Senator Joe Manchin on Jeff Sessions' nomination:

Sen. Joe Manchin said that his fellow Senate Democrats are "playing politics" with the confirmation of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general.

"Am I the only one voting for Jeff?" he asked in an interview with the Washington Examiner.

And from a week ago:

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin slammed both political parties Friday for their efforts to repeal Obamacare without a replacement program — accusing them of "wanting to play politics."

Yes, readers, Joe is not like any of the politicians who surround him, he does what's right regardless of the consequences! I'm sure no one would ever charge the good senator with "playing politics."

It didn't take much research to discover that accusing those who disagree with him of "playing politics" is one of the senator's favorite rhetorical strategies. A non-exhaustive Google search yields these additional examples:

On right-to-work:

I find it highly objectionable that people would attempt to play partisan politics with our jobs.

On Obama and the Keystone Pipeline:

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) criticized President Obama for vetoing the Keystone XL pipeline, stating “quit playing politics with everything we do.”

On homeland security:

“There’s got to be a few things we don’t play politics with and this is one of them,” said Manchin.

On the deal with Iran:

“The smart move would have been for me to announce immediately I’m opposed to it,” Manchin said. “If you’re playing politics, it’s a no-brainer. Why would anyone put themselves through the agony I went through?”

On student loans:

"It’s time Congress stops playing politics with our students’ future and passes a commonsense long-term fix.”

What sanctimonious crap. "Playing politics" is what politicians do and Joe is most definitely a politician (maybe more so than most). When has Joe Manchin ever not played politics -- done something that is politically unpopular in order to do the right thing? Just the opposite. For example, Manchin began his senate career by "playing politics." For his first important senate votes back in 2010, Manchin was noticeably absent claiming that he had a family party that he had to attend. From The Hill in 2010:

Newly elected Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) apologized Tuesday for missing two key votes over the weekend while attending a Christmas party. . . .

Manchin missed votes on the repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy and the DREAM Act, a controversial immigration bill.

Since then, he's "played politics" with the best of them managing to remain popular in a state that has moved significantly to the right. I may not like the direction of his move but I understand it. I just wish he'd cut the holier-than-thou "I'm the only one with ethical motives -- everybody else is playing politics" crap.