Hey, everyone, it's Audie Cornish and a quick heads up if you're hearing this episode

after Tuesday evening.

We produced it Tuesday afternoon.

And that night, news broke that the White House and Republican Senator Shelley Moore

Capito of West Virginia had ended negotiations over the president's infrastructure proposal.

The White House is reportedly shifting to talks with a different bipartisan group of lawmakers.

That means in a way we have an answer to the question in the title of this episode on

this phase of infrastructure talks, the path through West Virginia was in fact a dead end.

Anyway, that's the context you need to understand this episode, which was produced before

that news.

So thanks for listening, and here's the show.

Right now, a lot of big democratic ideas are running into partisan gridlock.

Ideas such as immigration reform, gun control, and President Biden's massive infrastructure

proposal.

Joining us now, the man in the middle on Capitol Hill, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.

Standing in between President Joe Biden, his fellow Democrats and much of their progressive

wish list is one of their own, who's been called, quote, the other Joe with veto power.

West Virginia's Joe Manchin has repeatedly said he doesn't want to eliminate the Senate

filibuster, which would allow Democrats to pass major legislation without Republicans.

I don't want to be in a country's divide any further than I'm in right now.

I love my country.

And I think my Democrat and Republican colleagues feel the same.

...