The feud between the Democratic Party’s moderates and its left-wing continued on Monday when Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., blasted Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., for saying he would not support radical policies like court-packing.
Let me be clear: I will not vote to pack the courts & I will not vote to end the filibuster. The U.S. Senate is the most deliberative body in the world. It was made so that we work together in a bipartisan way. If you get rid of the filibuster, there’s no reason to have a Senate. pic.twitter.com/g0fasdzVmt
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) November 10, 2020
Manchin represents something of a political anomaly as a successful Democrat senator in West Virginia—a state that has been consistently conservative in national elections, and one of only a few that has trended more red as Democrats eye political takeovers in places like neighboring Virginia.
He was the only Democrat to support the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, although he declined to break rank on two other contentious, mostly party-line votes this year: the impeachment of President Donald Trump and the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
But increasingly, the Democrats’ leftward drift threatens to jeopardize his standing with his constituents and may force him to change parties or lose his seat.
During an interview with Fox News, Manchin said the two Senate run-off elections in January are concerning given how poorly congressional Democrats performed in the 2020 election.
He said it looks like the Senate could be evenly split come January, and if that is the case, Manchin vowed not to support Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and/or court-packing.
In response, Omar shared a tweet saying, “Good grief.”
Stop worrying about progressives, this might be the reason we don’t win the Senate races in Georgia.
Good grief ??♀️ https://t.co/r45ibpRs7K
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 10, 2020
Omar is one of several radical members pushing back on moderate Democrats who have blamed them for Democratic losses last week.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, D-N.Y., has also argued that the party’s recent lurch toward socialism was not the problem.
If the rest of the Democratic Party “stops blaming progressives, we can help,” she said.
One thing I’ll say: for the last two years, I and progressive candidates have been unseating powerful Dem incumbents supported by DCCC.
Not *once* has anyone in the party asked me what weaknesses I’ve found in their operation.
If they stop blaming progressives, we can help.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 7, 2020
