Schumer received $302,000; Manchin $60,000 from one company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline

[W_HAMILTON]

10. And we Democrats are not the "Pipeline Party."

But we are the responsible party that gets things done, which, in this case, meant promising Manchin to act on this particular pipeline in exchange for his vote last year to pass the most expansive climate change in our nation's history. So, would you have preferred that legislation not pass instead?

Once again, being in the responsible party means making tough choices. The choice made in this situation: securing the largest federal clean energy investment in U.S history in exchange for removing some legal hurdles for one particular pipeline. I'd say it's worth it, because in reality, a purist approach given the nature of our government is the quickest way to get absolutely nothing done.

Furthermore, the agreement can still be challenged in court, except now the jurisdiction has been moved to U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which currently looks to be controlled by Democratic-appointed judges (10-7).

So, yeah. You might have not heard the last of the issue.

Those that criticize Biden making deals like this might want to look into the details more often and maybe give him more credit than they do. And, once again, realize that an all-or-nothing approach in our current government is a quick way to end up having served a decades-long career without accomplishing anything of significance other than "sticking to your principles" that entire time.

Once again, it's not called perfection -- it's called progress.