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.

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.

This kind of balanced view is one reason I stay in fediverse and don't go back to Reddit.

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.

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

It's west Virginia. The democrats aren't going to replace him the GOP will.

If Manchin didn't exist, not a single piece of Biden's agenda over the past two years would have passed, including things like Justice Jackson joining the Supreme Court.

Yes, he's incredibly annoying, but he's also representing the people of West Virginia, of all places. Would you really prefer a 6-2 Supreme Court? I wouldn't.

That's what I'm saying. Isn't this the state of Blair Mountain, John Brown's Raid, and October Sky?

Where's the neo Woody Guthrie coal miner's daughter type looking to run a grass roots campaign on justice for the opiate-pushing and transitioning fossil fuel work to sustainable energy? Someone who wants to bring stable, modern jobs to WV and revitalize it while protecting the natural splendor that tourists seek.

He's up for reelection in '24. Someone more sensible should primary this lump of coal. Gotta find that person and build that campaign though. And learn from Beto's mistakes.

Oh no, the Dems have now lost the Senate and will be unable to appoint any judges, the importance of which I think has become abundantly clear over the past several years, but at least, for a brief moment, we got a little ideological satisfaction.