Joe Manchin has written an op-ed in the Wapo saying he will uphold the filibuster
Here’s Manchin’s op-ed. An excerpt:
The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input [from smaller states such as West Virginia] and our democratic form of government. That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt: There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster. The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation.
More at the link.
Also, I’d change that first sentence in the Manchin quote and have it read “and our republican form of government” rather than “democratic form of government.” But I think I understand why Manchin wrote it the way he did – so many people don’t know the definitions of those terms, and so many people also confuse the small “d” and small “r” forms of the words with the parties that have been given those names.
So, do I believe that Manchin will keep his word?
Maybe. How’s that for hedging? After all, Manchin has made promises before that he didn’t keep, always moving in the direction of voting with the left in the end, if his vote mattered. However, although I recall in the past him making statements that he’d vote in certain conservative ways on this issue or that issue and then breaking his word, I can’t recall him ever taking an unequivocal-sounding stand like this on it in a major newspaper prior to the vote.
That doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind if they offer him enough to do it, or threaten him enough. But in this case the subject matter of the vote also directly affects his own power. Right now, with the existence of the filibuster, he’s practically king of the Senate. If he votes to remove the filibuster, he’s just another one of the Democrats. Which will he choose?
What’s more, right now Manchin may be acting as a screen for other Democrats who may have doubts about killing the filibuster. I don’t know whether these people exist – although Sinema may be one of them – but I don’t rule it out.
Of course, we can never assume that all the GOP senators will vote to preserve the filibuster. However, I can’t see that it would be in the interests of anyone in the GOP to get rid of the filibuster – short of being offered a substantial financial bribe.
Actually, Manchin himself has been bribed with his wife’s new job, but that doesn’t seem to have been enough. Is he now just haggling over the price? Or does he mean what he says?
The fate of the republic may rest on it. If Joe Manchin is the only thing standing between us and tyranny, we are in extremely dire shape (something I believe anyway, Manchin or not).
I hate to have reached this level of cynicism, but unfortunately there are reasons for it.
I fear he can cause a civil war if he weavers.
How Joe Manchin can be a democrat in a state where coal mining (and coal fired electric power plants) are important to W.Virginia’s economy, totally escapes me.
The democrats make no bones about eliminating coal as a viable fuel source here in the USA. This will eliminate thousands of jobs, but hey, since when do democrats care about jobs or average citizens?
Just as an aside, China and India are building HUNDREDS of coal fired power plants to generate electricity. China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world.
If the USA and Europe achieved their CO2 goals (whatever the phony baloney goals are), it would be more than offset by India and China’s increase in CO2.
During one of Trump’s SOTU addresses, in which he touted his energy independence policies , Manchin stood up to applaud (as did all Republicans). He, Manchin, was immediately ordered to sit down and stop clapping by Chucky Schumer of Manhattan (another politician who never in his entire adult life has held a real job).
Manchin dutifully sat down and stopped clapping.
Got to say, that was one pathetic act by Joe Manchin.
Got to hand it to the demonkrats though; they rarely break ranks.
Shorter Manchin:
“The bribe had better be enormous.”
If he votes to end the filibuster, he’ll lose his next election. His state is WAY too red for him to pull that off.
I Callahan,
Manchin won’t run again.
The way I see it, the Democrats aren’t going to need Manchin after November 2022. Given the seats they have to defend, the GOP is sure to end up with fewer than 48 seats, and maybe as few as 45 if they can’t stop mail in vote fraud.
Yancey Ward:
Certainly possible. Maybe even likely. I am far from optimistic. But if things get bad enough under the Democrats, perhaps not.
2010 midterm elections: R+63 in the House, R+6 in the Senate.
Similar circumstances – massive raid on the Treasury spurred Tea Party and R takeover of the Congress.
I believe Manchin on this. It is a highly visible, unhedged, unequivocal statement: “There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster.”
Yes, Neo is cynical; so are we all. But what part of the word NO is subject to alteration?
As to tyranny, we are living under it now.
Dems threaten him? With what? A change or loss of committee assignments? a BLM attack? Blacks are 3.6% of his state’s population, and that state won’t put up with that crap.
Good for Joe Manchin.
Better Manchin than Mittens.
In 2020, Trump carried WVa by a 42% margin.
Puke Alert!
Here is what http://www.msn.com has to say about Manchin: “Perhaps most significantly, he has been one of the staunchest supporters of the filibuster, a legislative trick that Republicans can use to stop Democrats from protecting voter rights, fighting systemic racism, advancing LGBTQ causes and combating climate change.”
John Tyler- yes, I’ll never forget that SOTU incident. It told me all I needed to know about Manchin. All it took was one severe glance from Schumer to make Manchin stop applauding and drop obediently back into his seat.
Has he commented on packing the SC yet? Another bad, very bad idea of the Dems.
On the issue of the filibuster, I suspect that Manchin will stand firm. But I won’t be surprised to be proven wrong.
The irony here is that Manchin, if he prevents the elimination of the filibuster will have saved the democrats from going too far.
The democrats are skating on far thinner ice than they imagine.
Joe Manchin wants something and it’s not retention of the filibuster as a means to protect some sort of political principle. Likely something for his constituents, pork barrel projects, and a bit of the vig for himself. What matters most is retaining his position and enriching himself. He’s proved as much during his tenure.
He doesn’t reveal these details but I’m sure Schumer knows.
Cicero at 6:19;
“Dems threaten him? With what? ”
Easy; the demonkrat power brokers will not support him for re-election and select somebody else to install as Senator (you don’t think that any Senatorial Election going forward will be honest, do you ?). They can spend all campaign money on a leftist candidate they select; not Manchin.
Just look at what the demokrat big whigs are doing to Andy Cuomo. For whatever reason they want him gone now for misbehavior that began – and which everybody knew about – when he was with HUD in Washington, DC.
So, the big wigs already knew the dirt on Cuomo from way back, but everybody was hush hush about it.
Why eliminate him now?
Who knows?
@Cicero–um, “read my lips: no new taxes”. That no was not a no. Didn’t end so well…
@tina:
Yes, that cost George HW Bush re-election. The Bushs, always trying to pacify the other side instead of regarding them as the enemy they are. George W took off his shoes to visit a DC mosque.
@JohnTyler:
must I repeat myself? Trump won WVa in 2020 with a 42% margin. Those coal-mining hillbillies will not cave in to a ‘Krat for Senate in place of Manchin.
I agree with Cicero on the replacement-of-Manchin-with-a-Democrat thing: the state has a Republican governor, who (if I understand things correctly) would be responsible for replacing Manchin if Manchin could not complete his term. So assassination (not to put too fine a point on it) is out. And the HUGE margin of R-to-D in WV makes sufficient voter fraud hard to pull off if he did complete his term but was primaried by a more… malleable, shall we say, Democrat.
My husband points out that if the D’s push Manchin too far, he could just switch parties – or threaten to; that threat is also the threat to put McConnell back in the Senate driver’s seat and Republicans back in control of the Senate. Now, he’s never hinted that he would consider changing sides, but the threat to do so would certainly get them off his back.
I’d like to believe he has the courage of his convictions. But I’ll settle for a strong negotiating position if I have to.
Neo… your cynicism is well-deserved.
I’m thinking it’s worse than that.