Clyburn Plans To School Manchin After Senator Vowed To Keep Filibuster In Place | Talking Points Memo

Adolph’s meat tenderizer. The last time since the end of World War II when Hitler made his ignominious end in his bunker that the name Adolph was used in a positive manner.

I wish the press would stop referring to Manchin as a “moderate” Democrat. He’s a right-wing skunk who is more concerned about pleasing his friends in the Republican party than the party that brought him to the table.

He’s the Joe Lieberman of the day.

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I hope your headline writer got a little thrill out of putting the word “school” at the top of the article. Without Manchin, Moscow Mitch is still running the Senate. If he has to do a little backing and filling to show that he tried to be bi-partisan, that’s what he’ll do. These public statements are window dressing. And no, there aren’t any pockets of leftists 8n West Virginia to lure to the polls.

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Normally, I’m in favor of giving various Democrats a great bit of leeway in what they say or even how they vote because they typically know best how to preserve their seat, but HR1 is existential.

While I realize every seat is critical in a 50-50 Senate, if we don’t pass voter reform, we’re utterly screwed because of grossly undemocratic actions. If Manchin and Sinema can’t or won’t see that, I’m inclined to throw them overboard for better Democrats. That means no support and no funding for their next campaign. I might give them another few months to come around, only because I don’t want Manchin to become an official Republican just yet.

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I heard this couple of days ago on TV. I tried to – impossibly – try to imagine how Clyburn could handle it. He can’t lecture Manchin, can’t sermonize him. That would cause Manchin to harden his position.
Someone here alluded to Manchin’s and Sinema’s role in our history.
Who would want to be remembered as one who voted against SS or Medicare or voting rights? With an emasculated filibuster and infrastructure they could be part of some seismic changes that would inure all to the good including that of their constituents.

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First of all, Clyburn is a very careful person

Second, as @cervantes noted above, Clyburn did not use the demeaning word “schooling”.

Third, Biden is more aware than any of us what will happen without passing the VR Bill

Fourth, Biden saying anything to Manchin will not involve the drama we are talking about

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In an op-ed published in the Washington Post last week, Manchin, a moderate Democrat who plays a key role in the 50-50 Senate, argued that the filibuster, a Senate procedure that requires 60 votes to pass legislation, is “a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic form of government.”

emphasized text

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Well when you put that way, they all sound bad. :grinning:

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If the shoe fits…

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If it had been a republican, that would have been extra turnout for him among a cacophony of screams about fake news… Which is not the way I want democratic legislators to be, but is another structural way the democrats are disadvantaged.

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There has got to be national engagement on both the Infrastrusture Bill and the VR Bill. There are more Americans who want both.

If we let this be a tug of war between the seditionists of the GOP Senate and the Dems on the other side, we will have lost the initiative on this fight.

The Infrastructure Bill and the Voting Rights Bill have got to be a “BY POPULAR DEMAND” set of items. Without popular demand, it’s playing the Game on GOP turf…

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He doesn’t solely dictate anything. It is usual in legislatures that you need over 50% of votes to advance legislation. It would be the 50 Republican Senators and Manchin dictating to the rest of the country. Granted, that 40% of the population is dictating to the other 60% is wrong.

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That is a guaranteed GOP Senate seat for WV. Either in the next election or when Manchin switches parties.

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Shelley Capito is the first Republican Senator from West Virginia since 1958. All of the others, including Manchin, have been members of the Democratic Party.

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Joe Lieberman was from Connecticut.

Manchin is from West Fucking Virginia.

Why does this not seem to compute for so many people on this site? It’s fair to wish that he would throw away his career in order to do what’s right, but the notion that there is any chance whatsoever that someone better than him will or could have taken his place is delusional.

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The “schooling” has to be done in private, behind closed doors, not out in public. Trying to pressure, lecture, preach at, or threaten Manchin in public will only cause him to dig in his heels–to “stand up” outsiders who don’t value “West Virginia values” (specially if those “outsiders” have black skins or are liberals).

The best pressure of all will be in the form of earmarks that Manchin can brag about as bringing jobs and money to West Virginia–the old Robert Byrd stuff. That and things that will appeal to Manchin’s ego. West Virginia is going to have to get federal goodies far out of proportion to its population. (Considering the state’s poverty and the extent to which it’s been raped by environmental degradation, that’s not unreasonable–especially if West Virginia gets far more than, say, Kentucky or Tennessee.)

I doubt whether Manchin can be persuaded to strike down the filibuster on voting-rights/civil-rights grounds. That will mean very little to West Virginia voters. He (and they) are basically transactional operators.

If Manchin can be brought around, Sinema was be a pushover.

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Clyburn talks about filibuster abuse as a way to disenfranchise minority voters while the GOPers co-opt that with whining that they are the real minority and that the filibuster is meant to protect them. The messaging that works on Manchin and Sinema shouldn’t be at all difficult. Filibuster abuse has always been a way to make voting more difficult for minority voters. End of story. Manchin knows this is true. Clyburn knows that Manchin knows this is true and will remind him of that in this upcoming meeting. Hoping it works to drag the Senator kicking and screaming into the future.

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Then we can reasonably expect the population to reduce itself due to unfitness.

The title of this story spooked me.
Nothing else
People are talking

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i was being diplomatic a month ago, suggesting biden needs to find his inner lbj re: manchin.
far as I’m concerned now, clyburn needs to this cat’s ass into outer space.