When it comes to a major democratic agenda, chances are priority US Senator Joe Manchin is against.
To the uninitiated, Manchin is not a far-right Republican like Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, who is hiding behind a southern train pretending to be just a normal guy who doesn’t have a law degree (he does) and not Oxford was (he has.)
No, Manchin holds a BA in Business from West Virginia University and has spent most of his adult life in politics. A decade as a Senator, four years as Secretary of State for West Virginia, nearly six years as Governor, and now more than ten years as a US Senator.
Casual observers might think he’s a die-hard Democrat, but Manchin ranks 54th on the GovTrack list of U.S. Senators, with number one being the most conservative (Marsha Blackburn) and number 100 being the most liberal (Bernie Sanders).
How far to the right is Joe Manchin?
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, ranks 53rd, which means she’s more liberal than Democrat Joe Manchin.
Back to that progressive agenda, which President Joe Biden is doing an excellent job with in every way.
Senator Manchin is not a fan.
On Friday, Manchin declared against another item on Biden’s agenda: DC statehood.
To be clear, it’s not that Manchin specifically wants to deprive Washington DC of around 689,545 residents of the right to vote in Congress as residents of the 50 states do, and neither does Manchin want them to have a U.S. Senator like them Having residents in the 50 states elude states, he just thinks the whole country should decide whether or not DC residents should have equal rights and representation.
Just like civil rights for LGBTQ people, for example.
Some people oppose the Equal Opportunities Act, another important item on President Biden’s list.
He’s also long spoken out against same-sex marriage, and when the US Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex couples have the same rights and obligations as same-sex couples, Manchin could only say this:
“America is a nation of law and we must respect and obey the decision of the Supreme Court.”
Back to DC
“Sen. Joe Manchin III. Said to reporters in his home state of West Virginia on Friday morning that he does not support the bill to make DC the 51st state in the United States, ”the Washington Post reported early Friday evening.
Citing Presidents Reagan and Carter, Manchin said, “If Congress is to make DC a state, it should propose a constitutional amendment. It should propose a constitutional amendment and get the American people to vote. “
(This is not how constitutional amendments work. There is no national vote, so his reasoning is ill-informed and deceptive.)
Of course, the whole country should vote on the rights of 700,000 people, even if it is perfectly legal for Congress to pass a law to make DC a state.
Americans on social media are angry.
Joe Manchin is not a democrat he votes against democracy every time
– annarosanna arquette (@RoArquette) April 30, 2021
So Joe Manchin just told the 700,000 plus taxpaying Americans living in DC to fuck themselves.
– Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) April 30, 2021
Joe Manchin is the worst.
– BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) April 30, 2021
Joe Manchin wakes up every morning and flips a coin to find out which party he will be supporting. Pic.twitter.com/HGbDyw71gU
– Right Wing Cope (@RightWingCope) April 28, 2021
Joe Manchin doesn’t endorse #DCStatehood because if it were successful he would no longer be the most powerful person in Washington DC.
– Jake Lobin (@JakeLobin) April 30, 2021
NEW: Joe Manchin also told reporters today that he does not support HR 1 but does support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Joe Manchin co-sponsored HR1 in 2019.
– United for the People (@ people4kam) April 30, 2021
Terrible news for American democracy: Joe Manchin becomes the first Senate Democrat to speak out against the #DCstatehood bill to ensure 700,000 citizens remain disenfranchised and increases the likelihood of a return to GOP Senate minority rule https: // t. co / DpzrRTAETl
– Stephen Wolf (@PoliticsWolf) April 30, 2021
NARRATOR: Joe Manchin was a Senator from West Virginia who became a new state simply by separating from Confederate Virginia. A constitutional amendment was not necessary. “Https://t.co/bIjnfaAcUo
– Ms. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) April 30, 2021
Manchin is a bad person.
– John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) April 30, 2021
You know, there are constitutional scholars who claim that West Virginia was wrongly admitted if Manchin wanted to go to war because of that fact: //t.co/BKQgenössVvdt
– Dylan Matthews (@ Dylanmatt) April 30, 2021
Joe Manchin is absolutely wrong. There is no excuse to deny thousands and thousands of people the right to equal representation. I’m done with excuses. DC Statehood now. https://t.co/hzDSSp27YX
– Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (@malcolmkenyatta) April 30, 2021
Some notes for Joe Manchin:
1. DC Statehood does NOT require a makeup change. Congress can give 700,000 Americans one vote and fair representation.
2. You said you don’t support #ForThePeopleAct as written, but you co-sponsored it in 2019. What is @Sen_JoeManchin? https://t.co/px1otYAUsC
– Nick Knudsen @ (@NickKnudsenUS) April 30, 2021
I repeat my tweet from the other day: Maybe, just maybe, Joe Manchin isn’t very smart. https://t.co/JYLav2Z5Aj
– Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 30, 2021
Joe Manchin just told 700,000 Americans that he does not support equal representation.
That’s repulsive. We have to get seats in the midterm elections in the Senate so we can pass DC statehood. #DCStatehood #JoeManchin https://t.co/v7uEkXH2FF
– Millennial Politics (@MillenPolitics) April 30, 2021
Something about the senator of an extremely white southern state who denies political representation to a historically predominantly black region does not suit me https://t.co/IXYjGol1G5
– Prerna Jagadeesh (rePrernaJagadeesh) April 30, 2021
Before someone convinces me that Manchin is a responsible centrist trying to keep the center up, now just don’t follow me or care.
He is suppressing the very people who helped win the majority. I don’t care about his alleged intent if the actual results are racist.
– Larry Middleton (@ l78lancer) April 30, 2021
Comments are closed.