(Ezekiel Loseke, Headline USA) Radical leftists have waged a punishing public-relations attack on Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.—the Senate’s last prominent blue—or yellow—dog Democrat—for representing the interests of West Virginia.
Citing concerns over inflation, Manchin once again dashed Democrats’ hopes of pushing their wish-list of radical agenda items through a budget reconciliation bill last week.
It mirrored his decision this year to give Republicans a majority in rejecting Democrats’ attempts to pass President Joe Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar Build Back Better spending plan, which would have exacerbated the existing inflation crisis by untold amounts.
Manchin also refused to allow Democrats to dispatch with the filibuster as they hoped to pass a controversial voting bill that would help them to federalize state-run elections and secure permanent majorities for themselves.
While Manchin’s loyalty may be to the constituents of his deep-red state, members of his own party have chastised him over his stance.
Socialist-leaning Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proffered the sharpest criticism, according to Politico.
“The problem was that we continued to talk to Manchin like he was serious; he was not,” Sanders claimed.
He accused Manchin of being a saboteur of President Biden’s plan and of secretly taking kickbacks from GOP donors.
“This is a guy who’s a major recipient of fossil fuel money, a guy who has received campaign contributions from 25 Republican billionaires,” claimed Sanders, who owns three homes and once demanded a private jet from the Democratic National Committee for an endorsement.
Other Democrats also lamented Manchin’s latest show of disloyalty to the party, per Politico.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said, “Anything that’s not absolutely yes … is no when it comes to Joe.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said that he thought President Joe Biden was disappointed in Manchin.
Biden himself, dropping in the polls and desperately needing a bill, told Democrats to take Manchin’s deal.
However, Manchin rejected the idea that his dealings with the DNC have been disingenuous.
“I am where I have been,” he said, according to Politico.
“I would not put my staff through this—I will not put myself through this—if I wasn’t sincere about trying to find a pathway forward to do something good for our country,” he added.
Indeed, Manchin— an early critic of the Biden Administration’s oil policy—has been remarkably consistent upon this point in his career.
“I have always said, if I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it,” he said in May when campaigning on behalf of GOP Rep. David McKinley, a fellow centrist from the Mountain State.
McKinley, who was redistricted into a tough primary against Freedom Caucus Rep. Alex Mooney, ultimately lost his race.
In a Headline USA exclusive, Mooney said during his election-night victory that he planned to set his sights on Manchin next in his 2024 Senate re-election bid, perhaps ending the career of West Virginia’s last elected Democrat.
Though perpetually in tension with his party, Manchin is not likely to leave it.
Thus, he remains vulnerable to challenges both from his own party on the left and from GOP contenders on the right, who face none of the pressure he faces to break rank with their party’s values.
That makes the longtime blue-dog Democrat something of a lone wolf.
Still, Manchin’s loyalty to his party and state harken back to the often-forgotten founders and shapers of the original Democratic Party: conservatives and proponents of state’s rights including Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.
