American Thinker; I can’t understand why Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia remains a Democrat. Ideologically, he is far closer to Mitch McConnell or even Ted Cruz than he is to the Schumer-Pelosi Democrats. His constituents in the Mountaineer State (“Mountaineer” is the polite word for “Hillbilly”) gave President Trump overwhelming support in 2016, and remain loyal to him.
When it doesn’t matter to the outcome, he can break with the Dems to support the GOP in Senate votes. But when push comes to shove, he is a Party Man.
During the State of the Union Address, he visibly surrendered to the party leadership and handed the GOP a hammer to use on him when he is up for re-election this November. MORE HERE
(about to stand up) “Oh, that’s right. We’re evil. Oh well.”
Regardless of how West Virginia votes, they pathologically identify themselves with the Demonrat Party.
Manchin, being the former governor, is most likely aware of this apparent irony.
They’re a weird combination of independence and an overwhelming lust for free-shit. Surprisingly similar to Arkansas.
izlamo delenda est …
He drives a coal-fired vehicle with square tires. How many times has he threatened to change his affiliation?
Expect dhimmicrats to give him his walking papers in WV, if the economy keeps improving. It will do so, in SPITE of him & his party.
Has Thomas Lifson lost his mind?! I usually take the word of the intro on stories here at IOTWReport (who has time to read EVERYTHING?), but I had to click over to AT to see for myself if Lifson actually wrote “Ideologically, he is far closer to Mitch McConnell or even Ted Cruz than he is to the Schumer-Pelosi Democrats.” Closer to Ted Cruz?!
Or am I being a spoiler on Lifson’s reverse psychology strategy to get West Virginians to start hating on Manchin and look for another candidate? Haven’t those weird, convoluted, false flag political contests become passe’ in the era of President Trump’s truth-is-better-than-fiction approach?
How does Lifson square his assessment of Manchin as neo-McConnell/Cruz in light of Vice President Pence’s “carpet bombing” of Manchin on Twitter?
“Manchin, who bills himself as a centrist Democrat, holds a pitiful 16% “F” Liberty Score. The Democrat will adopt conservative rhetoric on the campaign trail back home, but when he goes to Washington, D.C., as Pence showed, he fits comfortably inside the pocket of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.”
Here are Pence’s Twitter bombs (from the story at Conservative Review):
https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/vp-mike-pence-carpet-bombs-moderate-joe-manchins-liberal-voting-record-west-virginia/
Manchin’s half-standing, half-sitting picture is a perfect summary of his left-hand-in-your-pocket, right-hand-outstretched-to-shake-yours, political calculus.
…the one thing we cannot do is to start believing that just because a D politician pretends a shift toward the R side, he or she will caucus and vote for POTUS Trump’s agenda just because he’s changed his seating assignment!
@AA – you’re right. Just look at McStain!
Manchin voted against the tax cut
Manchin voted for Obamacare
biggest POS to come out of WVA since Exalted Cyclops Robert Byrd
… square that, ya OxyContin Welfare Ridge-runners from West By God Virginia!