I'd disagree. Last year and this year proved to be a thorough rejection of the GOP's fascist bullshit. If the Democrats had actually run candidates in the other off year elections this year in the deep south, I feel like we would have seen some purple poking through
Pretty low bar, but yeah. He was vilified more than he should have been for short term gains and now the Democrats have lost a seat for the long term that they can't afford to lose.
I think people who were frustrated with him completely misunderstand. The alternative to Joe Manchin isn’t a more normal Dem. It’s no Dem at all. He was a bonus vote, who helped keep control of the senate, allowing Dems to set the legislative agenda and approve judicial appointments.
And frankly, the alternative isn’t even a normal Republican. West Virginia is one of the reddest states in the country with a partisan lean of R+35.5! Joe Manchin will likely be replaced with a super right wing ideologue. Dems had no right to expect more from Manchin.
lol no. In 2020 Biden lost WV by over 40 points and so did the Dem running for Senate there.
The state legislature has an 89-11 Republican majority in the house of delegates and a 31-3 Republican majority in the Senate.
And it’s only getting redder.
That seat will be lost to republicans for generations. Manchin was only electable as a Dem because he was a very popular governor. He’s the only Dem in the state that could win it.
People cheering for this are absolute fucking idiots.
Y'know, I get the whole 'but it's a red-as-fuck state so we have to take a safe centrist candidate' thing, but are you fucking kidding me? Centrist democrats give democrats a terrible name in the first place- they're corporate creatures whose favorite pastime is hunting the poor for sport and colluding with right-wingers to suppress labor rights and make corporate power unassailable.
dont let the door hit on the way you god-awful, terrible excuse for a human being. that you breathe same air as the rest of us on this planet is a waste.
Wasn't this guy just in the news for kicking the infrastructure bill (which was effectively meant to be our try at national-level climate action) repeatedly in the balls, cutting climate and infrastructure spending by like half - and then holding the whole thing up at the end when his clients/constituents presumably realized that one of the provisions in the bill would jeopardize the pipeline deal they had been working on (which, surprise, happened to go through some frontline communities, etc etc)?
Some of the conservatives I know like him. His audience would be republicans who think Trump/Desantis/Vivek are too extreme and democrats who think Biden is too old + DINOs. Maybe some conservative democrats and southern democrats.
Course im not sure thats enough to win, but do damage, I think so.