In op-ed Manchin says he will vote against the For the People Act because it doesn't please the same GOP that supported the attempted coup in January

So you pass something, you do it through reconciliation (because that’s the only case in which Manchin is the deciding vote). Now state level GOP legislators still have plenty of ways to screw with the vote, and twice the motivation, not to mention the GOP super-majority on the SCOTUS and the potential in 4-8 years for Trump 2.0 to get in office with support from his base to “fix” Biden’s voting bill.

You can’t legislate a respect for Democracy through a party-line vote, and election bills don’t matter if the GOP doesn’t respect Democracy.

If you find some kind of bill that can pull at least 10 GOP senators on board then it’s bi-partisan, itsurvives the SCOTUS, and takes the wind out of the current GOP voter suppression legislation drive.

The GOP moderates (RINOs) were the ones who saved the ACA and made the 2020 election as close at it was. I’m not sure taking out the Democratic moderates is a good idea.

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He’s a transphobe, he has directly worked against my interests and wellbeing. He can fuck right off.

I’ll say the same about anyone who will sell me out in the name of bipartisanship. With “friends” like that, who needs enemies?

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Surely SOMEONE in the Democratic machine has dirt on him that they can use to apply pressure? This asshole and Sinema are currently bigger threats to democracy than McConnell.

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Sure. Better to continue the slide into authoritarianism. /s

But if we don’t him and the bigots all that they want, they won’t… checks notes continue to be bigots… /s

Honestly, the only reason some people find the promotion of bigotry acceptable is because they are not directly impacted by it. Much like Manchin or Sinema, they don’t care about anyone that isn’t themselves. Giving away civil rights for others is perfectly acceptable, as long as people are paying attention to them.

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“So rather than the support the partisan effort of democrats to protect the right to vote, I will instead support the partisan effort of republicans to subvert the right to vote.”

If protecting something is good, choosing not to protect it because some people are attacking it is the dumbest argument imaginable

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that’s overly precise. you can’t legislate respect for democracy. full stop. you can however protect democracy through legislation - and that’s the goal here.

what’s ridiculous imo about bi-partisanship is that it’s not a real goal. neither is just plain partisanship.

you’re supposed to have principles first, and then work out legislation second.

he’s not offering anything different to protect democracy in his statement. so it seems that’s not his goal.

his primary goal seems to be to stay in office, and that’s a terrible deal for any voter.

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Is his seat vulnerable to primarying by someone who is much more progressive? Or would it need to be some Biden like candidate to win the primary and retain the seat?

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Not in the least. Manchin was a registered republican most of his career, and trump beat Biden in WV 69-30%. Trump won every single county in WV. Manchin’s only political fear is losing to a further right candidate

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How well did the Hatch act and other anti-corruption measures prevent Trump from doing what he did?

The problem isn’t the rules of the game, the problem is that the GOP is no longer playing the game. And passing a voting bill through budget reconciliation, if it’s even possible, isn’t a good way to bring them back to the table.

Possibly, he could have been a more mainstream Democrat, voted against Kavanaugh, and opposed more of Trumps policies, in which case we wouldn’t be having this conversation because he would have been voted out in 2018.

He’s a Democrat who comes from a very Conservative state, he probably reflects the views of his constituents far better than most.

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It depends on what you mean by progressive. I’d prefer a Democratic Socialist (that would be the meet half way position for me) but I would settle for someone who doesn’t have a proven record of being hostile towards the rights of marginalised people. I consider that a low bar, but apparently it is still too high for Manchin.

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You’re forgetting citizens united.

But sure, let’s give up and stop trying to build a better society… fascists exists, so we should let them win. /s

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If he’s voting GOP, what’s the difference?

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Gee, Manchin sure is making sure my vote for Biden didn’t count.

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From Joe Manchin III, Senator for West Virginia - GovTrack.us

There are gradations of bad. Saying he vote’s with the gop so it can’t be any worse, makes no sense. There are plenty worse than this awful, cowardly elephant “democrat”

the one blue dot to his right is Sinema

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IDK having a team player playing for the other side is pretty bad, but I hear you.

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a better comparison is the original voting rights act from the 60s - that did a pretty darn great job ( though by no means perfect ) and what we have seen since is because it was overturned by the supreme court

totes. the bigger picture is of course things like the filibuster, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and disinformation

and so while he might lose his seat, at least the will of the people would be protected. sometimes that might well be conservative views, sometimes that might be more liberal views

that was my point: he’s making it clear he doesn’t care about voting and the long term stability of democracy, just voters ( and monied backers ) who he believes will support him.

that’s not a principled stance

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Right, because it had actual teeth that have been taken out by SCOTUS now. The For the People Act is there to standardize voting and to put the teeth back in…

Much of which this act addresses.

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You could read it…

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/text

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There have been some circumstances in sports games where that made sense, but I really don’t see how they apply to politics.

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