people including many veterans sleeping out on the streets. and perhaps most importantly do they not believe what the scientists are telling us they have told us we are on a red alert for the work on climate change does senator manchin not believee that our children and grandchildren are entitled to live in a world that is healthy and is inhabitable. he's been critical of the $3.5 trillion proposal many of us support. we are beyond generalities with specificity what he wants and what he does not want and to explain that to the people of west virginia and america. i look forw

the town in west virginia almost wiped off the map in 2016 and this past summer parts of the state sawe flooding. from raging, deadly floods to widespread drought, west virginians over the past few years have faced weather whiplash and scientists predict it will get worse. >> it was rising about a foot an hour. >> reporter: jimmy, a retired iraq war veteran, survived the deadly 2016 west virginia flooding, but his home did not. five years later, he still is rebuilding. in the meantime, he, his wife and three dogs call this camper home. >> it is really tough with my ptsd being in such tight quarters. >> reporter: look around the small west virginia town and it is still without a grocery store, bank and elementary school, yet senator joe manchin is blocking the most aggressive climate change legislation in u.s. history. this neighborhood lost safe access to their homes after the 2016 flood weakened the foundation of this bridge and rusted it out. >> if someone dialled 911, could not come across this bridge. >> yeah, they would be afraid they wouldn't make it, that the bridge might collap

americans in west virginia are affected by that. there were a time when billionaires project basis, one of the richest people in the world not only didn't pay taxes but he got money back from the government for the deduction. so bottom line, my hope is that will get senator sinema to realize it's not so much tax increase, is justea asking folks who haven't been paying their fair share to pay their fair share. by the way, it will result in lower taxes for those minors in west virginia and vermont. >> peter welch is because, we welcome your calls and commentss 202, 7,008,001 or republican or democrat (202)748-8000 minutes and others (202)748-8002. interceptor bill has passed in the u.s. senate of the house is yet to take that and they are side-by-side with $3.5 trillion measure, ucs mistake in terms of not being able to pass the infrastructure bill as a standalone measure? >> teachers about the standalone but those numbers who are committed to passing both is essential. there coming together in my expectation, we will pass those if no

host: a lot of comments about the senator from west virginia. she writes that on august 11, he issued a statement declaring the 3.5 trillion irresponsible. north carolina, a line is up next. caller: good morning. i'm against this larger bill. i am old enough to remember, i don't think a lot of your callers do. they sound like they might be my age. joe manchin is what used to be considered a blue dog democrat. he's a john f. kennedy democrat. he does have some sanity in him. much of what he says, though he is accused of all kinds of things, there used to be a lot of democrats like him. they were pretty much in line with republicans on a lot of matters. you look back on 1960, john kennedy and richard nixon were pretty much in line. they disagreed at the fringes. john kennedy was pro-business. he was pro strong american defense. i doubt -- that's what democrats used to be. if you're looking at joe manchin, you were looking back in time. the other thing i have to say, i think the big problem is it's everything. somebody made a comment earlier about

west virginia. so what's going on, would you imagine you outside or simply don't understand this great state, talk to anyone here and they know exactly what's going on with joe mansion. he's getting west virginia the attention it deserves with his independent trick. right. well, i outside is are kind of wondering why jo, mansion keeps gutting this bill, which isn't even that great to begin with. mention is trying to end the child tax credit at $60000.00 a year. so america doesn't turn to an entitlement mentality. and there's no better way to avoid that than stoking resentment among people who make $61000.00 a year. so we're going to make working families squabble over crumbs while the rich make off like bandit. this is west virginia, make an off like it's is a well respected vocation here. just look at the management on the one hand, he doesn't want to give unemployed people money. on the other. he makes most of his, from sources that do not require him to do any work. he has been raking in hundreds

poll after poll, including polls in west virginia show what we are trying to do in this reconciliation bill enormously popular among the american people, not just the american people who support what we are trying to do, 48 after 50 members the senate democratic caucus support the bill 210 members of 96% of the house democratic office support the bill and by the way, the president of the united states in the bill. let me tell you who's vigorously opposed to this legislation it is important the american people understand that. this is corruption of american politics. pharmaceutical industry currently spends hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying, campaign contributions, advertising to oppose this bill because they do not want have the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in america. health insurance industry is spending a huge amount of money because they do not want us to expand medicare to cover dental, hearing aids and eyeglasses. fossil fuel industry, coal companies and oil companies are spending millions of dollars despite the fact scientists are virtually unanimous te

the front page of the "washington post" talking to citizens in west virginia. senator manchin's home state. and some of them upset with the proposals that senator manchin would like to see removed from any final legislation. this according to "washington post" reporting. raising kids is work is one of the quotes. from the newspaper. and they feature a couple who are raising their two grandkids, ages 10 and 17, who are benefiting from the expanded child tax credit. they are getting a monthly check because of what the biden administration, congress passed in march. and that has been relief for them. this couple that you are seeing there is another couple that's few teurd in the newspaper -- featured in the newspaper that have a small child and then they have a set of infant twins as well. here from the newspaper what they note, in west virginia, 170,000 children became newly eligible under the tax credit expansion, which was included in president biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed in march. the changes to the tax credit raised the maximum benefit from

cal perry in west virginia's capital city of charleston. what do the people of west virginia want?talk about it all the time. joe manchin is a conservative democrat. because he is in west virginia. what do voters there want? >> reporter: yeah. look. conservative democrat in west virginia means something different in the rest of the country. look at the political landscape of west virginia. this state has swung wildly to the right in the last ten, 20 years and president trump won by 70%. joe manchin has been in office since 1981. he is an institution. in this county that he won big people defer to the experience. they want him to negotiate a good deal. this is what we heard yesterday. >> i know how this works. it is like watching sausage. they'll have a bill. but we here in west virginia have to trust the representatives. i trust joe manchin. >> he's always been a mainstream conservative democrat. that's what he was when he was in the house and in the senate. and he was basically that way as governor. tight with the money. >> reporter: i'll pick up on what we heard from ashley parke

first, let us be clear, poll after poll including polls in west virginia show what we are trying to this reconciliation bill is enormously popular among the american people. it's not just the american people who support what we're trying to do. forty-eight out of 58 members of the senate democratic caucus support the bill. and 210 members about 90% support the bill. by the way the president of the united states supports the bill. while we are adequate to maintain who is vigorously opposed to this legislation. think it is important the american people understand that. this is the corruption of american politics. the pharmaceutical industry is currently spending hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying, on campaign contributions, on advertising to oppose this bill because they do not want us to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in america. the health insurance industry's many a huge amount of money because they do not want us to expand that medicare to cover it dental, hearing aids and eyeglasses. the fossil fuel industry the coal companies, the oil companies are sp

through the complexity of the issue feels impossible. >> climate change is so complicated here in west virginia because west virginians perceive it as a direct attack on their livelihoods. but it's also interesting, too, that inaction of our business leaders and inaction of our decision makers is also a direct attack on livelihoods. >> reporter: well, there are cheaper energy sources and coal has become quite expensive. this means extremely high electric bills for people in west virginia. now, the woman in the piece who said "let it flood," well, that is an example of the commitment to coal in the face of climate change. she says because historically coal has been a reliable job source, but the reality is the industry itself has been shedding jobs due to automation. it's a dying industry. now, we reached out to senator manchin's office but received no comment. rene marsh, cnn, washington. >> important piece there from rene marsh. >>> just ahead on the show, the new nba season tips off in milwaukee. the bucks get their championship ring before taking the court against the nets. sports is next. -

and what is he going to do for the incredible lovers of poverty in west virginia? what about expanding medicare? wouldn't that be good for everyone? what about lowering drug prices he says he is in favor of? what about taxing the rich which even the conservatives want? and tonight with these kayak-tivists he told them he was on board with all those things though he has been saying today he will only accept a bill less than half the size of what the president wants. somehow he tells these constituents of his that he is still onboard with all of the things they want. at one point he tells them we are on the same page. one shouts back to him no we are not. even showing up at his floating house a cheerful but persistent group. we'll follow you home. this really matters to folks in your home state. again, that was just tonight just earlier this evening and, you know, i think credit to senator manchin for engaging with them being willing to talk to them about it even if they didn't agree they were on the same page since he isn't going to vote for all the things he says h

his state west virginia is powered 91% by coal and would

west virginia voters will have his back if he votes for president biden's budget. like his constituents, west virginia voters who kayaked up to his house boat today to plead with him to support the bill, and he did, again, to his credit, have a long back-and-forth with them tonight. so that is one reason the vast majority of democrats in washington are intent on passing the president's agenda and getting it done intact and quickly. it is just superpopular with voters. it is popular in west virginia. it is popular nationwide. it is popular among democrats. it is popular among self-described republicans and conservatives. another reason most democrats want to get this done is they don't want this thing to drag on for months. they certainly don't want to pass the small roads and bridges bill and then watch the larger biden legislation, all of his other economic agenda items for his first term as president, they don't want to watch those languish in endless negotiations. with big legislation like this, delay means death. he had congresswoman ocasio-cortez here tonight,

and vaccinating our people first in west virginia.d have come out sooner because we got out so early, we were in a six month situation way before. think about this for one second, marrying: on margaret: g tuesday, we will have given and administeredary administeredevery one of our pfr vaccines -- >> brennan: you just asked the biden administration for more monoclonal antibodies, which is the treatment for people hospitalized with this virus, and they denied that. you need that because people are very sick. are you concerned your request was denied? >> of course we're concerned. it wasn't denied. it was just lowered. with all of that, margaret, the reality is the supply. the southern states just gobbled up all of the supply and everything. and, again, the biden administration is saying they're holding the bag. we need more antibodies here, but we're managing it. >> brennan: you were talking about your dispute of characterization of where you are with vaccinations, but you do seem to have hit a wall with the younger than people in your

will he stand up for american capitalism, individual litter, freedom for the people of west virginia, or if it came to the whims of the eco-socialists in the swamp in washington, d.c., and his own party? now my message to west virginians, if he caves and does the bidding of bernie sanders, he is not looking out for your interests. this build back better, new green socialist agenda, it is not going to create a single job in west virginia. as a matter of fact, say bye-bye to the coal mining industry. instead, it will obliterate the entire energy and coal industry in your state, it will destroy countless high-paying blue-collar jobs, all in the name of climate change. build back better, new green deal socialism, that is going to be a nightmare for west virginia and a nightmare for the country. here now with analysis, the host of the upcoming special, save america, kill the bill, on the fox business channel, larry kudlow is with us. this is your wheelhouse. you have lived in this world your entire adult life. analyze it from the perspective of middle-class americans, poor americans that a

trump carried west virginia by almost 40 points. that and thinks, are you kidding me? if you want me to come along on climate or drugs, have a senator from a midwestern state write a friendly op-ed about how over the years i worked with joe manchin and i work forward to working with him further. instead, it's the one guy in the senate who calls himself a socialist from vermont. lobbing this little grenade in the state. i figure it gives manchin a sense, west virginia is going to play fine. he's not taking order from bernie sanders. >> i think we were all waiting after that op-ed came out from bernie sanders for this fiery response from manchin. it was no surprise there. you have the discussion about the climate provision and whether it's going to be taken out and it sounds like the white house is going to follow that, according to our reporting from three congressional sources today, that this provision will be taken out. and i'm wondering if this puts the white house in a bit of a box or a tough situation given the fact that it's s

how folks back out in west virginia think joe manchin's doing here in washington. >>> but first the kornackithe big board breaking down some new early vote numbers for virginia's race for governor spelling out some potentially new warning signs for democrats. stay with us. ntially new warnin for democrats. stay with us ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. to unveil them to the world. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? you got it. ♪ liberty, liberty - liberty, liberty ♪ uh, i'll settle for something i can dance to. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ ♪ ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ like you, my hands are everything to me. but i was diagnosed with dupuytren's contracture. and it got to the point where things i took for granted got tougher to do. thought surgery was my only option. turns out i was wrong. so

the town in west virginia almost wiped off the map in 2016 and this past summer, parts of the state sawg. from raging deadly floods to widespread drought, west virginians over the past few years have faced weather wlip whiplash, and scientists predict it will get worse. >> it was rising about a foot an hour. >> reporter: jimmy radar, a retired iraq war veteran survived the deadly 2016 west virginia flooding but his home did not. five years later, he is still rebuilding. in the meantime, he, his wife, and three dogs call this camper home. >> it's really tough with my ptsd. um, being in such tight quarters. >> reporter: look around the small west virginia town and it's still without a grocery store, bank, and elementary school. yet, senator joe manchin is agg climate change legislation in u.s. history. this neighborhood lost safe access to their homes after the 2016 flood weakened the foundation of this bridge and rusted it out. >> if someone dialed 9-1-1, could not come across this bridge. >> yeah, they'd be afraid they wouldn't make it, that the bridge might collapse. >> reporter: this

bernie sanders are writing an op-ed in west virginia trying to communicate directly with west virginiansda to them. no one likes it when another senator comes into their home state. senator sanders is saying we're talking about the pharmaceutical industry, we're talking about helping children, making your medication cheaper, so democrats are trying to find ways to get that message to constituents. the question is, can they get on the same page and pass something in the next couple of weeks heading into maybe the end of this year. >> david and libby, thank you both very much. when we come back, we go where "the daily show" is going, including inside the mind of some maga fans. >> wouldn't trump be reinstated as president? >> he's never left. there's no doubt in my mind. >> and steve bannon takes his cues from trump and there's no pardon that can save him this time. we are tracking the contempt vote happening tonight in the committee room. steve schmidt is here on all of it next. blood pres a cold is not just a cold. unlike other cold medicines, coricidin provides powerful cold relief with

all over west virginia. >> morgantown! >> god bless you. >> thanks for coming out. >> we are working on it, we really are. we are going to continue. we are going to get a good bill, and i know it won't be enough for [ inaudible ]. >> there's a lot of poverty. >> there's a ton of poverty. >> we are doing everything we can to [ inaudible ]. >> we're counting on you, senator. we're counting on you, senator. >> out there with boats and kay aks. joining us now, ali vitali, heather cagle, and former senior adviser to joe manchin, jonathan kott, welcome to the three of you. ali, we learned last hour that president biden is headed to the hill to meet with the house democratic caucus. what does that suggest, might a deal be imminent here? >> we're not at the imminent deal stage yet. certainly it shows a ramping up from the white house, president biden ran as somebody who could get things done and show how washington could work. his pitch was bringing republicans and democrats along. certainly the story of his presidency at least th

right now i think you hope he stands up for west virginia. this is not a good policy for west virginia. >> harris: it is interesting to see billionaire jumps in. nobody understands what the voters want except for the people in their constituents, right. the president trying to throw on tapestry and outside money and they just want what's best for their state in west virginia as you pointed out. jason, always great to have you in "focus." thank you. >> thank you. >> harris: more backlash against the d.o.j. targeting parents. now two state school boards say they had nothing to do with that letter pleading for federal protection for fr* moms at meetings. uh-huh. joe concha weighs in. inflation nation in "focus." the supply chain crisis taking a toll in stores and at the pump. come on, you see it. this is in our hands as the people. we have see the money flowing away from us. companies and consumers feeling the pinch and the future is not looking much better. we dig in. >> we're seeing a shipping crisis like we've never seen before. every step of

there's a joke that goes around west virginia that next to coal, the number one export in west virginia is humans. are people leaving? there's a brain drain happening here. 17% of folks live below the poverty line. it's a very serious issue. i think that is the key issue and those are the things that you hear from the biden administration. states like west virginia are poised to benefit the most from these bills, frankly. >> coal, big issue there. >> eugene, nine republicans voted with democrats to refer former trump adviser steve bannon to the justice department for potential contempt charges over his refusal to cooperate with a house january 6th committee. where does this process go from here? >> and now this process goes to the department of justice, right? they have to decide whether or not they're going to seek charges against steve bannon, and that is something that everyone is trying to figure out, what's going to happen there? it's important for folks to remember that no matter what ends up happening, if merrick garland makes the decision to go after steve bannon and we go throu

by monday morning, was the top trending piece in west virginia's capital city which by monday morningon the website, in it, he argued for the plan that is backed by president biden and the vast majority of congressional democrats as the central legislation that would benefit west virginians. let's hear from gwen in detroit. it's democrats only this first hour. good morning, gwen. >> caller: good morning. i agree with bernie sanders. someone needs to stand toe to toe with joe biden -- i mean with joe manchin. but also i believe that the -- they shouldn't go no lower than 1.9 trillion. because of so much that has to be done and i believe that bernie and the progressives, all it takes the one of them. just like manchin and sinema, it takes one of them to say, we're not going to budge. thank you. >> one of the follow-ups to that story between joe manchin and bernie sanders is from "the hill" and in that story the headline of that story on the money, it all comes down to bernie and joe and they write that senator manchin told democratic colleagues that he will work with bernie sanders and

i just -- i really -- first i want to say west virginia is such an incredibly beautiful state. i want to just ask west virginians and arizonans, why would their reps, why would senator manchin be voting against a two-year community college for people who can't access? free k for children. internet on the back roads of west virginia. when you look at the scales, when you look at the charts and 50 being the worst out of 50 states, health care is at 47. close to the bottom in west virginia. education, 45 out of 50 being the worst. the economy is 48. infrastructure, 50. so how is it that senator manchin and senator sinema can really stand in the way of what's best for their constituents? i would encourage people who have internet, a lot of back roads in west virginia don't have internet, some people can't afford it, people should google, use your google machine as joe scarborough scawls it, who is backing senator sinema and senator man manchin in regards to big corporate money. this infrastructure bill will be for the constituents or the majority of americans. and voters should real

if we look at the offices that democrats have won in west virginia.c instruction, so much different from west virginia where joe manchin's the only democrat who represents that state statewide. and you know, i think this may in fact put kyrsten sinema in danger of a primary challenge. here's the reason why -- if you look at the idealogy of registered democrats in the state of west virginia versus arizona versus nationwide, look at that -- arizona, the registered democrats are actually slightly more liberal than they are in the u.s. versus in west virginia they're considerably more moderate and conservative. and the one other thing i'll note is kyrsten sinema likes to hold herself up as the new john mccain. you know, john mccain was this maverick. here's the thing to keep in mind -- yes, john mccain didn't always vote with his party, but if we flip more to the last slide, you see he voted with 85% of the time. kyrsten sinema votes with it just 69% of the time. she's completely different than john mccain when it comes to voting with her party. >> we'll

west virginia represents -- the population of west virginia is 1.79 million people and you have one senatorlling climate change for the entire country. >> that's what's happened and it's very difficult when you have a 50-vote margin. senator manchin is personally involved in the coal and gas industry in west virginia, and he has that power. the only person who can deal with him in any effective manner will be president biden, because west virginia needs the help of the united states government and the president and senator manchin needs some good relationship with president biden. so president biden is going to have sit down with he and senator sinema, who i believe he has been dealing with, i'm not sure what he can do with her. maybe something to do with -- i don't want to get into it. she's an unknown factor. but this is for president biden to deal with, not for speaker pelosi, not for senator schumer, and certainly not for any other group of house members. >> congressman, how disappointed are you that this could go by the wayside here? and also, to kendis' question in a previous segment

he's got that almost west virginia west virginia john den ferre reference on the boat there.g down on constituents who are begging him to move forward with his party on this. and what we were talking about, not specifying which programs he prefers or doesn't prefer, his statements make it look like he's just sort of preventing his own party from getting the president's agenda passed. that said, senator manchin knows he's probably the only democrat who can get elected statewide in west virginia. i doubt he's sweating over that footage there. >> david swerdlick, always good to see you. thanks for joining us on this happy saturday. thank you. >>> all right. another moderate democrat at the center of the negotiations is senator kyrsten sinema from arizona and she's had multiple meetings with president biden and white house staffers in recent days. cnn's sunlen serfaty now takes a closer look at how this first-term senator who entered politics as an anti-war green party activist has since become a thorn in nancy pelosi's side. >> reporter: arizona freshman senator kyrsten sinema,