Joe Manchin is an ostrich with his head in the sand and a “KICK ME” sign slapped across his behind. Even worse, I think he likes it that way.
As Republicans continue to enact extreme voter suppression laws and begin fraudulent, Big Lie-driven “audits” to delegitimize the 2020 election, Democrats have become seemingly powerless to stop them. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema disgraced herself with ridiculous, ahistorical comments in defense of the filibuster last week and now Sen. Joe Manchin has just stomped on the skull of the For the People Act, which as it stands is the one law introduced in Congress that could fix the increasingly, outrageously rigged American election system.
In an op-ed in his home state Charleston Gazette-Mail today, Manchin declared that he won’t back S1 or even make an exception to the filibuster for crucial voting rights legislation. Here are two brain-dead excerpts:
The truth, I would argue, is that voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen.
Our founders were wise to see the temptation of absolute power and built in specific checks and balances to force compromise that serves to preserve our fragile democracy. The Senate, its processes and rules, have evolved over time to make absolute power difficult while still delivering solutions to the issues facing our country and I believe that’s the Senate’s best quality.
I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster. For as long as I have the privilege of being your U.S. senator, I will fight to represent the people of West Virginia, to seek bipartisan compromise no matter how difficult and to develop the political bonds that end divisions and help unite the country we love.
It needs not be said just how absurdly incorrect Manchin is about literally everything he’s saying:
- The filibuster was not created by the Founding Fathers
- It was never used to create bipartisan comity or deliver solutions
- Stopping legislation that has vast popular support and delivering nothing to Americans is certainly not the Senate’s best quality
- This country is already being torn apart by partisan voting laws that are sweeping the nation.
In fact, allowing Republicans to gerrymander and suppress voters so that they keep control of state legislatures and take back Congress does the opposite of “developing the political bonds that end divisions.” We’re seeing what all-powerful parties do in these states.
As Manchin himself said, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that’s why Republicans in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska, Montana, Arizona, and other states have passed laws to restrict voting rights. For my newsletter, I’ve been keeping track of the many voter suppression provisions in the bills that have passed. Look what the new voter suppression bill in Florida does:
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Creates strict voter ID requirements on mail-in ballots
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Requires more frequent mail-in ballot requests
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Severely restricts the number of ballot drop boxes and who can access them
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Criminalizes ballot delivery by volunteers and friends
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Bans counties from accepting help in administering elections
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Gives state legislature and attorney general more control over county legal matters related to elections
Absolute power is also why Republicans have felt comfortable bullying trans kids. That’s why two dozen GOP governors have unilaterally stripped federal unemployment benefits from hard-up workers to force them into shitty low-pay jobs.
Manchin is a multi-millionaire who never has to worry about being bullied by cops, paying rent, being denied the right to vote, or having the cash to see a doctor. He fetishizes bipartisanship, which is the same at this point as making a deal with the devil. None of this is new, but it’s disappointing just how delusional he’s become.
People and the party apparatus tend to say "Welp, we just have to help Democrats win more seats in 2022,” but that discounts how actual humans work. They’re living in a partisan fantasyland. Why would people go out of their way to donate or bust their asses as volunteers for a party that makes big promises and then fails to deliver? This is the last chance for the Democratic Party to show it is on the side of the people who work so hard to put them in power. People of color make up the bulk of Democrats’ base. Not passing simple legislation that allows them to exercise their right to vote is the biggest slap in the face that Democrats could possibly deliver.
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