For a registered Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia seems to take an inordinate amount of pleasure in causing his party difficulty. If he had lost his most recent election in the Mountain State, West Virginia would likely be sending an obstructionist Republican to congress. In fact, they seem more and more to have elected an obstructionist Democrat.
Today came the news that Manchin will not support filibuster reform under any circumstances. Writing in the Washington Post, Manchin pontificated about the glorious traditions of the U.S. Senate and lectured his party, like a stern father, for losing sight of what made this legislative body “great.” Manchin defended the filibuster on the grounds that it gives a voice to small states and impels the majority party to compromise with the minority as supposedly happened in the halcyon days of Senate bipartisanship. He also expressed chagrin at the widespread use of reconciliation to pass President Biden’s agenda, and peppered his remarks with a heavy dose of establishment insularity.
Joe Manchin’s position is deeply reactionary. The United States Senate’s overrepresentation of rural states is inherently undemocratic and, in a society as suffused with racial polarization as the United States of America, gives outsize voice to the dominant racial group. Manchin observes approvingly that West Virginia gets as many senators as California; this is grossly unrepresentative and indefensible. And his commitment to the filibuster will block meaningful action to advance social progress and social justice, as it always has throughout its long history.
The idea that Republicans are eager to work with Democrats on issues like infrastructure, let alone voting rights, sits in contravention to any kind of reality. GOP leader Mitch McConnell promised to fight President Biden’s infrastructure proposal tooth and nail because he believes it will lead the nation astray. McConnell’s threats should be taken seriously. Across the country, Republican politicians are attacking voting rights, and in D.C., GOPers have portrayed H.R.1 as the mark of the beast.
In other words, the continuation of filibuster rules will torpedo the rest of Biden’s agenda. Republicans already weaponized the filibuster to neutralize one Democratic president’s agenda–and Manchin was there to see it. Of all people Manchin should be especially cognizant of the depredations of the filibuster; it was used to destroy his signature gun control legislation advanced (on a bipartisan basis!) with Pat Toomey. Nevertheless, Manchin is either so blinded by Senate tradition or else so eager to posture for his very Trumpy constituents that he has promised to let Republicans stop President Biden in his tracks.
Joe Manchin is a Democrat. But in this case, he is being at best irrational and at worst cynical and disloyal to the party that has backed him despite a long history of causing headaches for their side. Senate traditions should not be allowed to thwart necessary progress, nor should a Democratic senator deliberately undermine his own president. Joe Lieberman did it to Barack Obama. Does Joe Manchin really want to be the next Joe Lieberman?
Alexander Jones is an original contributor to PoliticsNC.
How is passing legislation to provide real voting rights to everyone in this country a majority take over? How is refusing to make DC a state honoring the aims of those who wrote our Constitution? If the Senate was supposed to be the bastion of thoughtful, deliberative legislation, how does a filibuster that is accomplished simply by threatening to take action against a bill even remotely thoughtful? How is the paralysis which we have seen repeatedly for close to two decades good for this country, or responsible action by any Senator? There is nothing honorable or responsible in Senator Manchin’s actions. He is not really different from Senator McConnell. Just wears a different label.
At this point in time I believe that Manchin is really just trying to become a big shot! He’s not helping Democrats get President Biden’s agenda done for all Americans !
If West Virginia had sent a Republican to Congress then Biden would be pissing up a rope, wouldn’t he?
All of this completely misses the point of the Senate, and our form of government in general. The United States is not, never has been, and IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE a straight democracy. It is a Republic, and not just one Republic, but a confederation made up of 50 States. Each State is an equal member in the Union, regardless of population. A slim majority confers no special rights to get its way in everything. The governmental structure, and particularly the Senate, is designed to force the majority to compromise with the minority, just as Manchin says, because majorities don’t get to vote away the rights of the minority.
Don’t like it? Tough shit. It’s not going to change without a supermajority of the population swinging your way and agreeing to dispose of a republican (small “r”) form of government in favor of a social democracy, and that simply is not going to happen on anything less than a multi-generational timeframe.
You do not get to make sweeping changes to the structure of our society just because you want to and 51% of the population agrees with you.
It really wouldn’t take multiple generations to eliminate the filibuster and add D.C. and Puerto Rico as states.
And when Republicans were in the majority, where was that compromise with the minority that you speak of?
Republicans only want compromise when they are the minority
Where were you while Mitch was playing God????
Now we have DINOs. Can’t we buy a couple of Republican votes with promises of focused infrastructure $$$$$$$$