A new Washington Post story on Sen. Joe Manchin once again sees him teasing his likely eventual split from the Democratic Party, and once again, the main takeaway is "holy hell, check out the ego on this guy."
The short version is that Joe thinks he has three options on the table for 2024: He can ditch the party and run for reelection to the Senate as an independent; he can run for president as the "No Labels" candidate, which is a bit insincere because we can think of a lot of labels that apply to Manchin; or he can quit politics altogether, because if you're not going to be a senator or a president, then you might as well be nothing.
As for running as a spoiler presidential candidate, the man's Elon Musk-sized ego is on full display:
“We’re here to make sure that the American people have an option,” Manchin said at the No Labels event he headlined in July. “And the option is, can you move the political parties off their respective sides? They’ve gone too far right, too far left.”
That really does define Manchinism. The man is probably against Republicanism's turn to coup-supporting fascism, campaign announcements that border-crossers should be summarily executed, book bans, attacks on parents of LGBTQ kids, and the general perspective that Republican leaders can commit any crimes they want up to and including allegedly stealing state secrets for their personal use.
But he claims to be equally horrified by Democratic moves to get the country off oil and coal, and by the raw rudeness in not meeting violent fascism halfway, so to him, it's a wash. Only Joe Manchin, hero to all, houseboat and luxury car owner and family coal baron, can set America on the righteous path of doing Mostly Nothing.
Former President Bill Clinton has apparently personally been warning Manchin that "his candidacy would only serve to bolster former president Donald Trump," and that really ought to be the measure of any politician. Are the actions you take likely to bring America to the brink of fascism? Yes? Well, then how 'bout you not do that, sport, and go find some other way to preen for the cameras.
Then there's this bit, which again brushes aside the fascist moment that has retiring Sen. Mitt Romney severely concerned for the nation's future, and replaces it with standard-issue me-ism.
In a radio interview with a West Virginia radio station in August, Manchin said he has “absolutely” considered becoming an independent.
“I’m thinking seriously what’s best for me; I have to have peace of mind, basically,” he said about the decision. “I’ve been thinking about that for quite some time.”
That's really what's most important here, isn't it? There's a four-time indicted crook in command of a Republican Party that's already announced they'll be wildly remaking the U.S. government into a loyalty-obsessed tool of their party, but Joe Manchin's got to consider what will best satisfy Joe Manchin.
Christ, I wish I could be like that, don't you? Completely indifferent to the moment, completely self-absorbed, no worries, just thinking about new houseboat names. But no, we chumps sit worrying about the fate of democracy and about the new dangers faced by everyone in America who isn't a bread-flour-white evangelical male from a handful of the hardest-right religious sects.
Hey, Joe, did you hear that Republicans are now attempting to block American women from leaving their states if government or private citizens think an abortion might be involved? Not sure how to put that on the back of a houseboat, but we'll give it some thought.
The Post leads us out of its article with the news that Democrats are "optimistic" Manchin will stay put in the Senate, and they will probably back his reelection even if he does run as an independent. Manchin may be right that dumping the party name might be the only way to keep the seat out of Republican hands given the hard-right turn West Virginia took after Democrats had the audacity to make a Black man president. The man has indeed had an uncanny ability to read his state, and has gotten begrudging respect from Democrats for pulling it off.
Or that used to be the case, anyway. Manchin musing over a spoiler presidential run on the premise that the nation wants what he's selling more than it wants fascism or not-fascism is the sort of self-absorbed ego trip that puts a big, big dent in past claims of thread-the-needle political savvy. Nope, that's just self-indulgence.
Granted, every sodding person who's ever run for president comes to the race with a sense of self-importance large enough to swallow an aircraft carrier whole. But thinking your personal brand of "higher energy-efficiency standards and outright felony-collecting fascism are equally bad so both sides should knock it off" politics is the stuff that will capture the nation's attention and heal its ills? You usually see that level of narcissistic delusion only in royal families or American billionaires.
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What do you do if you're associated with one of the biggest election fraud scandals in recent memory? If you're Republican Mark Harris, you try running for office again! On this week's episode of "The Downballot," we revisit the absolutely wild story of Harris' 2018 campaign for Congress, when one of his consultants orchestrated a conspiracy to illegally collect blank absentee ballots from voters and then had his team fill them out before "casting" them. Officials wound up tossing the results of this almost-stolen election, but now Harris is back with a new bid for the House—and he won't shut up about his last race, even blaming Democrats for the debacle.
