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Karzyn ,

Many comments here are complaining about Manchin without taking the time to consider the political acrobatics necessary to win a statewide office in West Virginia as a Democrat. Yes, he’s been a pain in the ass but a Republican in that seat would be much, much worse. If nothing else, he’s a point towards control of the chamber. Sinema is a different story because she ran as being more progressive than she ended up being and because Kelly is proof positive that an actual Democrat could have won on Arizona. Manchin has never shied away from what he stands for and is probably the only person who could keep the seat blue. So yeah, hate his politics all you want but recognize that him leaving the party would be a terrible thing.

acastcandream ,

I live in a very red state and I feel like people just don’t understand how bad the alternative is. I’d take Manchin over my GOP senators.

bluegreenzeros ,

IMO the difference between Manchin and MOST GOP Congress members is that since he’s wearing a blue tie, he’s allowed to do things that are commonly believed, but against the GOP groupthink. Outside of the “freedom” caucus and the political stunts and cultural war red herrings, I’d reckon Manchin agrees with more Republicans than Democrats.

acastcandream , (edited )

It’s all publicly available info, and you’re actually very incorrect with that guess.

No Republican would vote with the democrats at that rate in either chamber of Congress.

bluegreenzeros ,

Agreeing with is not the same as voting or publicly campaigning for. These are all things that happen within the political theater, where of course it’s hyper divided.

If you had a conversation with Manchin or many a Republican, you’d most likely find they agreed on most things, but since they’re both bound by playing a political game the outcomes are vastly different.

acastcandream ,

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    bluegreenzeros ,

    Have you actually read my first comment? Who said anything about prioritization? The only thing I’m arguing is that outside of the political theater and political tribalism that causes all politicians to act and vote for things that aren’t aligned with their own beliefs, that Manchin agrees more with republicans than your average Democrat.

    You’re reading a lot into my comments, but not disputing any actual points.

    middlemuddle ,

    Seriously. I get being frustrated with him and wishing for someone better, but that’s just not realistic. There are pathways to reduce his power by supporting candidates that can flip a seat in other states, but his seat is only ever likely to get more red.

    bedrooms ,

    This kind of balanced view is one reason I stay in fediverse and don't go back to Reddit.

    Swallowtail ,

    I’m a politics junkie and have seen many posts like this on Reddit. If anything I’d say up to now the fediverse has been farther left leaning in my experience.

    bedrooms ,

    Thing is, I'm not talking about left vs right.

    gaytswiftfan ,

    this take was a top level comment in any thread involving manchin lol

    FlashMobOfOne ,
    @FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

    So yeah, hate his politics all you want but recognize that him leaving the party would be a terrible thing.

    The reason why things are never going to get better is that 49% of us pretend a Republican’s okay because they’re wearing a blue suit.

    AnarchoYeasty ,

    That Republican in a blue suit has stopped a lot of terrible decisions and enabled us to make strides in improving our country. We would be a hell of a lot worse off without him.

    FlashMobOfOne ,
    @FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

    Sure, Jan.

    FlowVoid , (edited )

    Manchin consistently votes with Democrats whenever his vote matters.

    When his vote doesn’t matter, I don’t care how he votes or what he says.

    Lowbird ,

    The huge infrastrastructure bill he and Sinema tanked, though.

    FlowVoid ,

    The infrastructure bill was resurrected as the Inflation Reduction Act, which Manchin voted for.

    Chetzemoka ,

    "Robert Carlyle Byrd served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A Democrat, Byrd also served as a U.S. representative for six years, from 1953 until 1959. He remains the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history"

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd

    raccoona_nongrata ,
    @raccoona_nongrata@beehaw.org avatar

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    acastcandream , (edited )

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