My problem is Manchin’s definition of bipartisan. For most of the Democratic issues, from gun control to freedom of choice to voting rights, the majority of Americans - Democrats, Republicans, Independents - support the Democratic initiatives. Manchin defines bipartisan as “at least 10 Republican Senators.” These people are committed to ensuring that anything proposed by the Democrats fails and not to governing the nation. Manchin needs to rethink his definition.
7 Likes
Manchin sees it as Congressional bipartisanship—not constituent-based bipartisanship.
And he’s incredibly wrong about it.
.
12 Likes
While some elements of the Voting Rights Act could have bipartisan support, Toomey said, “there’s a fundamental challenge” in that “Republicans don’t think we should federalize election law.”
This is indeed the challenge in passing S1. State’s rights, and all. When it comes to upholding our “experiment” with democracy, I honestly believe that embracing 50 different systems of voting, each system with its own requirements for voter registration and participation, that is the perfect recipe for the failure of that experiment. Voting is an American right, not subject to 50 separate interpretations of who, how, and why that right should/will be granted to American citizens. Federal control and implementation of voting seems, to me, to be a critical element in the preservation and protection of our democracy.
7 Likes
The Senate today will achieve an important milestone:
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 8, 2021
We will confirm the first of many judicial appointments during The Biden Administration.
12 Likes
Up to now I’ve been cutting Manchin some slack, while opposing putting him under enough public pressure of the sort that might make him pick up his marbles and switch to the Republican caucus, thus putting the Senate under McConnell’s control. I think that this cautious, behind-the-scenes strategy has been Biden’s and Schumer’s game.
Now I’m shifting ground. Yes, Schumer should do what he’s apparently planning: Bring up a bunch of bills (on voting rights and infrastructure) and dare Manchin (and Manchin’s mini-me, Sinema) to vote against them. But that effort will probably fail. By early fall, I think the Dems need to move to a new operation.
They’ll have to accept that none of Biden’s and the progressives’ agenda is going to get enacted, and that the sole accomplishment of Biden’s first two years is what we already have: the Recovery Act and stopping (so far) the covid pandemic. They’ll have to switch to an all-out War for the Defense of Democracy. And at that point, Manchin and Sinema will have to be targeted as part of the enemy-of-democracy camp, along with every last Republican politician who supports filibustering and vote-suppression. President Biden and Vice-President Harris will have to be very visible in that war. And make sure that foreign “autocracy,” foreign “totalitarianism,” foreign “dictatorship” is branded as part of the enemy, with which the Republican Party is aligned (either overtly or covertly). If attacking Manchin and Sinema drives them into McConnell’s caucus, well, so be it. McConnell will be one of the biggest enemy targets whom we’ll have to target, along with Trump.
Make the '22 elections about defending democracy, and tell it like it is: Democracy is on the ropes. The only way to save democracy itself is to inflict a crushing defeat on the Republican Party as it now exists. Get the Never-Trumper Republicans to join the fight: if the anti-democratic parts of the Trumpified GOP goes down to defeat, the Never-Trumpers can promise to go back to a Republican Party purged of trumpery and be a legitimate “loyal opposition” party, such as a democratic system of government demands.
Will this be enough to allow the Democrats to defy expectations and enlarge their current Senate and House numbers? I don’t know. Maybe democracy really is doomed; maybe the GOP, using all the gerrymandering, vote-suppressing, and election-results-overturning tools they’re now putting in place, will take control of Congress and allow all kinds of anti-democratic crap to get entrenched in the already-decrepit U.S. political system. But if we’re doomed, we have to go down fighting.
In other words, Manchin indeed may sabotage any hope of ensuring voting rights (by breaking the filibuster) and of enacting the rest of Biden’s agenda (largely by reconciliation). Democrats may have far too few accomplishments to show the voters in '22. They may even be running against a McConnell-dominated Senate. And American voters don’t like to be told about “process” problems. So the Democrats, led by Biden and Harris, will have to go before the voters as the last-ditch defenders of democracy itself. If they can prevail–if they can get a Senate that doesn’t depend on having to placate Manchin and Sinema and if they hold the House–then the Democrats will have '23 and '24 to enact the progressive agenda.
But Manchin has probably killed that agenda in '21 and '22.
4 Likes
1 Like
In the Irony Is Dead Department, both Manchin and Sinema sponsored the For The People Act in 2019—when it had ZERO chance of being passed.
11 Likes
Meh, that’s the same way that the Supremes go off the reservation for non-political decisions, so they can laughably claim to be nonpartisan when looking at overall case counts. Take a stance only when it’s meaningless.
3 Likes
Many of those registered Democrats in West Virginia (and likewise in such states as Kentucky and Tennessee) are old farts who registered as Democrats back in the '60s and never bothered to change their registration. But they vote hard-right.
2 Likes
Prove it.
Democrats are nothing but an excuse factory. “We didn’t have 80 votes in the Senate!”, “We can’t be like them!”, “We want to show good faith bipartisanship!”, “It was FOX News’ fault!”, “They blocked everything because Obama was black!”, “Clinton had to deregulate the financial markets!”, etc etc etc
Manchin’s own constituents openly complain that Manchin, a Democrat, votes to often with the Democrats. Even the conservative people he represents, and who vote for him don’t want the bipartisanship he claims he wants.
3 Likes
Could there be more than one cloture vote? Like if the vote to end debate fails, don’t end the debate. Start calling witnesses from Republican states to testify how many hours they had to stand in line. Please begin with Milwaukee, for Ron Johnson’s benefit.
5 Likes
Yeah, this shit is baffling.
1 Like
Whatever you say, Comrade.
6 Likes
Patently false.
3 out of four WVA Republicans want the For The People Act to pass.
So do 8 in 10 WVA Dems.
Why Manchin is not being responsive to the people of WVA is an issue that needs to be explored more thoroughly.
10 Likes
We couldn’t get ten Republican Senators to vote to create a “bipartisan commission” to investigate a riot where their supporters forcefully overtook their place of employment. Manchin cannot possibly believe he can get ten R Senators to vote for a voting rights bill.
No, this is something else.
5 Likes
I respectfully suggest Manchin is being responsible to the dollars that run WV. One dollar vs one person vote.
2 Likes
He’s a multi-millionaire and doesn’t need that money.
4 Likes
Some people never have enough; plus, status among the people who really count.
1 Like