The Right Resistance: Pesky Joe – Manchin – won’t go away, and there’s no going around him

It’s safe to say, at some point, just about everyone has had a “condition” that just won’t go away. Be it a pesky cold and cough, a skin abrasion on your finger or a stray nomadic animal in the backyard that just can’t be discouraged – or stopped – from eating your pet’s food, some things stick around long past their welcome.

It’s definitely true in American politics, too.

Such seems to be the case for West Virginia Democrat senator Joe Manchin, a politician so annoying that large swatches of people from both parties can’t stand him and can barely tolerate another one of his multiple media appearances talking about the nastiness in today’s politics and presenting himself and a token few others as potential solutions to the partisan impasse.

Everyone recognizes the establishment media loves conflict, and the talkers know they’ll always get more than they bargained for where Manchin is concerned. The West Virginian is tossing out hints that he might leave the Democrat party – finally – and naturally, it has the media in a buzz speculating over what the man might do next.

In a piece titled “Manchin ‘thinking seriously’ about leaving Democrats to become independent”, Ramsey Touchberry reported at The Washington Times:

“Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said [last week] that he’s been considering leaving the Democratic Party ‘for quite some time,’ marking an escalation in his long-running flirtation with becoming an independent. ‘I would think very seriously about that. I’ve been thinking about that for quite some time,’ the conservative Democrat told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval.

“’I haven’t made any decisions whatsoever on any of my political direction. I want to make sure that my voice is truly an independent voice,’ he said. Mr. Manchin has not said whether he will seek reelection next year as Republicans line up to challenge him in the ruby-red state. He also hasn’t ruled out a third-party bid against President Biden...

“’I’m thinking seriously. For me, I have to have peace of mind,’ Mr. Manchin said of becoming an independent. ‘The brand has become so bad — the ‘D’ brand and ‘R’ brand. In West Virginia, the ‘D’ brand because it’s nationally bad. It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia. It’s the Democrats in Washington, or the Washington policies of the Democrats. You’ve heard me say a million times that I’m not a Washington Democrat.’”

Well, apparently, ol’ Blue Ridge Mountain Joe just said it for the millionth and one time, and we won’t believe him any more than the initial instance he blubbered about not being part of the evil Washington Democrat clique. It’s been stated in this space numerous occasions before, but Manchin has used his vote leverage in a tightly contested senate to both earn multi-billion-dollar trinkets of what he wanted from “Chucky” while also dangling the possibility of leaving the Democrats in front of “turtle” Mitch McConnell’s bespectacled mug.

In essence, Manchin is being courted by both sides, like being the lone girl at a school dance populated only by bashful boys. West Virginia Joe can have his choice of suitors, but if he leans too far in either direction, he’ll lose his appeal.

Here’s thinking Manchin’s tune would change remarkably if Democrats had a larger majority or if Republicans suddenly found themselves in the majority by three or four seats. This is going back a ways, but when Republicans were in power a few years back, hardly anyone was paying any mind to Manchin unless there was a Supreme Court nomination at hand and a couple of the Republican RINOs (mainly Maine’s Susan Collins or Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski) hinted that they might go liberal and oppose the principled jurist on abortion grounds.

But now, Manchin could potentially hold the next Congress hostage if he were to run and somehow win – in his senate seat. And if he were to actually turn in his Democrat keys, smart money suggests he wouldn’t vote any different on any issue than he does now. Arizona’s Senator Kyrsten Sinema became an “independent” last year and I don’t think it’s had any effect on the partisan balance, though I did see recently that she was after the Biden administration to get to work on the southern border/illegal immigration crisis.

Liberal “independents” equal Democrat opportunist. Tell me it isn’t so.

The truth is, and I’m guessing even Democrats would concede, that if senile Joe Biden weren’t such a pathetic, corrupted, shill of a politician that no one would even be talking about Joe Manchin – at least outside of West Virginia, where he’s up for reelection next year. Regular politics watchers may recall that Manchin managed to win his last reelection battle, in 2018, in a midterm election year that heavily favored Democrats.

Back then, the establishment media and Democrats managed to whip public opinion against the Donald Trump administration by whining and griping about “Russian collusion”, hamstringing the otherwise exceedingly effective policy president and forcing him to spend precious campaign time denying fake charges rather than pressing the argument against the obstructionist opposition. Manchin wasn’t exactly the lead obstruction pusher, but he voted with “Chucky” Schumer and his ultra-leftist colleagues just enough to make him annoying.

The gullible Democrat base came out in force to vote against Republican candidates and there were just enough old-guard Democrat hangers-on in the Mountain State to allow Manchin to prevail (by three points) when Donald Trump’s name wasn’t on the ballot in 2018.

Manchin isn’t stupid – he understands that his odds of overcoming another uphill battle for senate reelection aren’t good. If Donald Trump’s name is on the ballot next year – and it’s certainly looking like it will be -- Manchin’s chances of making a comeback to Washington in 2025 is about zero, and if one of the other Republican candidates should be the GOP nominee, the odds are practically the same. There simply isn’t an open avenue for Manchin to return as a Democrat, hence Joe M’s hot air about leaving the liberals behind to highlight his “independence” from the two-party system is about as substantive as the inside of a balloon.

The only mystery is when Manchin would actually make an announcement. He’ll need to decide on reelection by the end of this year or else the poor West Virginia Democrats might not have a viable candidate for next year’s election. And if Joe M. opts for the longer-than-long shot of launching a “No Labels” bid for the presidency, it’s not something he can throw together at the last minute.

All of this could depend on senile Joe and his flailing reelection campaign. Democrats are rapidly running out of ways to make Biden look like a competent candidate. Despite their fervent attempts to paint the allegations and evidence surrounding Hunter Biden’s criminal foibles as the figment of some Republican’s imagination, the proverbial walls seem to be closing in.

It appears to this observer that many Democrats are torn between desiring to dig in and defend Biden and cackling sidekick Kamala Harris and secretly wishing the senile Joe problem would just go away. What’s there to say when bank records, whistleblower accounts and even the testimony of supposedly “friendly” sources all points towards the Biden family being as guilty as sin? When will it reach the point where Biden and his perceived general election strength becomes too much of a liability for all Democrat candidates?

This is hardly news, but Democrats seem to be piling all their hopes behind an impassioned defense of abortion, which has worked magic for them in Wisconsin (Supreme Court election) and Ohio (ballot question on raising the requirements to pass state constitutional amendments). Far be it from me to suggest the evil party members champion infanticide in the womb, but there’s only so much “choice” involved when everyone knows that a life ends during an abortion.

Harris’s headline-generating dust-up with Gov. Ron DeSantis a few weeks back also sheds light on what angles Democrats will use to rile up their ignorant base – racism and slavery. If senile Joe wants attention taken off of his son and his own problems, why not just call the other side a bunch of racists? Is Joe Manchin going to get in on the fun, especially when his state is one of the whitest states in the region?

Reality implies that Manchin will continue to be able to wield his oversized influence as long as he maintains the appearance of his vote being for sale – and also his constant dangling of a possible presidential run that scares the you-know-what out of Democrats who depend on packaging senile Joe’s “moderation” into the next election. Plenty of Democrats would purport to Biden’s left, but a bona fide “centrist” doing the same?

Look how liberals reacted to the outsider candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? Want to drum up some headlines, corporate media? Why not ask Joe Manchin to comment on some of RFK Jr’s more controversial (within Democrat circles) ideas on government power (vaccine and mask mandates) and free speech?

Manchin doesn’t care about the liberty issues. He’d rather sustain the appearance of being a “centrist” for his own purposes.

There’s no question that Joe Manchin is one of those “pesky” things in life that just won’t go away. It’s doubtful that either Democrats or Republicans really want to hear West Virginia Joe’s spiel about “unity” or moderation another time, but he’ll keep getting media attention as long as his vote counts for as much as it does now. What will Manchin do? Does anyone care?

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