Looks like we found out what Manichin and Sinema stand for: Denying black people the right to vote via Jim Crow laws. And... Increasing Child Poverty Centrism. Can't wait to read Axios or Politico on this.
The only cure for all of Manchin’s shenanigans is to elect more representatives who aren’t terrified or disdainful of voting for New Deal style policies. And for that to happen, moderates have to stop voting for conservative politicians who will sell out to corporate interests and cultural Luddites at the first sign of the government prioritizing poorer people.
Bobby Reich up to his old shenanigans Perhaps it’s time to kick Joe Manchin out of the Democratic party At every opportunity, Manchin has sabotaged Democrats’ agenda. What’s going on here? It’s spelled m-o-n-e-y Robert Reich https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/20/joe-manchin-democratic-party-kick-out excerpt: Billionaires and big corporations are siphoning off more national wealth and income than in living memory and paying a lower tax rate (often zero), but Democrats won’t raise taxes on big corporations and the wealthy. Which means that in November’s midterm elections, Democrats will have to go back to voters and say: “We promised a lot but we delivered squat, so please vote for us again.” This does not strike me as a compelling message. By kicking Manchin out of the party, Democrats could at least go into the midterms with a more realistic pitch: “It looked like we had control of the Senate, but we didn’t. Now that you know who the real Democrats are, give us the power and we will get it done.” Maybe this way they’ll pick up more real Democratic senators, and do it. more at the link
an alternate view Despite vitriol from his own party, Joe Manchin proves he was right once again https://thehill.com/opinion/finance...y-joe-manchin-proves-he-was-right-once-again/ excerpt: Do you know who is polling higher than any other Democratic senator right now? It’s the guy who was accused by a former presidential campaign chief of “single-handedly destroying humanity.” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) currently sits at 57 percent approval in West Virginia. He has climbed to this impressive number for a Democrat in a deep red state by defying President Biden and almost all his party on everything from the multi-trillion-dollar spending boondoggle ironically called “Build Back Better” and blowing up the filibuster to federalizing voting laws earlier this year and climate change legislation this week. In a related story, Biden sits at 16 percent approval in the Mountain State. 33 percent approval overall and sits in the 20s among independents, the nervousness and quiet panic occurring in the Blue Team huddle is understandable. And it’s not just lawmakers who would prefer not to see “Biden: The Sequel” in 2024, but Democratic voters themselves, with almost two-thirds saying no thanks to Biden pursuing a second act, according to a recent poll. The names tossed around as possible Biden replacements as the party nominee are mostly those whom Biden bested in 2020: Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and even former Rep. and current Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke (no, really). The most logical choice, arguably, would be Manchin, who has clearly shown an ability to woo Republican and independent voters. more at the link
Probably not. But there isn't an alternative - it certainly isn't nominating Joe Manchin for President. He may be popular with the meth addled deplorables in his state, but nobody else in the country likes him.
If Joe Manchin wants to be president he can show what he did for his home state of West Virginia. Anyone got the economic and standard of living numbers for that state? Are they doing well over there?
and here ladies and gentlemen is the main reason why Donald J. Trump will still have a chance in 2024
I know this is sarcasm but imagine if liberals voted on their candidate based on how many times they've heard being called "unAmerican" or "woke" or "groomer". I guess there is a reason why right wing conservative voters are labeled as "reactionary".
oh for sure. He's not even that popular in West Virginia. Hes just the only guy who can win there without an R next to his name. He sucks but he at least votes for federal judges and keeps McConnell out of Majority seat. Its a shame too...West Virginia is one of the nicer states in terms of environment. Its fairly commutable too to the outer parts of the Beltway for a hybrid job. Nice people too; its a shame how much theyve been shafted by both their politicians and coal companies who have deluded them into thinking that the only legitimate career option is being a non-unionized coal miner. WV is still insistent on running their economy and state like its 100 years ago. Cities like Pittsburgh changed their economic model. Hell even Helen,GA - a former factory town in the GA mountains- reinvented itself as a little Alpine village and brings in a ton of money year round. Im obviously pretty socially liberal, but Im not even talking about that stuff right now. I mean having things like clean drinking water,or having a state university that doesnt just act as a party/safety school for kids that cant get into Penn State or UMD. Side note: there is nothing like a cold beer or warm coffee and a Shenandoah Valley sunrise. Especially in the winter, over looking the mountains, with a cigarette in a hot tub.
And here's why Republican states are poor - they're more likely to vote just to spite some nobody like me on the internet instead of taking a moment to consider what really is their best interest.
Off topic but WV is a great place to go, I went glamping there a few years ago and had a blast....similar to this place
That isn't why Trump still has a chance in 2024. By this point the lines are well drawn, and calling voters in WV meth heads isn't going to change anything.... just like some conservatives claiming California is full of homeless drug addicts and people more concerned with pronouns than inflation. Trump has a chance because he has charisma, is a brilliant marketer and is good at grabbing onto social issues that divide people. By this point both sides are guilty of marginalizing the other side.
Party lines are pretty much drawn and the only real independent voting bloc that can swing elections are middle class suburban/exburban mothers. They swung the House in 2018 and WH in 2020; and they swung Virginia. Right now LGBT stuff is a great cudgel for the GOP to use, so long as they frame it as an issue of education, child safety etc
Agree that the LGBTQ stuff is a strong wedge issue for the GOP. However I think the swing voters are changing. I think white college educated voters under 35 and minority voters are crucial. White college educated voters that are younger are in good numbers starting to vote democratic and more minority voters are starting to vote republican.
I went looking for the stats a few days ago and struck out, but I'm curious whether younger minority voters are the ones voting Republican or just the older ones. Similarly, I am guessing that college-educated young minority voters are less likely to vote GOP than their older counterparts. For example, I have a friend whose Hispanic father (who was a doctor before his retirement) has gone full MAGA, but none of the 4 kids vote GOP.
Yeah that makes sense. There's always been segments of the black population who vote Republican, but they typically aren't large enough of a voting bloc to swing any election. Latinos/Hispanics are also undergoing the process of becoming "white". I don't mean that pejoratively, but I mean similar in a manner to what happened with Irish, Italians, Germans, Poles etc. I'd be curious to see whether we even consider hispanic/latino descent a separate category when discussing demographics in 15-20 years. There's also a significant amount of immigrants who are small business owners and who come from more socially conservative cultures...India, the Middle East, Africa. The Nigerian population in the DC area, for instance, tends to lean Republican whereas the Ethiopian population (who tend to be poorer) usually vote Democrat. Voters under 35 are always very fickle, particularly in non-presidential elections. The real issue is local elections, which are dominated by older people and kooks.
Keep in mind that "minority" is such a broad term with different cross-sections. Most voters really only vote on one or two issues they're passionate about. That may be taxes or abortion. It could also be foreign or immigration policy towards a specific country (think of Miami Cubans or more conservative Jewish voters).
