Joe Manchin, unlikely hero of the republic?
I’ve never been a Manchin admirer, and I don’t much trust him. But so far he’s been keeping the total power play of leftism at bay.
The left needs him in order to enact their full legislative agenda, and he’s still saying he won’t be a party to it because he plans to vote “no” on HR1 as well as “no” to ending the filibuster:
…[C]ongressional action on federal voting rights legislation must be the result of both Democrats and Republicans coming together to find a pathway forward or we risk further dividing and destroying the republic we swore to protect and defend as elected officials.
Democrats in Congress have proposed a sweeping election reform bill called the For the People Act. This more than 800-page bill has garnered zero Republican support. Why? Are the very Republican senators who voted to impeach Trump because of actions that led to an attack on our democracy unwilling to support actions to strengthen our democracy? Are these same senators, whom many in my party applauded for their courage, now threats to the very democracy we seek to protect?
The truth, I would argue, is that voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen.
With that in mind, some Democrats have again proposed eliminating the Senate filibuster rule in order to pass the For the People Act with only Democratic support. They’ve attempted to demonize the filibuster and conveniently ignore how it has been critical to protecting the rights of Democrats in the past.
Manchin’s fellow Democrats of the leftist variety (which is almost all of them) must really, really hate him. Let’s hope this pledge isn’t just a ploy by Manchin to gain some favors from the Democratic leadership before he caves.
But we can’t afford to rely on the good graces of Joe Manchin. The defeat of HR1 may give the right a little extra time to maneuver, but if the 2022 election doesn’t return Congress to Republican control, and if the Republicans don’t cocnsolidate some of their newfound fighting spirit, it’s just a matter of time before the left manages to get enough people into office to finally change the rules in order to cement their long-term and perhaps even permanent power.
Manchin’s refusing to cooperate in passing legislation that would institutionalize systematic vote fraud all over the country. For this he’s skewered by the likes of David Frum. Do you ever get the impression that Frum has spent thirty years just amusing himself, and never had any principles at any time?
“I’ve never been a Manchin admirer, and I don’t much trust him”
Keep that thought firmly in top-of-mind.
So far, if with some exceptions, Manchin’s been admirable.
In the current instance, he’s been magnificent.
And he (and Krysten Sinema) will be paying a heavy price for holding fast courageously (thus far) to their convictions as they face an enraged, vitriolic and—it has to be said—pathological Democratic Party.
Here’s Turley on the overall filibuster issue, its importance and its ramifications—oh, and the history of Democratic Party support for it when they were the minority party (not so anti-American and not so insatiable for total power and control):
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ideal-rule-age-rage-critics-may-be-making-best-argument-keeping-filibuster
Manchin represents what has become one of the most conservative and Republican states in America. If he yielded to the left either on HR1 or ending the filibuster, his political career in West Virginia would be over, period. He knows this and I think this plays a significant role in his decisions.
That said, he is almost 74 and will be 77 when he is up for re-election. Thus, it’s possible there is some carrot juicy enough to get him to throw away his electoral future and reputation back in the Mountain State. Maybe not, but it’s definitely a cause for concern…more so than if he were 20+ years younger.
I don’t trust him. I expect him to cave.
I recall the rumors from around the time of Manchin’s last election that he was sick of the Senate and wanted to quit and run for his old position as governor of West Virginia. The story was that Democrats convinced him to run again because he was the only D who could hold the seat.
He doesn’t really strike me as the type who wants to be a DC lobbyist for life. Let’s hope he’s planning a peaceful retirement back home. West Virginia is a beautiful state. I can’t get imagine that he’d want to go home as the man who unleashed the progressive apocalypse.
We can hope.
According to this he lives in a houseboat in DC and dreams about sailing it up the river back to West Virginia.
https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/02/22/joe-manchins-houseboat-5-things/
Either one of them could cave on either issue. I don’t get the sense that Manchin is doing if for the attention, though. What worries me more than Manchin or Sinema changing their vote is the old, oozing prospect of spineless Republicans, not showing up for the vote or pulling some other craven stunt that passively relinquishes the field without contest. I could see that happening. We still have plenty of psuedo-Republican establishment types in office.
Of course, there’s always Glenn Greenwald’s ‘Rotating Villain’ theory of politics:
“In American Democracy, when the majority party has enough votes to pass populist legislation, party leaders designate a scapegoat who will refuse to vote with the party thereby killing the legislation.
The opposition is otherwise inexplicable and typically comes from someone who is safe of not up for re-election. This allows for maximum diffusion of responsibility.”
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1401876461905231879
Greenwald says:
If Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema weren’t blocking all the lovely and wonderful things the Democratic Party pretends it wants to do, they would just have other Senators doing it instead. Anyone who doesn’t know this understands nothing about how that party functions
The problem with Greenwald’s thesis is that the ‘For the People’ rubbish isn’t ‘populist’ legislation. It’s legislation to generate a massive crime wave.
Aggie:
Something of the sort occurred to me as a possibility, but this time I don’t think that’s it. I think the Democrats are serious about passing these things.
Joe Manchin; Profile in Courage or Traitor?
Yes traitor because any Senator who votes for HR1 or to end the Filibuster declares their support for treason when they vote to eviscerate the Constitution. As passing HR1 and/or ending the Filibuster will put an end to a Constitution on life support.
To slightly paraphrase Sir John Harrington, “Why doth treason never prosper?… Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
The democrat party is like the kid in the marshmallow experiment who eats the single marshmallow now rather than wait a few minutes to get 2 of them. They don’t remember how doing away with the filibuster for USSC justices bit them in the hindquarters during PDJT’s presidency, as they thought that they had the presidency in the bag for the foreseeable future. They now think that the Rs will never be in the majority, not noticing recently changed voting patters and a fired-up conservative populace for 2022 and beyond. Not even HR1 will let them keep the majority in the House, and they will thank Sen Manchin if only reluctantly when the Rs take over, as they will.
Sen. Manchin has IMMENSE power while the Filibuster rule is in effect. With a divided Senate his single vote can decide things.
If the Filibuster is ended … so is his influence. Even in a divided Senate, but with Romney and Collins and Murkowski, his traction is useless.
Why should he give up that power?
Whatever Manchin is – he’s not a Bernie/Pocahontas, Squad Squid Lefty.
“Do you ever get the impression that Frum has spent thirty years just amusing himself, and never had any principles at any time?”
The Late Great Jerry Pournelle called him the ‘Egregious Frum’ in print — pretty sure that’s not all that he called him off the record.
Manchin is just holding out for more favours + grandstanding. Unless his constituents start taking long range pot shots at him, he’ll continue to betray them whenever expedient.
I’m not as optimistic. They’re proved that they can steal an election and that nothing will be done about it by the DOJ or the Supreme Court or the Republicans in Congress. Who will rise up? I doubt any one will. The government is being run by someone, perhaps Obama’s people, perhaps the Deep State. We don’t really have a president, and they’re proved we really don’t need one.
Yes traitor because any Senator who votes for HR1 or to end the Filibuster
Again, the filibuster is hardly necessary and legislative bodies the world over get along without any such implement. Our real problem is (1) the Democratic Party is a criminal organization and (2) our judiciary is half composed of those complicit in the criminality and half composed of those who are chronically ineffectual and do nothing about the criminality. We’re banking on the filibuster and a few dissident Democrats because that’s what we have. Note, the Republican caucuses put the likes of Kevin McCarthy and Bitch McConnell in charge. It’s a reasonable calculation that about 70% of them aren’t worth a pitcher of warm spit; they’re just not engaged in anything directly criminal apart from the usual bribe-taking.
“Who will rise up?”
There has been quite a bit of activity lately, which of course the Democrats and their media apparatchiks have been falling over themselves trying to squelch. (Goes without saying—“Transparency”(TM))
Arizona has been showing some signs of life in spite of massive Democratic Party and DOJ stonewalling (almost as massive as the election fraud itself); and Georgia’s starting to wake up:
https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/454726/
Soon, the “But-we-stole-this-election-fair-and-square” argument (followed by, “and you RACISTS have no legal or moral right to take it away from us!”) will be all the Democrats have left….
Related:
“Progressives get vicious…”
http://jewishworldreview.com/0621/lowry060821.php3
How would Manchin allow the passage of HR1? wouldn’t he first have to vote to eliminate the filibuster because HR1 is not a spending bill?
Manchin has chosen (or has been chosen, if Greenwald’s thesis is correct) to act a lightning rod to prevent the Democratic quasi-majority from enacting a thoroughgoingly progressive agenda, but it’s pretty clear that there are at least four or five other Democratic senators who are not on board with that agenda, although they are keeping a lower profile. There was an article about Tester in today’s WSJ, for example. So it’s not really one man stopping the flood. Furthermore, Manchin (and Sinema, and Tester, and whoever) know perfectly well that the woke agenda isn’t terribly popular back home, so it isn’t some act of extraordinary political courage for them to assist in blocking it.
NYT again (sigh).
This has been getting a lot of attention:
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/06/08/nyts-mara-gay-seeing-trucks-with-u-s-flags-disturbing-calls-for-separating-americanness-america-from-whiteness/
Always searching for the next rabbit hole…
We still have plenty of psuedo-Republican establishment types in office.
The squish / vain fool caucus has about seven core members.
NYT again …..
I drove through the Navajo Nation and I saw American Flags everywhere. Mara Gay needs to take a deep breath and breathe. Some people in States are very focused on being a victim that they forget they have a great job, are on TV, and have a lot to be thankful for in their life. Still, a bit out of touch.
Some people in States are very focused on being a victim that they forget they have a great job, are on TV, and have a lot to be thankful for in their life.
Joseph Epstein recounted one time how he came to abandon the left. It wasn’t a gradual process. There came a time in 1977 where he said he resolved to stop complaining. He had a wife he adored, work that kept him engaged, and he liked where he lived. Realizing that was enough.