THE DEMOCRATS NEED JOE MANCHIN TO FINALLY DECIDE HIS LEGACY

 

                                …The anti-democracy U.S. Senator: Joe Manchin

 

This Senator either allows our democracy’s to die, or he will refuse to allow the Republicans to destroy democracy

 

The Democrats are furious with the Democratic Senator from West Virginia.  Yes, Senator Joe Manchin is seriously pissing off his fellow Democratic Senators.  Unfortunately, the Democrats need him more than he needs them.

Senator Joe Manchin declared in a Sunday op-ed that he is against the “For the People Act”  (H.R. 1), because it is not bipartisan. “I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act,” he wrote. “Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.”

Let’s take H.R. 1 first, which is the For the People Act. He does not state what provisions he likes or doesn’t, nor does he suggest what compromise bill might reach 60 votes. So his objection is that Republicans object?  Many bills that he supported came without Republican support including the American Rescue Plan, most recently, and of course, the Affordable Care Act. The notion that Republicans win simply by refusing to agree to any of the majority’s legislative proposals makes a mockery of democracy, and specifically of the Senate.

Indeed, Republicans’ filibuster of the Jan. 6 Commission legislation showed that we lack 10 Republicans willing to operate in good faith.

Manchin also states that he prefers H.R. 4, which addresses only reauthorization of pre-clearance provisions. He argued, “The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would update the formula states and localities must use to ensure proposed voting laws do not restrict the rights of any particular group or population. My Republican colleague, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has joined me in urging Senate leadership to update and pass this bill through regular order.” 

But where are the 10 Republicans to support that measure Joe?  The senator is “encouraged by the desire from both sides to transcend partisan politics and strengthen our democracy by protecting voting rights.”  Yet when 10 Republicans do not emerge for closure on that issue either, just as we saw on the Jan. 6 Commission bill, Manchin simply gives up?

It’s time for Manchin to put up or shut-up and share blame for Republicans’ subversion of democracy. Let him come up with the 10 Republicans for H.R. 4 and for a slimmed down H.R. 1.  Let's let him find four more Republicans to support the Jan. 6 Commission Report.  If he cannot, then his thesis that the filibuster promotes debate and makes way for compromise totally collapses and his role in promoting the tyranny of the minority is laid naked and bare.

Manchin insisted that he will not “weaken or eliminate” the filibuster. He should be compelled to spell out what reforms he would accept. Is he requiring Republicans to hold the floor (i.e., demand a talking filibuster).  It is well past the time to start pressuring Manchin to answer some basic questions: Like: “If the filibuster is simply a means of thwarting any reasonable legislation, why is it worth preserving? What if the integrity of our democracy is at stake, which it is?”

Manchin’s ridiculous  platitudes suggests that he prefers stalemate to taking hard votes. The status quo leaves him with the latitude to make holier-than-thou pronouncements to decry both sides.

Is elevating the filibuster to the level that it is absolutely necessary and stating our constitutional system is totally absurd?  The filibuster is not in the Constitution...?  The filibuster protects no constitutional principle. It does not constitute a check or balance of the other branches.

Moreover, the republic has survived previous changes to the filibuster, such as reducing closure to 60 votes; eliminating the filibuster for executive branch nominees; and carving out budget reconciliation. There is no reason to assume another modification, one to ensure the fundamental right to vote, would be any more harmful.

What are Democrats to do with someone so seemingly irrational and obstinate as Manchin?

First, Democrats should compel Republicans to filibuster again and again the bills Manchin himself thinks are entirely reasonable.  Bring up H.R. 4. Put the Jan. 6 commission back on the floor. After 5 or 6 of these rounds, Manchin’s bipartisan fetish might subside.

Second, Manchin’s Democratic colleagues have a right to demand he present compromise legislation that has 10 Republicans.  What magic formula is he aware of that has evaded others?  Where are four more Republicans in addition to the six who would support the Jan. 6 Commission?

And finally, voters and voting rights activists need to confront Manchin civilly and peacefully, but with unrelenting demands for him to justify his position. An array of interest groups hurt by Republican obstruction and assaults on voting rights. Such as organized labor, American seniors, and the disabled community.  We must turn up the heat. Most of all, Capitol Hill police and other law enforcement officials must demand passage of the Jan. 6 Commission.  They must have Manchin’s agreement to push it through with less than 60 votes.

They and the widows of law enforcement personnel killed from the Jan. 6 events need to be omnipresent and unrelenting.

The time for Manchin’s excuse-mongering is over. It is time to demonstrate his bipartisan notions are more than fantasy, they are against our basic democracy.  And if he cannot do that, he needs to choose his own legacy. 

Let’s face it, he either ushers in our democracy’s demise, or he refuses to allow Republicans to dismantle democracy before our eyes.  One or the other.

That’s certainly the only thing for which he’ll be remembered for, and it will be his legacy.

Copyright G. Ater 2021