Joe Manchin vows ‘unrelenting fight’ against US climate law he helped pass
Joe Manchin vows ‘unrelenting fight’ against US climate law he helped pass
Democratic West Virginia senator calls the Inflation Reduction Act, hailed as ‘biggest step on climate crisis’, a ‘radical agenda’
Democratic West Virginia senator calls the Inflation Reduction Act, hailed as ‘biggest step on climate crisis’, a ‘radical agenda’
These politicians are not afraid of the people and thats a damn shame
Manchin actually is...
He talks a big talk, but everytime a progressive like Bernie or Warren went down to WV to talk to his voters...
Manchin stopped opposing his own party, but said it'll never work again.
WV voters support most progressive policies, and when people explain Manchin is opposed to all the stuff his voters support, Manchin gets scared. Because all his promises to not run again are lies.
Okay, I just recently moved to WV and I'm massively interested in that statement about most people supporting progressive policies, since I was ki da feeling like a fish out of water. Can you tell me more, or point to a source? I would be super relieved if WV were more resistant to the reactionary political BS that has been plaguing the GOP.
Manchin stopped opposing his own party
As though there was ever a time when he did.
But he IS afraid of his constituents. That's why he's switching his positions, because he's afraid of being voted out next year
That's the opposite of what is happening here. He is afraid of his constituents in West Virginia. It's his electors that would rather see the world burn than lose their own inflated incomes. WV's economy is very tied to fossil fuels.
Too bad there wasn’t some huge pool of spending allocated, that they could use to diversify their economy and energy sources. As the world flushes down fossil fuel companies, the pay seem determined to ride that wave
Physically or...........
Then fix it for us.
Proof positive he's running for re-election.
He has met the enemy, and it is him.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In response, one advocate for climate action accused Manchin, who she called an “oily senator”, of “talk[ing] out of whichever side of his mouth will please the polluting fossil fuel industry”.
In a statement on Wednesday, Manchin said the IRA was “one of the most historic pieces of legislation passed in decades … re-establish[ing] an all-of-the-above energy policy and empowered the growth of fossil fuels and renewables.
“Senator Manchin talks out of whichever side of his mouth will please the polluting fossil fuel industry,” said Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
“As we continue to see the horrific impacts of climate change, from extreme heat to deadly flooding and wildfires, we can’t afford inaction,” said the organization’s president, Abigail Dillen.
Such a candidacy could be supported by No Labels, a group seeking to mount a third-party campaign against Biden and his presumed opponent, Donald Trump, who have historically low ratings with the voting public.
On Wednesday, Manchin said the US “needs leadership and my hope is that elected leaders in both parties and in the White House put down their political swords [and] stop playing to the ideological extremes”.
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When Manchin goes, he isn't getting replaced by a more left Dem. He is as left as the state is gonna go for some time. Trump had ~70% of the vote; even the most liberal county, Monongalia, still broke for Trump, and that's where WVU is.
Anyone who thinks the citizens here will vote for another Dem are delusional. He's staying in power because he was already there, simple as. He was an agreeable Dem because he would talk about coal lovingly and bitch about things people wanted him to bitch about. If/when he swaps to R, he's going further right or the people here will vote a better conservative in.
If you need to figure out Joe Manchin, watch Hamilton. He will sacrifice his constituents and values to be the one making and being made deals. He will speak one way and act another to cover that.
Something something R in D’s clothing
To be fair, it's one of the old school Republicans that would cross the aisle and vote for something Democrats made that are now Extinct in modern Politics. They died with John McCain, honestly. Better Manchin than Sinema or an actual modern Republican.
If I had to vote in 5-10 more Joe Manchin style "Democrats" to kick the same number of Republicans out of office in Red States, I would. Especially if it gave us 60 Democrats and the ability to have a filibuster-proof majority. Even if they were like "Immigrants are bad" or "All guns are good" or "We have to stop being woke about gays and trans and pronouns." or whatever, as long as they weren't all of that at once (and preferably only ONE of those at once) I'd vote them in, so long as they voted to do something about climate change, and also hopefully to reform the economy so all the money and power's not in the hands of the big megacorps and billionaires.
People won't stop being stupid and bigoted, so we have to take the wins we can. Everyone complains that Republicans keep trotting out "God, Guns, and Gays" every time they campaign, but what they're not addressing is that Republicans keep WINNING with the 3 G's and also immigration. They hold the house and have enough of the senate to filibuster everything. They've also used their control of the house and senate (and Presidency, when they have it) to pack the Supreme Court too.
I honestly want Democrats and liberal ideological purists to start being realistic now that the world is burning down around us and see that we've run out of time and need to start winning now, or else we won't have a future. The fact that young Republicans believe in and want to do something about climate change is also a good thing. Reality is about power and consensus, it's not about ideals.