Bill McKibben on Joe Manchin

“these people who own fossil fuels are powerful players in our political world. Until recently, ExxonMobil was the biggest company on Earth. Entire nations - Russia or Saudi Arabia, say - are essentially petro-states, deriving most of their revenue and power from hydrocarbons. The biggest political donors in American history, the Koch brothers, were also the country's biggest oil and gas barons; United States Senator Joe Manchin, who has taken more political donations from the fossil fuel industry than anyone else in Washington and personally has millions invested in coal, was single-handedly able to rewrite climate legislation in 2021.”

“Manchin is the perfect example of how Big Oil works. He’s taken more money than any other senator from the fossil fuel industry...There was that sting videotape released a couple of weeks ago where Exxon’s chief lobbyist reported talking to him every week and calling him their “kingmaker.” There was a report yesterday that Manchin spent part of September huddled with all the leading coal barons at a golf resort someplace, where they played a Civil War - themed golf tournament in between speeches.”