U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a maverick Democrat who has often bucked party leadership, told a radio station in his home state of West Virginia on Thursday that he is "thinking seriously" about leaving the party.
"I'm not a Washington Democrat," Manchin said in the interview on Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval, a West Virginia Metro News show. "I've been thinking seriously about that (becoming an independent) for quite some time."
Manchin and Democratic-turned-independent colleague Senator Kyrsten Sinema have been thorns in top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer's side since the party won its majority in 2020. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority, including three independents who caucus with them.
Last month Manchin further stirred Democratic concerns with an appearance in the early-voting state of New Hampshire with the "No Labels" group, where he mulled starting a third-party presidential campaign in 2024, challenging Democratic President Joe Biden. Having a third-party candidate would "threaten" the two major political parties, Manchin said.
Manchin has used his influence to block legislation that he opposes - including expanding voting rights protections and child tax credits - and to ensure passage of bills he supports, such as a major tax and climate law that passed last summer.
He faces a tough re-election bid next year in Republican-leaning West Virginia, which former President Donald Trump won by almost 39 percentage points in 2020. Manchin has not yet said if he will seek re-election, but he would face an even steeper road if he spurned his party and the fundraising support it can provide.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a former Democrat-turned Republican, began his campaign in April for the Republican nomination to seek Manchin's seat.
Manchin, a popular former governor who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, has kept his seat in part by maintaining a reputation as a rare conservative Democrat in Washington.
Many comments here are complaining about Manchin without taking the time to consider the political acrobatics necessary to win a statewide office in West Virginia as a Democrat. Yes, he's been a pain in the ass but a Republican in that seat would be much, much worse. If nothing else, he's a point towards control of the chamber. Sinema is a different story because she ran as being more progressive than she ended up being and because Kelly is proof positive that an actual Democrat could have won on Arizona. Manchin has never shied away from what he stands for and is probably the only person who could keep the seat blue. So yeah, hate his politics all you want but recognize that him leaving the party would be a terrible thing.
The reason why things are never going to get better is that 49% of us pretend a Republican's okay because they're wearing a blue suit.
That Republican in a blue suit has stopped a lot of terrible decisions and enabled us to make strides in improving our country. We would be a hell of a lot worse off without him.
Sure, Jan.
Manchin consistently votes with Democrats whenever his vote matters.
When his vote doesn't matter, I don't care how he votes or what he says.
The huge infrastrastructure bill he and Sinema tanked, though.
The infrastructure bill was resurrected as the Inflation Reduction Act, which Manchin voted for.
I live in a very red state and I feel like people just don’t understand how bad the alternative is. I’d take Manchin over my GOP senators.
IMO the difference between Manchin and MOST GOP Congress members is that since he's wearing a blue tie, he's allowed to do things that are commonly believed, but against the GOP groupthink. Outside of the "freedom" caucus and the political stunts and cultural war red herrings, I'd reckon Manchin agrees with more Republicans than Democrats.
It’s all publicly available info, and you’re actually very incorrect with that guess.
No Republican would vote with the democrats at that rate in either chamber of Congress.
Agreeing with is not the same as voting or publicly campaigning for. These are all things that happen within the political theater, where of course it's hyper divided.
If you had a conversation with Manchin or many a Republican, you'd most likely find they agreed on most things, but since they're both bound by playing a political game the outcomes are vastly different.
Have you actually read my first comment? Who said anything about prioritization? The only thing I'm arguing is that outside of the political theater and political tribalism that causes all politicians to act and vote for things that aren't aligned with their own beliefs, that Manchin agrees more with republicans than your average Democrat.
You're reading a lot into my comments, but not disputing any actual points.
This kind of balanced view is one reason I stay in fediverse and don't go back to Reddit.
this take was a top level comment in any thread involving manchin lol
I'm a politics junkie and have seen many posts like this on Reddit. If anything I'd say up to now the fediverse has been farther left leaning in my experience.
Thing is, I'm not talking about left vs right.
These areas only require acrobatics if you're a neoliberal. Progressives can and do flip red districts if they're given support from the party instead of undermined by the party establishment.
Here's the thing, yes places like WV are very conservative, but you've got to understand that the root of Trump's success with the right actually grows from a truth; the working class has gotten fucked over by the corporate establishment and people are tired of it. Joe Manchin can get elected because he represents people's material interests in that place (even if he's also screwing them in the long-term).
Progressives also base their politics mainly on material interests, the main difference is they aim for a more sustainable and just alternative to something like touting the virtues of coal. The right legitimately working class progressive candidate running in WV would likely surprise people with how well they did, pulling apathetic independents and democrats to the polls and getting any practical-minded conservatives who want a future.
It's not about chasing every opportunity, it's about changing the strategy that underpins the democratic party's efforts to reach people and get votes. It's about admitting that now, as we see our personal liberties and economic stability stripped away with Democrats doing nothing to stop it over the last 40 years, the philosophy of neoliberalism has failed to address the needs of the majority of Americans and to confront the aggressive intrusion of fascism and corporate influence into our democratic system.
Better maybe to show you. You don't have to watch all the analysis, but just watch this right-wing woman's video that I've timestamped here. This is someone who, if you bother to field someone who will speak their vernacular and speak to their needs, is ripe to be brought onboard with a wider pro-working class message. Not by "reaching across the aisle" to fascist serpents and corporate shills like Manchin, but by side-stepping all the cultural nonsense and speaking directly to Americans material need in a way that they can make sense of.
We saw it work in Pennsylvania with the senate race. Fetterman knew what issues to emphasize and how to show himself as a genuine representative of that region, not as just some careerist spouting a bunch of empty promises (which is how independents and working class voters see both your standard Democrats and Republicans).
Instead, these kinds of people have been abandoned to believe the lies from people like Trump and DeSantis about their economic struggles being caused by immigrants and trans athletes. Because the democratic establishment would rather give up on these areas than to take any stance that would work against the interests of those they truly represent; corporate entities and the ultrawealthy. They don't want to risk having to actually do anything that will slow the flow of the corporate money-hose that got turned on with Citizens United.
This would be incorrect.
Seriously. I get being frustrated with him and wishing for someone better, but that's just not realistic. There are pathways to reduce his power by supporting candidates that can flip a seat in other states, but his seat is only ever likely to get more red.
"Robert Carlyle Byrd served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A Democrat, Byrd also served as a U.S. representative for six years, from 1953 until 1959. He remains the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd