Completely agree. But winning in Maine or North Carolina might've meant an end to the filibuster even without Manchin and Sinema voting yes.
It's absurd that we have to consider so greatly what might work in West Virginia, a state with a population nearly 3/4 that of the city of Houston, because of our government's structural inefficiencies. As far as economic messaging, I am deeply pessimistic that it would work. Sanders' primary success there in 2016 did not translate to the general where Clinton lost by 42%. I don't want to get into a bErNiE wOuLd'Ve WoN debate five years after the fact, but that performance gap, coupled with the general electoral trend of that state, doesn't make me optimistic that an inequality-based message can beat out the general culture wars/Democrats are communists messaging that works in West Virginia.
Manchin is positioning himself this way now so he can say he did everything he could to preserve bipartisanship and stand up to the leftist wing of the party. My hope is that when every other landmark piece of legislation - infrastructure, voting rights bill, any change to the minimum wage - is voted down this summer,, Manchin will relent
Manchin's opinion on infrastructure might be different given how much WV needs better infrastructure. He probably will agree to passing infrastructure using reconciliation and if it comes to the filibuster or a lot of infrastructure for WV we might see him say something different.
"The Democrats’ Problem Isn’t Joe Manchin": https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-de...whyf5gfsmtd&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink The Democrats’ Problem Isn’t Joe Manchin They should be worried about the increasing appeal of conservatism to minority voters. By Jason L. Riley June 8, 2021 6:13 pm ET Political progressives are infuriated with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia for insisting on bipartisanship at a time when the country is sharply divided, Democrats control the House by a whisker, and the Senate is split 50-50. The nerve of this guy! Yes, Mr. Manchin is likely more interested in self-preservation than principle. He is a red-state Democrat with constituents who have little patience, if not disdain, for left-wing attacks on fossil fuels, law enforcement, private health insurance and the like. Backing a federal takeover of state election law, or supporting the elimination of a filibuster rule that is the only thing preventing left-wing domination on Capitol Hill, could mean the end of his political career. Mr. Manchin isn’t being obstructionist so much as practical, and he’s forcing Democrats to confront tensions within their ranks that they can’t ignore forever. As more college-educated whites have joined the Democratic Party, it has lurched further left, causing discomfort among the more moderate black, Hispanic, Asian and working-class white Democrats who outnumber them. Unlike these progressive white elites, polling shows that minorities in the main tend to support things like voter-ID laws, school choice, race-blind college admissions and the presence of more police officers in high-crime neighborhoods. David Shor, a data scientist and Democratic strategist, first voiced these concerns in an interview earlier this year with New York magazine. Democrats have tended to treat racial and ethnic minorities as more progressive by nature, but Mr. Shor said that view was a mistake. “Roughly the same proportion of African-American, Hispanic, and white voters identify as conservative,” he said. “What happened in 2020 is that nonwhite conservatives voted for conservatives at higher rates; they started voting more like white conservatives.” Mr. Shor cited the left’s attacks on law enforcement after the death of George Floyd as an example. “In the summer, following the emergence of ‘defund the police,’ as a nationally salient issue, support for [Joe] Biden among Hispanic voters declined,” he said. “We raised the salience of an ideologically charged issue that millions of nonwhite voters disagreed with us on.” A new analysis of the 2020 election published by a trio of Democratic advocacy groups largely confirms Mr. Shor’s observations. “Our assumptions about Dem support among voters of color—and the lack of differentiation in our messaging and outreach within demographic groups—cost us support in key races,” write Democratic operatives Marlon Marshall and Lynda Tran in the report. “Despite historic turnout, even where Black voters were key to Democratic successes this past cycle—including in GA, AZ, and MI—the data show drop off in support in 2020 compared to 2016 and 2018.” The media’s partisan inclination is to focus on divisions among Republicans. So long as Donald Trump continues to claim the election was stolen and the GOP leadership continues to indulge him, don’t expect that focus to change. Back in the real world, however, Republicans have an opportunity to take advantage of the Democrats’ own internal disarray. In 2020, Mr. Trump’s support rose by 4 points among Hispanics and by 6 points among black men. He won a higher percentage of the Asian vote than any Republican presidential candidate since George W. Bush in 2000. None of this means that the GOP is on the cusp of winning a majority of racial and ethnic minorities, but the trend lines are real, and Democrats have taken notice. Liberals are quick to equate being a racial or ethnic minority with being inherently “woke.” But the wokest people tend to be wealthier white progressives, whom many racial and ethnic minorities find off-putting. Even Democrats are acknowledging that their share of the minority vote dipped last year because the party allowed these progressives to play an outsize role in messaging. It turns out that Republican criticism of critical race theory, police-defunding efforts, and left-wing indifference to illegal immigration isn’t only justified but also appeals to a significant chunk of minority voters. The other takeaway for the GOP is that a free-market conservative message can appeal to nonwhites, even when it’s delivered via a candidate as impolitic as Mr. Trump. Despite references over the years to Mexican immigrant “rapists,” “s—hole countries” in Africa and “the China virus,” his support among minority voters grew. His policies mattered more than his crude language. The question is whether Republican candidates going forward will try to build on these gains by taking the time to court these voters in a manner they deserve. Rare is the Republican politician who knocks on doors in black neighborhoods or airs ads on black radio and social media. Perhaps that will change. Mr. Manchin is taking it on the chin from his party’s left flank right now, which is too bad because he’s not the Democrats’ problem. He’s more like their scapegoat. Appeared in the June 9, 2021, print edition.
The main issue and crux of the op/ed is that minorities aren't being put in real positions of power or influence to justify the outsized messaging old (70+) white Dem leaders are putting out. Kamala seemingly fits all checkboxes but her short career was mainly about not rocking the boat while supporting establishment types in order to climb up the ladder. Verdict is still out on whether she's legit in her "diverse ideas" or another moderate Obama type who talks a good game. Representation matters. White (mostly boomer aged) people can claim whatever the hell they want yet they're still at the top (politics, business, bureaucracy, academic leadership) regardless of party. I don't know who else puts up with tone deaf Pelosi other than that demographic, yet people like her have all the right answers? **** that.
I know what you mean... but Dems need several torch bearers that are actually minorities. Kamela has come off more Westbrook-ish than Harden or Durant-ish.
...what I can't wait for, is to see when all that "growing minority demographic" of Republicans who are "anti-woke" get elected and put into positions of power in that party. ...and not the quota-filling, obligatory Negro that pops up to emcee CPAC or chair the national party until the mid-terms or something, either. Bunch of Vietnamese-Americans got elected to some republican house seats last election... ...the one that had all of those fake votes go against the Donald...? ...I hear that there ought to be enough of those "model minorities" by now to have made at least as much of a dent as the 'Dems have, right?
Every time Manchin says something like this gives republicans less reason to ever work with Democrats on bi-partisan legislation...
"When Joe Manchin Starts To Think About Switching Parties": https://www.allsides.com/blog/when-joe-manchin-starts-think-about-switching-parties When Joe Manchin Starts To Think About Switching Parties RECOMMENDED READING / JUNE 18TH, 2021 / BY DAN SCHNUR A Senate that’s split evenly between 50 members of each party can be a recipe for either compromise or chaos. It’s inevitable that a moderate Senator who doesn’t always vote with his colleagues is going to attract an immense amount of anger and criticism from party loyalists. And tensions run especially high in the president’s own party, since the vice president’s ability to cast a tie-breaking vote is only relevant if every single member falls into line. Joe Manchin knows this all too well. The West Virginia Senator has been reluctant to fall into line on several of President Biden’s legislative priorities, most notably in the debate over voting rights, and progressives have castigated him for his refusal to support their bill on what they see as a top priority. Representative Mondaire Jones of New York was particularly harsh, saying that “Manchin would rather preserve Jim Crow”. His Empire State colleague Jamaal Bowman also weighed in, saying “Joe Manchin has become the new Mitch McConnell.” Several other voices from the left have weighed in as well, calling Manchin a traitor, a sellout and worse. Manchin’s fellow Democratic Senators have been more circumspect, but it’s clear that their patience is wearing thin too. Intellectually, most of them know that Manchin represents a state that voted for Donald Trump by a forty point margin last November. The more politically astute Democrats also recognize that no other member of their party could possibly hold that seat, and realize that a Senator who votes with their caucus three-quarters of the time is a much better option than one who consistently votes Republican and who would support McConnell for Majority Leader rather than Chuck Schumer. But the emotional intensity of their desires to move forward on climate change, gun control, immigration and many other issues is often overwhelming. And the realization that, coupled with a Democratic President and a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, a unified 50 seat Senate caucus could move legislative mountains, is overwhelming. So they vent on Manchin at every opportunity, hoping that enough public pressure will turn him into a different type of Democrat than he has been for the last several decades. The challenge is actually greater than just Manchin. On almost every priority issue on which he has withheld their support (and on the question of eliminating the filibuster as well), there are other, quieter Senate Democrats who have their own reservations on many of these bills and are perfectly happy to let Manchin take the heat for them. Which means that getting Manchin out of the way would not be the magic solution that many progressives believe. The dynamic of a centrist Senator resisting the pull of his own party’s strongest partisans is nothing new. Twenty years ago, when Republicans controlled both the White House and the House of Representatives, another 50-50 Senate split was just as vexing for them as it is for Democrats today. Back in 2001, frustrated conservatives turned their ire on moderate GOP Senator Jim Jeffords (VT), who over the years had strayed from party orthodoxy on many high profile Republican priorities. That year, Jeffords’ disagreements with President George W. Bush over tax cuts and special education funding had forced Bush to scale back the size of his signature tax cut. It was clear that Jeffords (who represented a state that votes almost as heavily Democratic as West Virginia leans Republican) could jeopardize other key aspects of Bush’s policy agenda as well. And angry conservatives were unsparing in their criticism of Jeffords for his disloyalty. At a certain point, Jeffords decided that he’d had enough of those attacks from his putative allies. So when he announced that he was switching his party registration from Republican to Democrat, and flipping the Senate majority to the Democrats as well, bedlam broke loose on Capitol Hill. In addition to the ongoing criticism from conservatives, the final step for Jeffords came when the Democrats offered him a key committee chairmanship if he did switch. It’s not hard to imagine McConnell exploring similar options with Manchin right now. Manchin recently unveiled a scaled down voting rights bill that he said that he could support. It’s not nearly as sweeping as the Democrats’ current proposal, but it represents a significant step forward. Let’s see if the committed progressives who represent their party’s base decide that working with Manchin on a potential compromise makes more sense than chasing him away. Dan Schnur is a Professor at the University of California – Berkeley, Pepperdine University, and the University of Southern California, where he teaches courses in politics, communications and leadership. Dan is a No Party Preference voter, but previously worked on four presidential and three gubernatorial campaigns, serving as the national Director of Communications for the 2000 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain and the chief media spokesman for California Governor Pete Wilson. He has a Center bias.
Progressive leaders already said they support his voting right version. And Republican leaders likewise already said no way to his version.
It's worth noting that for all the b****ing about Manchin, he hasn't prevented anything from happening. There is no issue - whether its voting rights, infrastructure, filibuster reform, etc - where he has killed any Democratic initiative.
lol Dan Schnur is a Professor at the University of California – Berkeley, Pepperdine University, and the University of Southern California, where he teaches courses in politics, communications and leadership. Dan is a No Party Preference voter, but previously worked on four presidential and three gubernatorial campaigns, serving as the national Director of Communications for the 2000 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain and the chief media spokesman for California Governor Pete Wilson. He has a Center bias.
The author's background/bio is irrelevant to your lack of knowledge about the things you copy and paste.
my lack of knowledge about what? as I've gotten older I have found there's been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about
I don’t think it’s very likely that Manchin switches parties. He voted twice to impeach Trump and voted with Democrats on the big COVID 19 package. Manchin is similar to Romney in that he may frustrate many in his party at times he still is dedicated to the party.
