The latest on Manchin’s “trail of destruction”:
Manchin's trail of destruction is going to get much worse:
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 20, 2022
* Failure to renew ACA subsidies will spike premiums for millions
* Inaction on climate could do incalculable long term damage
Window is closing. GOP House means no action on either for years:https://t.co/hmY6e7AeGg
Along those lines, here is something I’ve recently noticed: “Joe Manchin” is becoming a descriptor synonymous with blocking important legislation. From Daily Kos:
The Joe Manchin of the House is going down (but only with your help) https://t.co/4jQG2Gkohf
— Daily Kos (@dailykos) May 21, 2022
Additionally, Manchin's calling attention to his actions has served as a catalyst for creating opposition. For example, the recently-formed Coal Baron Blockade protested Manchin’s family business in April at the Grant Tower Power Plant and created a Twitter feed that routinely publicizes how Manchin works against the environment:
Do we have anything good to say about Manchin? Yes.
— The Coal Baron Blockade (@WV_Rising) May 20, 2022
He has shown the world what “centrism” really is - a ploy of the elite to propagate corporatism and neoliberalism and climate destruction, shrouded under the guise of moderation and thoughtfulness and respectability.
But what happens in 2024, when Manchin’s is up for reelection? In today's Charleston Gazette-Mail, the former vice chair of the WV Democratic Party, Chris Regan, provides an excellent analysis of the senator’s upcoming political options:
Op-ed by Christopher J. Regan: "McKinley lost by almost 20 points, to a carpetbagger, in what is mostly McKinley's old district. Manchin doesn’t want to go out like that." https://t.co/RMvtl52frw
— Charleston Gazette-Mail (@wvgazettemail) May 21, 2022
Regan makes a number of insightful points. For example:
Assuming Manchin does not come home to his party on Build Back Better, voting rights, and Roe (a very safe assumption at this point), he’ll have lost many more votes on his left side than he could ever hope to pick up on his right. He’s building a profile that might win a Senate seat in a swing state, but West Virginia is not going to be one. The winning coalition in West Virginia will start at one edge or the other, and Manchin has given away the edge he had.
Enjoy the spotlight, Senator. It won’t be there much longer.
