{"id":1227,"date":"2018-10-07T08:07:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T12:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=1227"},"modified":"2018-10-07T08:07:14","modified_gmt":"2018-10-07T12:07:14","slug":"manchins-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2018\/10\/07\/manchins-survival\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchin’s Survival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchin\u2019s Survival<\/p>\n

Joe Manchin, Senator from West Virginia, was faced with a difficult choice this week.\u00a0 Manchin is running for re-election in West Virginia, the most \u201cTrumpian\u201d state in the country.\u00a0 He is the last of the \u201cold school Democrats\u201d of West Virginia, the Democrats elected by the coal miners union and the folks \u00a0\u201cup in the hollars;\u201d the voters that sent Democrat Robert Byrd to the Senate for over fifty years.<\/p>\n

As a Democrat, Manchin represents a key vote in the Senate, where the current split is 49 Dems to 51 Republicans.\u00a0 When it comes down to the most critical issues, such as the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, where every single vote counts, Manchin may well tip the balance.<\/p>\n

So it is no wonder that he waited to the last to vote on the procedural motion on Kavanaugh.\u00a0 If the cloture vote failed, then there would be no final \u00a0vote on the candidate.\u00a0 While most Republicans, and all \u00a0Democrats other than Manchin, had committed, there remained three Republicans wavering.\u00a0 Senators Flake of Arizona, Collins of Maine, and Murkowski of Alaska all had expressed doubts about the fitness of Kavanaugh for high office.<\/p>\n

Flake voted to end debate and confirm Kavanaugh.\u00a0 Murkowski voted against.\u00a0 Manchin waited.\u00a0 Clearly, if Susan Collins chose to vote against cloture, then Manchin would be the deciding vote (a tie would bring in the Vice President, who would vote for the Republicans.)\u00a0 By holding his vote, he made it pretty clear that a Collins \u201cno\u201d would mean a Manchin \u201cno\u201d as well, and the end of the Kavanaugh candidacy.\u00a0 It also might mean the end of Joe Manchin\u2019s service in the Senate, as West Virginians were in favor of Kavanaugh 62% to 38% (MetroNews<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

When Collins voted to end cloture, it freed Manchin from the determining responsibility.\u00a0 He voted to protect his re-election, joining the Republicans and the 62% of West Virginians to confirm Kavanaugh.\u00a0 He solidified his position in West Virginia to win.<\/p>\n

We can only project which way Senator Manchin would have gone if Collins had voted \u201cno,\u201d but the timing of his late vote indicates he would have joined his fellow Democrats if it had made a difference.\u00a0 And his fellow Democrats gave him the \u201cspace\u201d to make that choice.<\/p>\n

The more progressive members of the Democratic Party have complained that Manchin is \u201cmore Republican\u201d than \u201cDemocrat\u201d in his voting.\u00a0 What Manchin really represents is a test of how \u201cbig the tent\u201d of the Democratic Party is.\u00a0 If Democrats still represent a broad view of politics, from the \u201cblue dog\u201d Democrats (fiscal conservatives, social progressives) to the \u201csocial-Democrats (Bernie Sanders types) then there needs to be room in the party for Joe Manchin.<\/p>\n

And on a more practical note:\u00a0 if there is a \u201cblue wave\u201d coming in November, then the Senate could hinge on a single vote.\u00a0Senate seats in Florida, Nevada, North Dakota, Missouri, Arizona, Tennessee and even Texas are up for grabs:\u00a0if Democrats can gain a majority, Joe Manchin will be part of that block.<\/p>\n

Now is not the time for Democratic leaders to push Manchin into the Republican Party.\u00a0 Now is the time for Democrats to build their \u201cbig tent\u201d inclusive of a wide range of political thought.\u00a0 Manchin needs to have a place in that tent, for Democrats to have the best chance of controlling the Senate and to act as a barrier to the Trump Administration.<\/p>\n

That \u201cbig tent\u201d needs to be the model for the Democratic Party in 2020, when the Presidency will be back in play.\u00a0 As the \u201cmore progressive\u201d wing of the Party gains greater power, they should \u00a0see the need to keep moderates, and even somewhat conservatives like Manchin, as part of the group.\u00a0 That will keep the Party representing the greatest swath of American thought, instead of continuing the current process of polarization.<\/p>\n

Joe Manchin did what he had to do.\u00a0 Keeping him in the Democratic fold is important, and accepting his views as part of the m\u00e9lange of Democratic thought is important too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manchin\u2019s Survival Joe Manchin, Senator from West Virginia, was faced with a difficult choice this week.\u00a0 Manchin is running for re-election in West Virginia, the most \u201cTrumpian\u201d state in the country.\u00a0 He is the last of the \u201cold school Democrats\u201d of West Virginia, the Democrats elected by the coal miners union and the folks \u00a0\u201cup … Continue reading “Manchin’s Survival”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nManchin's Survival : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2018\/10\/07\/manchins-survival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manchin's Survival : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Manchin\u2019s Survival Joe Manchin, Senator from West Virginia, was faced with a difficult choice this week.\u00a0 Manchin is running for re-election in West Virginia, the most \u201cTrumpian\u201d state in the country.\u00a0 He is the last of the \u201cold school Democrats\u201d of West Virginia, the Democrats elected by the coal miners union and the folks \u00a0\u201cup … Continue reading "Manchin’s Survival"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2018\/10\/07\/manchins-survival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Our America - 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