They’re calling him “the most powerful Senator“, “the most powerful man in America” among other ominous epithets, but this Democrat is about to break leftists’ minds. “Moderate” Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), formerly Governor of West Virginia has always occupied a strange position as the furthest left politician in a deeply, DEEPLY red state. . That tells you that he’s just conservative and liberal enough to convince rust belt Republicans and Union voter bases alike that he’s a good bet. If he wasn’t already before, than 2021 Senate officially made Manchin ‘the man in the middle’. He’s unpredictable and the Democrats are starting to hate that
Jon Heltzel wrote for Conservative Opinion,
“Manchin has signaled he may derail Democrats with their fragile 50-50 split on multiple initiatives. For one, Manchin has voiced his opposition to Biden Office of budget candidate Neera Tanden, announcing he won’t support her due to her history of provocative Twitter attacks. Tanden would now need backing from at least one Republican Senator to be confirmed.
In addition, Manchin has expressed opposition to Democrats push for a $15/hr minimum wage, instead proposing a $11/hr minimum wage indexed to inflation.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez the standard bearer of unhinged, far-leftist progressive-socialist “Democrats” slammed the moderate Manchin on Twitter suggesting he has a racial bias because he is “undecided” on Interior Secretary nominee Deb Haaland. Manchin merely said he has “more questions”. A two-fisted libeler AOC also accused Fmr. Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions of being “openly racist” and compared Manchin unfavorably to him.
Jeff Sessions was so openly racist that even Reagan couldn’t appoint him.
Manchin voted to confirm him. Sessions then targeted immigrant children for wide-scale human rights abuses w/ family separation.
Yet the 1st Native woman to be Cabinet Sec is where Manchin finds unease? https://t.co/wyki5iE36Y
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 22, 2021
A Little History on Manchin and the Red-Purple Mountain State
The Atlantic called Manchin,
“West Virginia’s Conservative Democrat” and “the Senate’s most conservative and Donald Trump-friendly Democrat,”
when he faced a primary challenge in 2018 from environmental activist Paula Swearengin. But the more conservative strain of Democrat voter in the Mountain State rejected her economy blasting pro-Green New Deal policies, which were a tough sale for a self-professed “Coal Miners Daughter”.
Interestingly West Virginia only became a majority Republican state in 2000, from the 30’s to the 90’s it was a Democrat stronghold. (Why? Unions & Coal Mining) When the DNC aligned itself against Coal in the 70’s and 80’s as an energy source and massive regulations devastated the WV economy in the 90’s things started to change.
In the Trumpian age, the shift accelerated MASSIVELY. WVMetroNews.com explained when two more counties flipped red in 2020,
“Raleigh and Greenbrier are the 22nd and 23rd West Virginia counties where the GOP is the majority party. In 2016, only 14 counties were Republican.
Statewide, there are still more registered Democrats than Republicans, but not by much. As of the end of last month, 470,515 voters were registered as Democrats and 435,925 as Republican (284,255 were independent or no party) for a difference of just 34,590 voters.
At the beginning of the year, Democrats had a 76,000 voter advantage and four years ago, the Democratic Party had 185,000 more voters.
Today, the two parties are closer than ever in registration. Democrats make up 38 percent of registered voters, 35 percent are Republican, and 23 percent are independent or no party.”
“Based”? No. His Positions Haven’t Changed, But His Party’s Have
Manchin despite his faults, (he IS progressive-socialist enough to still be a Democrat after all) represents the unique and evolving view of West Virginians who in the age of Trump swung further right then ever before. Manchin notably voted against his party to acquit President Trump in his Second Impeachment, although he did vote to convict him on the first impeachment… and voted against Senators Hawley and Cruz’s objections to the Electoral College votes January 6th. The man in the middle indeed.
Should the far-left Democrats continue to drag the party further and further into leftist, hard socialism they may force Manchin to make the inevitable decision and leave the party for the more ideologically diverse Republicans, just as Reagan did so many years ago. The most prominent Republican of his era’s words are probably echoing in Manchin’s ears “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” The next few years will likely prove, that the party is leaving Joe, will he make the change and stay honest? Or toe the line to keep his partisan leaders happy?
