I think people who were frustrated with him completely misunderstand. The alternative to Joe Manchin isn’t a more normal Dem. It’s no Dem at all. He was a bonus vote, who helped keep control of the senate, allowing Dems to set the legislative agenda and approve judicial appointments.
And frankly, the alternative isn’t even a normal Republican. West Virginia is one of the reddest states in the country with a partisan lean of R+35.5! Joe Manchin will likely be replaced with a super right wing ideologue. Dems had no right to expect more from Manchin.
Sure we do. If he planned on not running for reelection anyway, then he could have given a massive middle finger to the radical right wing constituents he served and dragged Republicans into the 21st century. Instead, he and Sinema shackled progressive policies to a boat anchor and tossed it into Lake Baikal.
I know it’s cool to hate him and all, but can West Virginia actually do better than him?
Unfortunately, no. That seat is lost to the Dems for the foreseeable future.
It’s annoying that he hamstrung his party at some key moments but he still voted along with Democrats more than most Republicans do.
Yeah exactly. We are losing someone who votes with Dems like 80% of the time to an actual Republican who will be closer to 10%.
I think people who were frustrated with him completely misunderstand. The alternative to Joe Manchin isn’t a more normal Dem. It’s no Dem at all. He was a bonus vote, who helped keep control of the senate, allowing Dems to set the legislative agenda and approve judicial appointments.
And frankly, the alternative isn’t even a normal Republican. West Virginia is one of the reddest states in the country with a partisan lean of R+35.5! Joe Manchin will likely be replaced with a super right wing ideologue. Dems had no right to expect more from Manchin.
Sure we do. If he planned on not running for reelection anyway, then he could have given a massive middle finger to the radical right wing constituents he served and dragged Republicans into the 21st century. Instead, he and Sinema shackled progressive policies to a boat anchor and tossed it into Lake Baikal.