Manchin sits with Republicans during State of the Union

[Polybius]

Source: Yahoo! News

Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, opted to sit on the Republicans' side of the House chamber during President Biden's first State of the Union address.

While Americans decry what is happening in Ukraine, the United States continues to allow the import of more than half a million barrels per day of crude oil and other petroleum products from Russia during this time of war," Manchin said this week.

Manchin also reportedly did not stand with his fellow Democrats when the president spoke about an expanded child tax credit, a policy over which the senator has expressed serious qualms.

The details: Manchin was seen sitting between Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). He was the only Democrat seen sitting with Republicans.

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/manchin-sits-republicans-during-state-031721449.html

[Justice matters.]

1. F that nearly treasonous a-hole. nt

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Fuck him - he's trash. Rich but trash.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

3. I really dont like manchin.

I dont trust him. I know technically hes a dem.
Calls himself a maverick,har de har har.

Choosing to sit with the fucking repukes..the pootin party.

[ck4829]

4. "bipartisanship works and is alive and well in the U.S. Senate"... So I assume all

the Republicans that sat with Democrats echoed that assessment, yes?

[Hoyt]

5. Still glad he calls himself a Democrat.

[oldsoftie]

30. He does vote with the President almost ALL of the time.

Its kinda like what Biden said in the speech; he's signed over 80 bipartisan bills. What he DIDNT say, but should have; "But those never make the news. The media only focuses on the differences"

[JohnSJ]

33. Yes, it is critical at this time

[empedocles]

37. Reportedly, manchin was very supportive of the Biden speech

[Javaman]

6. The piece of shit isn't even hiding it anymore nt

[onecaliberal]

7. I posted it while it happened.

[CincyDem]

8. He did it to remind Joe how easy it would be to make that seat permanent.

Nothing in DC happens "by coincidence" and this is just another way for him to say "look at me".

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. Can we start calling him what he really is now?

Sorry treasonous bastard.

[RockRaven]

10. He can sit wherever he wants as long as he votes to confirm Biden's nominees.

When a Senate confirmation fails because of a party-line vote plus his defection, then kick his ass to the curb. In the meantime, we need every judge and exec branch nominee confirmed that we can get.

FFS, we're over 1/4 of the way through the term, over half way to the next Senate election, and there are still hundreds of Senate-confirmation-needing positions yet to fill. And there is literally zero margin on party line votes.

If you want to complain about Manchin, that's very understandable, but until there are 50+ Dem Senators not named Manchin or Sinema you will be hurting Democratic/progressive goals more than you help them by throwing him overboard.

Being pragmatic sucks, because of the thing sticking in one's craw, but the alternative is to cut off one's nose to spite one's face.

[Justice matters.]

13. What about the Voting Rights Act?

If we don't pass it, kiss democracy goobye. 😰

[RockRaven]

14. Is it gonna pass better or sooner by kicking him out of the party?

He's not going to nuke the filibuster for the new VRA, apparently. By all means, try to convince him. Please. But nobody else has so far. So I don't think you will succeed. That's not a reflection of my faith in you, but an assessment of him based on his prior behavior/statements.

So given that, let's keep our eye on the ball about what use he is good for. And let's floor the accelerator on that stuff.

[Justice matters.]

17. I get it, just in an anxious despair here.

Because once this democracy is gone, forget about the Constitution, judges, the SC, et al. It will be just for show, just like in Russia.

[JohnSJ]

34. Thank-you. Some here I think lose sight of that. I think most of us are frustrated with

both Manchin and Sinema.

If we can gain at least a two seat majority in the Senate midterms, we won’t be dependent on them

[oldsoftie]

32. Vote on the Electoral College Protection act. Or whatever that's called.

That is also important and has bipartisan support.
Then piece out other parts of the voting act and vote individually. Some items are more important than others.
For example, I do NOT support yet ANOTHER federal holiday for voting. We used to have ONE DAY to vote. Now most states have 10-15. There's no need for another paid day off for Federal workers & shutting banks and the USPS for another day. I'm not in favor of same-day registration. Why wait? Too much opportunity for gumming up the works. its easy to register and you've got years to do it.
Just like medicare negotiating drug prices; make THAT a stand alone bill. Why not? Just DO it

[JohnSJ]

35. Does have bipartisan support? It is hard for me to imagine that the small states would vote for

that

[oldsoftie]

38. It doesn't do away with the electoral college, it solidifies the actions of the VP doing the count

Since the 1887 (I think) act was written a bit vague, this shores it up clearer that the VP has no authority to change the outcome of the vote

[JohnSJ]

46. Thanks

[greblach]

15. Agree NT

[qazplm135]

11. performative nonsense

like a lot that he does.

[BigmanPigman]

12. I thought there were assigned seats.

If Manchin sat with them he is confirming what we already know about him and who he supports.

[obamanut2012]

39. They are assigned seats

[Hoyt]

48. Oh, that explains MTG sitting next to a Black representative.

[southerncrone]

16. Republican in Democratic clothing.

We are just Little Blue Riding Hood.

If we can flip a Republican Senate seat, or more, we can dump him. And "good riddance"!

[BradAllison]

19. He won't lift a finger to help

I bet he endorses JD Vance.

[Joinfortmill]

27. Amen

[canuckledragger]

18. Not exactly hiding what he is now, is he?

Thing is, how long are you guys going to let him get away with his DINO act and sabotaging everything he touches, like Joe Lieberman did back in the day?

[ShazzieB]

23. What do you mean "let him get away with it"?

Really? Llike there's some way to stop him? What's Chuck going to do, threaten to kick him out of the Democratic Party?

Go back up and reread post #10. RockRaven laid out pretty clearly why as obnoxious as he is, he is useful for some things and we can't afford to lose a Dem seat, until and unless we elect more Dems to the Senate.

[yardwork]

40. Who are "you guys?"

[canuckledragger]

41. You guys. I'm Canadian. A liberal, but not a democrat...

...because I live in a different country.

[yardwork]

50. I see! Unfortunately, it's mostly up to the voters in West Virginia.

Only voters in each state can elect their senators. The Democratic Party can help, but it's up to the voters. Unfortunately, West Virginia is deeply Republican territory. Manchin is a complete ass but he's probably the best we can get in West Virginia. If he loses, he would almost certainly be replaced by a Republican. In the U.S., the party holding the majority in each house of Congress has all the power. If Republicans regain the majority in the Senate, they will control all committees and decide what gets voted on. None of Joe Biden's agenda would be passed. It would be a disaster.

[mountain grammy]

20. We better elect more Democratic senators..

[calimary]

22. THIS.

This is how you make him irrelevant. The "look at me!" reference farther upthread, I think, is spot-on. He gets to be a star, the center of attention, the one everybody's always talking about. And I think he likes that. I think he CRAVES that - probably more attention than he's ever gotten before in his whole life.

The feigned "bipartisanship" of that seating choice is bullshit, nicely pointed out upthread, too, that we certainly didn't see any Republicans going over to sit with Democrats to demonstrate "bipartisanship," did we? That would ONLY have worked IF he'd made a deal with some Republican that they were both gonna demonstrate bipartisanship by sitting with the other team on the opposing side. That's the ONLY way it would have worked. Instead, it was a one-way gesture that I think fell flat. NOBODY got the point. The point I think a lot of people DID get was "fraternizing with the enemy now, dude?" Looked like a traitor to me. He's picked a side, and it's not mine.

That tells me all I need - or want - to know.

[mountain grammy]

56. Exactly right..

first thing I thought of.. what republican is sitting on the other side? Manchin is not very smart and is relishing the attention. So sad for all the good Dems in WV who voted for him, and so many living in poverty in WV that he cares nothing about.

[Joinfortmill]

26. 👍

[catrose]

43. Oklahoma would be a long shot, but let's go for it.

[mountain grammy]

44. Agree..

The tribes are already united against the governor. I hope they unite to elect a Democratic senator.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/us/kevin-stitt-tribal-nations-oklahoma-casinos.html

[yardwork]

51. Yes! And make Manchin and Sinema irrelevant.

[RainCaster]

21. His sulfur breath fits right in with the GOP

[SouthernDem4ever]

24. Manchin sits where his money puppeteers like him to

[Joinfortmill]

25. Vote, so this dude becomes irrelevant

[JohnSJ]

36. Exactly, that is the key

[DLevine]

28. Of course he did. Birds of a feather.

He never misses an opportunity to disrespect Biden and the Democratic Party.

[no_hypocrisy]

29. We still have the Senate as long as he doesn't change parties.

That's all we can be grateful for.

[bucolic_frolic]

31. I suspect this to be an indication

that any legislation of any consequence will be deep-sixed by Sen. Manchin this year.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

42. No surprise that Manchinskaya is sitting with the democracy hating RePutincan Duma.

He says "the United States and our allies around the globe must take immediate action and impose crippling sanctions to address Russia’s anti-democratic, aggressive actions" while at the same time he and his RePutincan friends take aggressive actions to destroy democracy in the US.

He should be removed from his position as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Cybersecurity Subcommittee, and be replaced by a trustworthy, demonstrably pro-democracy Democrat.

[NCjack]

45. I wish the seats were assigned randomly. No grouping by House, Senate, and political party.

Maybe some of them might actually talk to each other.

[agingdem]

47. If Manchin is so simpatico with the likes of

Mitch, Ted, Marco, Johnson and the rest of loathsome GOP roster then he gets to own trashy Boebert and Greene, the vile House mean girl buffoons...

[CrispyQ]

49. He may think this is personal between him & Biden, but his actions are really a giant Fuck You

to all the democratic voters across America who risked their well-being to stand in long lines & vote for democratic candidates. I would like to write & ask him, "Don't you have enough? Aren't you rich enough that you can say no to your coal & republican contributors & start doing the work of the people who voted for you?"

It's all so corrupt. The whole system is a fucked up mess. One simple thing could fix it, but the ones who can implement the change are the very ones benefiting from the current system.

Humans should be fighting climate change. We are so fucked.

[zanana1]

52. That's because he is a Republican.

He's a Democrat in name only.

[monkeyman1]

53. Russian asset ! sanction boat & sell it ! give money to Ukrainian people !

[BlueIdaho]

54. The dumb bastard

Probably thinks he’s doing a good thing. It’s pathetic that his idea of bipartisanship is rolling over and doing anything the GQP wants.

He can’t be gone soon enough.

[bluestarone]

55. I DO NOT like what he's doing. BUT

We still have control of the Senate! THAT'S the most important thing NOW. It comes down to using him where ever WE can. Believe me it COULD be a whole hell of a lot worse. It's a tough pill to swallow but dammit that's our ONLY choice right now!

[LudwigPastorius]

57. !

[mvd]

58. He's a disgrace and thinks like them a lot

Just maddening. But we might just have to vote in more Democrats. He has such an ego that threats don’t seem to work. And I don’t want a real Repuke in his seat.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

59. I wonder how he'll vote on supreme court justice selections

Will he hold out for "bipartisanship"?