Fuck you, Joe Manchin! And that is all.
Naive of me to speculate, of course, but sometimes I wonder what could be going through his mind when he sees a marked increase in wildfires and hurricanes. Probably thinks of a coal-mining neighbour whose mom baked Joe’s family a pie back in '58.
Or WV votes.
Dollar signs:
Stranger
I wonder if he gets campaign contributions from the Republican party?
His yacht.
Tolerate his ass until such time as there are 50 real Democrats in the Senate. Getting some of what we want is better than getting nothing.
Not necessary. Corporate interests are quite happy to play both sides of the street without any sense of irony or conflict. It is just a cost of doing business, and it is fantastic insurance against higher taxes or increased regulation.
Stranger
At least he raised his kids right.
In relation to that,
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/10/27/us/biden-spending-bill-deal#manchin-billionaires-tax
Senate Democrats’ plan to extract hundreds of billions of dollars from the wealth of billionaires hit a major snag on Wednesday when Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, denounced it as divisive.
The billionaires tax, officially unveiled early Wednesday morning, may have died before the ink was dry on its 107-page text. Mr. Manchin, speaking with reporters, said, “I don’t like the connotation that we’re targeting different people.” People, he added, that “contributed to society and create a lot of jobs and a lot of money and give a lot of philanthropic pursuits.”
Yes, this.
And ‘getting some of what we want’ will be crucial to the project of getting 50 real Democrats in the Senate (as well as holding onto the House). Democrats need to be able to go to voters with real accomplishments to tout.
Of course if one of those accomplishments is NOT legislation that would counter the anti-democracy measures being passed in red states, then it may all be moot. And note that Manchin has been working to scuttle any federal oversight of the state anti-voting shenanigans, too.
He’s decided not to support the reconciliation bill. He really is screwing over the Democrats.
Hey, at least he backed the “See Something, Say Something Online act of 2021”. That at least merits a participation medal, right?
I resolve that the Seantor in question should henceforth be known as Joe “This Fuckin’ Guy” Manchin.
Stranger
Manchin expressed some concern about paid-leave programs. Asked if there could be a work requirement for people to qualify. Yes, a work requirement to qualify for time off from work.
The man really is dumb as a fucking fencepost.
Fuck this asshole.
He’s a bad faith negotiator. A lot of progressives don’t want the progressive wing to vote for the other bill.
Not dumb; just mendacious, manipulative, and generally a part of the problem. Also, probably the best you are going to get out of West Virginia because of how the Democratic Party has neglected the state and others that don’t have enough corporate money to benefit the coffers of the national party.
Stranger
I think “Republican” about covers Manchin.
This is the essential fact about Manchin.
Which means there’s no point in wasting energy bemoaning his stance. (Well, not until closer to the time when he’s actually up for re-election, when a focus on his hypocrisy and corruption is entirely appropriate–assuming the national Democratic Party will bankroll a viable Democrat to primary him.)
If the progressives think they can simply point out what a bad-faith actor Manchin is and that will make everything fine in November 2022, they are living in a dream world. Voters WILL hold ALL Democrats accountable if nothing is passed.
So instead of being like the kid in the backseat of the car telling Dad to make Joe stop being an annoying asshole (a la ‘he’s touching me!!!’), Democrats need to just bite the bullet and pass a bill that Bad Faith Joe WILL vote ‘aye’ on.
No matter how small. No matter how galling it is to let him “win.”
Just buck up and pass the bills. And then fund a five-star primary candidate in West Virginia that will send Joe to an ignominious retirement.
Yes… I get what you’re saying. A lot of them don’t get it. I worry there’s a good portion of apathetic progressives that just won’t vote if they don’t feel like there’s any representation on their behalf. I don’t think that’s good idea, but not all progressives are on that page, unfortunately.