Joe Manchin Might Have Already Killed Democrats’ Chances in Georgia.
Long before the election took place, I and countless others on the left have been arguing that regardless of who wins, the left stands to lose either way. If Trump won, Democrats would have vehemently insisted that the left was responsible for costing them the election, and run further to the right in an effort to distance themselves from the ever-growing populist sentiment building behind them. With Biden now the winner, Democratic lawmakers and pundits alike are — like clockwork — insisting that not only was the left of no help to them in re-taking the Presidency, but they were directly responsible for the rather disappointing showing in the otherwise lackluster election for Democrats. While it was always a given that the left would emerge from this election as the prime target regardless of the outcome, the two runoff Senate elections in the state of Georgia seem to have encouraged this sentiment with an increased sense of urgency. Among the corporate, center right wing of the party, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin seems to have had the most to say.
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/full-watch-Tenet-2020-online-hd.pdf
On Fox News’ ‘Special Report’, Manchin took to the television to insist that should the Democrats in fact pull out a victory in both of the Senate races in Georgia, he would be there to “ease the concerns” of Republicans who are worried about what that would mean.
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/Holidate-online-2020.pdf
On air, Manchin said:
“Well there’s a lot of people that are concerned there’s a lot of fear tactics that are being used right now, Brett. If both of the Georgia Senators were elected from the Democratic party, then that would be 50/50 if both Dan Sullivan and Thom Tillis win. 50/50 means there’s a tie. But if one Senator does not vote on the Democratic side there is no tie, and there is no bill. So I commit to you tonight, and I commit to all of your viewers and everyone else that’s watching, I want to lay those fears I want to rest those fears for you right now because when they talk about whether it be packing the courts or ending the filibuster I will not do that. I will not vote to pack the courts. I will not vote to end the filibuster. Brett, this system the Senate is the most unique body in the world. It was made to work together in a bipartisan way. And once you start breaking down those barriers, then you lose every reason that we are the institution, that we are the most elaborate body. So I want to lay those fears to rest that that won’t happen, because I will not be the 50th democrat voting to end that filibuster or basically stack the court. And all those other things you’re hearing about Brett also is defund the police. I don’t know if any Democrats in the caucus that are for defunding the police. We’re not for that whatsoever. And when you talk about basically Medicare for All, we can’t even pay for Medicare for some. It doesn’t make any sense at all. We’ve got to fix the Affordable Care Act we have, and I think our Republican — moderate Republicans will work with us to now repair what needs to be repaired.”
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/let-him-go-2020.pdf
Upon hearing this, the first thought that occurred to me was that if Joe Manchin were to ever run for President and make it through the primary (which, he wouldn’t), Republicans running against him would still call him a radical left socialist.
While he would certainly never acknowledge it, Joe Manchin just took it upon himself to go on national television, and had the brilliant idea to singlehandedly throw away any reason someone in the state of Georgia would have to vote for a Democrat in order for them to take the Senate. If he has already positioned himself as someone more interested in catering to the right as opposed to the left, and it’s all but guaranteed he will act as a barrier to any meaningful legislation whatsoever that Democrats could pass, does he not understand he just essentially told people that nothing was going to get done if Democrats control the Senate? Does he not realize he essentially just told voters to go ahead and make the Democrats the majority, while at the same time telling them there was actually no reason to do so considering he has made himself the barrier to anything their base wants to see done?
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/watch-the-new-mutants-online.pdf
No one does more damage to the Democratic party and their electoral chances than a right wing Democratic politician.
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/watch-billie-online.pdf
Oftentimes, for the Democrats like Joe Manchin who are even further to the right than many of their center-right, corporate Democrat colleagues, the point is often made that at least these legislators are there for the Democratic party when it comes to “procedural issues”. They might vote with Republicans a lot of the time, even vote for the most controversial of their Supreme Court picks such as Brett Kavanaugh like Manchin did, but at least they can be counted on when it supposedly “matters”. Well, leave it to Joe Manchin to utterly destroy that one thing that could be said in his defense.
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/watch-Greenland-online.pdf
I can’t help wondering who, exactly, does Joe Manchin think he is winning over with this message? After all, the only thing he has done with it is demoralize and sour the Democratic base that just delivered the state for Joe Biden, all in the name of appealing to a handful of Republicans who are just going to vote for a Republican anyways considering they’re already experts at the gridlock that Manchin wants to take part in. I wonder how many times Democrats will have to lose with this strategy before they realize that when given the option between Republican and Republican-lite, Republican voters are always going to go with the Republian.
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/watch-half-brothers-online.pdf
Even if we were to set aside policies like Medicare for All or the Green New Deal, which I would never expect Manchin to be in favor of anyways, the untold damage he is doing by vowing that he will not allow Democrats to get rid of the filibuster cannot be understated. Not only did he kill any policy proposals advocated for by the left with this interview, he just essentially killed any Democratic legislation because he is still, after all this time and after experiencing perhaps one of the most polarizing, divisive elections in our nations history, is confident Republicans will “come around”.
site:https://www.centrocentro.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/watch-vanguard-online.pdf
Forget Georgia, and forget the Senate race. So long as Republican-lite Democrats like Manchin are around, it is an objective reality that Democrats won’t have a prayer of getting anything done whatsoever, let alone gaining and maintaining a majority in the Senate. But sure, it’s the left that’s the problem.
