Manchin said it!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

Watching Manchin getting interveiwed on MSNBC..

Manchin said, to a questioner "I'm not a liberal,never have been a liberal".

Sooo.. what is he?

Liberal and Democratic are interchangable words to me.They mean basically the same thing to me.

That you care about the average citizen and want to help them,regulate corporations..etc.

Manchin admitted he's
not a liberal.

[Calista241]

1. He also said 'if they want to get more, they should vote in more progressives.'

[Demsrule86]

17. He is right. And how do we do that? Most red or purple states won't send a progressive to

Congress...and we need them for any majority. We have not worked on a 50 state strategy. I can think of no progressive you could get elected in either Arizona or West Virginia. I fear for Katie Porter. The district she won in was red until 1995 I hope it has changed considerably as I want her reelected.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

26. Sounds like someone signed his pink slip.

[Wounded Bear]

2. He has always been a Conservadem...

It's how he gets elected in a ruby red state like WV. Unfortunately, that means our majority in the Senate is ephemeral at best.

Sinema is just a flake, flakier than the guy she replaced who was named Flake.

[Hortensis]

16. Yes. A lot of WVers are southern conservative Democrats,

like their parents and grandparents and greatgrandparents. When others changed labels to Republican, they didn't. They vote Republican in national races, though. The local reps they elect may call themselves Dems or Repubs, but they're conservative too.

[BlueLucy]

3. Manchin has to thread the needle to be elected in West Virginia.

There is a reason to his madness. Sinema is just an opportunist out for herself.

[lagomorph777]

12. Yes, it's tricky to decide whether to support a bill that 77% of his constituents want.

Also, 80% of his voters want it.

[BlueLucy]

28. Culture issues are more important to them, that's why...

they continue to vote Republican.

[walkingman]

4. I'd like to understand what the term "Conservative Democrat" means in his case.

What differentiates someone from being a Conservative Rethug and a Conservative Dem?

[Patton French]

7. This is one example of how they differentiate themselves

The Blue Dog Caucus


https://bluedogcaucus-costa.house.gov/

[walkingman]

9. Thanks - sounds like what I have always referred to as Corporate Democrat

[Demsrule86]

15. I dislike that term and consider it wrong...and until we manage an amendment to the

constitution Democrats need to raise money for election or reelection.

[walkingman]

20. It is a dilemma - as it stands, Citizens United makes "quid pro quo" pretty much

standard operating procedure for our elections. I wonder if Congress were to pass Campaign Finance Laws it would hold up to a Conservative SCOTUS?

Although some only accept individual donors it is hard to compete, especially down ballot elections. This causes big issues with RNC and DNC decisions.

It appears that we are rapidly moving towards a Corporatocracy and there is not much we can do about it.

[Nightowl]

8. Insurance

The conservadems are an insurance policy the repubs have taken out to use in the case of a Democratic congress.

[walkingman]

13. Interesting - a wolf in sheep's clothing

[CrackityJones75]

5. Liberal and democrat interchangeable?

Not in my book.

[JohnSJ]

11. Exactly. The Democratic Party always had a big tent

[Eliot Rosewater]

6. THe people in his state would benefit exponentially from the deal so he is

taking orders from Koch and others, obviously.

fuck this

Costa Rica sounds good about now

[qazplm135]

10. I'm no Manchin fan

But no liberal and democrat are not remotely interchangeable.

[Demsrule86]

14. Well you would be wrong to think that. Democrats are not always liberals...those who won the

House back were mostly moderate who live in red or purple states. We have some conservadems in Congress as well. And we need every one of them to keep a majority.

[themaguffin]

18. I don't care what he calls himself. Just fucking vote.

[NewHendoLib]

19. he's a DINO

[LetMyPeopleVote]

21. Who is surprised by this?

You do not have to be a liberal to be a member of the Democratic Party. Why are you surprised by this and why does it matter?

[TexasBushwhacker]

22. He's one of the remaining conservative Dixiecrats

Most switched to GOP when Reagan ran.

[Kaleva]

23. According to this Gallup Poll, under 50% of Dems label themselves as liberal

"Among Democrats, the survey showed that 49% identified as liberal and 36% said they were moderate -- 14% of Democrats said they were conservative. "

https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/michael-w-chapman/gallup-americans-ideology-37-conservative-24-liberal-35-moderate

[NurseJackie]

24. No, the words are not interchangable.

We've always known that he is not a liberal Democrat. Why is anyone making a big deal about this?

[gulliver]

25. Nope, you shouldn't have to accept an arbitrary label to be a Democrat

Some people may prefer not to call themselves "a liberal," because that means different things to different people. The spectrum of liberalism is very broad, so saying you're one isn't making a stand. If you're in a propagandized state where "liberal" is a dirty word, you shouldn't throw away a seat for the word.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

27. Here I thought we got rid of all the Dixiecrats.

🤬 He has jumped the Shark. He has surpassed being called a DINO.

I'm one to talk, Look at my senator.

[cinematicdiversions]

30. Jimmy Carter was one of the greatest Democratic presidents of the 20th century

He was not a liberal. Carter in fact was primaried by the liberals when he ran for reelection.

By Ted Kennedy who purposely killed Universal Healthcare to deny Carter the political victory and make him easier to defeat in 1980,


https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2010/09/16/129913094/jimmy-carter-blames-ted-kennedy-for-killing-earlier-health-overhaul


"The fact is that we would have had comprehensive health care now, had it not been for Ted Kennedy's deliberately blocking the legislation that I proposed," he tells Stahl. "It was his fault. Ted Kennedy killed the bill," says Carter. And Kennedy, who then ran against the president for the democratic presidential nomination, did it out of spite says Carter. "He did not want to see me have a major success in that realm of life," He tells Stahl.