Opinion | The Manchin Permitting Watch

More than a month has passed since Sen. Joe Manchin announced he cut a super-secret side deal on permitting reform with Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Not to be impatient, but . . . where is it? The biggest news on this topic in Washington is the list of Democrats who are now lining up to throw Mr. Manchin under a subsidized electric bus.

Sen. Bernie Sanders was the latest in a Thursday speech. “I rise this morning to express my strong opposition to the so-called side deal that the fossil-fuel industry is pushing to make it easier for them to pollute the environment and destroy our planet,” he said, with all the modesty of socialism. “At a time when climate change is threatening the very existence of our planet, why would anybody be talking about substantially increasing carbon emissions and expanding fossil-fuel production?”