it must be absolutely maddening for the democrats to be blamed for being a "do nothing party" when they are the victims of the real "do nothing party". i think both manchin (AND sinema) should be booted from the democratic party -- a long time ago, in fact. and every time i see how filthy rich manchin is and continues to become by selling the future of this planet to line his pockets, i become almost apoplectic with rage.
the worst thing is that manchin is shamelessly preying on his own constituents, the poorest of poor amerikkkans, as he works on enlarging his financial portfolio. it's almost like west virginia is a modern-day giant plantation (except it's all about coal) and manchin is the slave owner who cynically lords his privilege over the entire lot of them. If manchin's little "experiment in destruction" continues, this country will, by default, adopt the climate change policies that killed Sri Lanka, and are crushing Dutch farmers.
would anyone like some soylent green for thanksgiving?
joe manchin's duplicity is far deeper and more egregious than you might suppose. manchin was the top $$$ recipient from the following industries in the 2021-2022 election cycle:
GrrlScientist ; I guess that gives a clear picture of the 'people' he works for! The poor people in his constituency sure don't have PAC money for him! And it's obviously all about the money for him! Thank you for this information.
“The poor people in his constituency sure don’t have PAC money for him!” Spot on! And isn’t that the Manchin plan?! Keep the voters distracted with their own poverty and ignorance, on survival, so Voting , which they believe, doesn’t help them, won’t be a strategy for change. A 2014 Atlantic article “Why Are the Poor and Minorities Less Likely to Vote?”supports what we believe happens in poor mostly repub states. 2014! Still true. As the authors of a recent 700-page study conclude, "Year after year, decade after decade, and from one generation to the next, the affluent and well educated have participatory megaphones that amplify their voices in American politics ... [and] shape what politicians hear about political needs, concerns, and preferences." The result, according to another academic, is that poor and near-poor citizens exert "no discernible impact on the behavior of their elected officials.“ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-are-the-poor-and-minorities-less-likely-to-vote/282896/
Jan Churchwell ; The wealthy interests own the Corporate media. They are the source of all the negativity and frame the conversations about Biden and the Democrats. People say "Americans don't like Biden". Funny ; they voted for him, and I doubt that the majority will vote for tRump or his ilk. It's a bad deal in every way. He stacked the courts and those partisans will totally destroy "The land of the Free". The obscenely rich are looking for another big tax break and they don't care if they break our country. Don't trust polls!
Trust me, Laurie, I don't trust polls. 😊 But I'm not thrilled with Biden either (I didn't expect to be; I'd have voted for my neighbor's Doodle before I'd vote for TFG or any of his ilk). I LIKE Biden, but we needed a pit bull in 2020, and we got a bichon friese (look them up if you don't know their qualities). Take his tepid response to Dobbs: Why didn't he have a hard-hitting statement and all possible options already prepared so the WH could have responded within minutes of the decision's being announced? To my utter surprise, Merrick Garland got out a USEFUL statement faster than the WH did.
Then let's take a Tweet yesterday (@POTUS) about a space telescope. Imo there are more important issues to "focus on" at the moment. 😊
And his lukewarm response to ENDING THE FILIBUSTER.
If he went to the Mideast to promote important international matters, why didn't he detail VP Harris to take charge of a strong Dobbs response? She's a woman. She's also a former Senator, what's her position on ENDING THE FILIBUSTER.
Imo the only difference between corporate-Democrats and corporate-Republicans is that Dems aren't AS selfish or greedy. But they aren't working for "We The People" either. I'm not saying go all-in Progressive, but push some hot buttons NOW -- campaign $$ (end Citizens United), the filibuster, automatic weapons ban, women's health rights, SOMETHING for climate control, more than 50¢ off gas prices (Windfall Profits Tax?), and... [add your favorites]. Yes, it's a lot, but if Dems hadn't frittered away 18 of the 22 months they had, there might not BE so much. They knew what the issues were in 2020 -- so did WE. We've continued to push for action; THEY have not.
We will lose democracy and our national soul if Dems don't step up NOW. Like it or not, POTUS is the visible head of the party. If he isn't out in front, who will be?
PS: I agree he's getting a raw deal from the press. But that's something else he should have people deal with. Just letting things happen will result in disaster. Kicking Manchin out would be a nice, high profile start. He's as much a traitor to social needs as Susan Collins is to women's rights.
Jan Churchwell ; I agree with your viewpoints and can't believe how badly Joe Manchin has blocked everything President Biden has tried to do, especially the windfall profits tax and climate funding. There's voting rights, ending the filibuster and many other initiatives that won't move too. We need to end Citizens United and the Electoral College if we can even pretend to have free and fair elections, or a Democracy. Climate heating is actually mentioned on the MSNBC shows last evening, with Joe Manchin front and center, as he should be, for blocking all action on that. thousands of people in UK an Europe dead from extreme heat; up to 106 F. I do think JOe is much better than the other side, and he has made executive orders to give relief for women's health care since the ending of Roe. The Rethugs are throwing everything and the kitchen sink at us, and Biden is at least doing what he can actually do. Very frustrating how our laws are set up!
Hi again, Science Girl. Thanks for the stats. We all knew it was bad with Baby Joey, but having the numbers out there makes him more of a villain than one might previously have thought.
And the result is almost the worst state in the country. Why these idiots keep voting for someone who screws them into the ground I can’t imagine. Probably the terrible education system in West Virginia.
Paula B. ; Religion often goes hand in hand with control of the people. If people are taught to fear things that are forbidden because they can be ostracized and shamed/isolated that is very powerful. My own grandmother coldly stared at me after I had my rapist's child and pretty much shut me our of her life. There are worlds of pain that can accompany ignorance and religion. The last thing I needed was to be shut out by family members who ignorantly judged me. I was isolated and had nobody!
Geez, Laurie, I’m so sorry! That’s just awful. From what I see of you you turned out wonderful in spite of everything that’s happened to you. And as far as the religion stuff is concerned, I don’t know what to do. I keep hearing that Americans are turning away from religion but it sure doesn’t seem like it.
Paula B. I was helped by many good people as I grew up. It helped that I could read. The Catholic nuns made sure of that. It was an excellent education (with few interruptions! and no nonsense!). Look at this forum that Dr. Robert Reich has provided for us to enjoy for reasonable cost! It just dropped into my life from;;;Facebook! Seek and you shall find. i know a good deal when i see it.
Paula B. ; There is an exodus from organized religion in many places. Churches are auctioned off and turned into restaurants ( Holy Smokes! Rib Joint) or community centers, or even housing. I am not the only person in America who drifted away from a church that denied my sexuality( straight), and many truths of my existence, My mother sought a much needed divorce. The first thing the Catholic church did was to excommunicate her. (like my grandmother did me after I was victim of ignorance and neglect), there she was, with 5 children and a 6th on the way. She got an apartment that she could ill afford and she walked through the worst part of town two miles to the box factory where she made $53 per week in the early 60's to support us. She could not sustain and we were all wards of the state. She did keep the youngest, who was not born yet.
Shara ; Thank you for your response ; She was not retarded, but brainwashed by the Catholic church and oppressed by the Patriarchy. Years later, we had a family reunion. In the picture she looked so sad. We did not speak and I think she regretted her anger and estrangement from me.
what's amazing is that WV dems still keep electing him. Like he's doing something for them. It's still one person one vote as far as I know. It takes people to vote for a flawed candidate like Joe Manchin.
To be honest, I think that might soon be a thing of the past. I think the last election showed that action is more powerful than money. Social media isn't all that expensive. Nor are boots on the ground. People are much less likely to watch commercial television advertising today than they were even 3 years ago. People, especially young people, don't watch TV commercials anymore.
I hope you're right. Progressives who refuse to accept big donor money are demonstrating a level of integrity that deserves our support. It's interesting that corporate democrats see them as such a threat.
Machin and Moscowmitch are 130,000% why the actually wimpy but well-meaning democrats are being labled as do-nothings. I have no idea how that monster can sleep at night, unless he truly is a psychopath/sociopath?
Daniel H Laemmerhirt ; Our 'legal' system allows bribery at the ballot box for the wealthy, which destroys the rationale for a Democracy of by and for the humans. The 'morality ' of giving shareholders' profits priority over our children's safety, our rights' of autonomy over our bodies and even our very planet/environment totally corrupts 'the vote, ethics and decency. Small wonder if our 'leaders' and 'representatives ; even 'judges' and 'spiritual leaders' have no shame! They ARE sociopaths all who ascribe to this selfish and destructive worldview! IMHO
We need to get each and every millionaire and billionaire out of Congress because taken as a whole, they are out of touch with and don't represent average Americans.
They are just a part of the symbiosis between Corporations , the wealthy, in general, and our government. the very laws that have been, and continue to be made should be cleaned up, made ethical. Our stacked partisan courts and so many unjust laws hurt any attempts at fairness. the media misinforms daily. Where could we get the best traction?
There's no easy answer. Change happens one person at a time as we help others see what they want, mostly by example. What most people want is honesty, integrity, fairness, and compassion. Politicians who can't deliver these don't deserve to lead.
Kindness, compassion, laughter, speaking the truth without making others feel attacked or less than; these things are contagious.
Peter ; I like Robert Reich's focus on Manchin on Sunday, and think it is a good idea to examine people in power, maybe one at a time each week. The volume of trash being thrown at us by the extreme right is unprecedented. I like your idea of "change happens one person at a time.."
A pretty good definition of the essentials of fascism. Now all they need is a strongman at the helm and we're back in 1933, only in the US and not Germany.
Sadly, yes. I hope the majority who voted in Biden is paying attention and at least tries to vote! In the meantime: whatever can be done by executive order to protect our Constitutional rights to vote in free and fair elections should be done! If not, The Commander in Chief needs to protect our country and its citizens as if we are being invaded by the Taliban, or a Bin Laden or a Hitler!
They must go! We will NEVER have justice with this stacked partisan court! Impeach them , march, propaganda campaigns whatever we 'little people' can do to send a message! If that does not get their selfish attention, climate disasters will.
Peggy Jo. I suspect both of those fools are pretty sociopathic. They love chaos as long as it harms someone else, and they will both work to see that it happens to someone else while they become more wealthy. It works for them! Now, how do we stop them!
I agree. I think Manchin WANTS West Virginians to be kept in poverty( a kind of slavery if you think about it) and he is their "overseer". Poverty stricken and under-educated people have almost zero power. If he lightened their loads, they might figure out who he really is. As a native West Virginian who no longer lives there, Manchin's actions embarrass and also sadden me that his constituents mean so little to him that he continuously deprives them of life-saving help. Manchin is no friend of West Virginia in particular and our country in general.
Victoria Wilson, I had not thought of WV as a feudal state owned by Baby Joey and his buddies before, but the analogy and other similar ones are apt. The sad part is that the "enslaved" persons don't even realize how Baby Joey sees and uses them. They keep electing him and entrench their enslavement. The people of Appalachia get one more white corporate entity raping their land and leaving strong but desperate people behind pleading for rescue.
Yes, by keeping these people in the dark, not funding their schools, roads, infrastructure like Biden's Build Back Better act would have done, these people do not even know what they are missing. You know, I suspect this same scenario is happening in other poor, red states instigated by other "overseers" similar to Joe Manchin( Baby Joe). This is how these people who are constituents keep electing people over and over who vote against their interests every time.
There is an incredible group in Virginia that helps this region,Americans helping Americans.I got to know Cameron Krisek,whose father and grandfather founded the group,were pages in the White House.Incredibly good work!!!
I am one of many who support Americans Helping Americans. It is part of a larger organization with national and international branches. Add small gifts to many others and they all help greatly.
Good to hear that such an organization exists in Virginia. It could prove beneficial if the work they do received more attention, encouraging similar groups to form in areas that would benefit from the information.
Er, Joe Manchin is worth $8 million; Nancy Pelosi, $135 million, so the money is not necessarily the deciding factor. Nancy's our friend; Joe isn't. Rich people can be good citizens, like the Kennedys or Bernie Sanders (worth $3 million -- that's very rich to me).
I like Nancy for how she stood up to Trump. Few others did; maybe Bernie, AOC, and Adam Schiff, a wonderful statesman who would make a wonderful president.
Also, isn't she due a lot of credit for shoehorning Obamacare through Congress? If memory serves, that's true.
What I think more perplexing than that Manchin & Sinema are allowed to continue misrepresenting themselves as Democrats, >>is that this is even still an issue for discussion!<<
If they haven't already, the Democrats should:
1) State clearly in the by-laws that the party has the absolute right to recognize or disavow >any< candidate attempting to run for office as a Democrat.
2) Retain the right to take legal action on anyone misrepresenting themselves as a Democrat if the party has disavowed them, and
3) Actively campaign in said candidate's home district, any such candidates misrepresenting themselves as Democrats.
4) >Contractually Require< any candidate that is recognized as a Democrat abide by the party platform, should they successfully achieve elected office, under penalty of legal action for breech of contract with the party constituency, including a lawsuit requiring >minimum< damages of $500,000.
A sample anti-campaign against a disavowed message:
"This candidate misrepresents themself as a Democrat and is therefore a Liar."
I think you have a point. As things stand now, the public blames the Democratic Party for doing nothing since Biden took office. This is wrong on two counts: Biden took over the controls after Trump, covid et al had us in a death spiral, and Biden & Co pulled us out of it. This is wrong too because the Democrats never really had a majority in the Senate, they just had the appearance of one. Manchin and Sinema were the unreliable swing votes. The public should blame the Republicans.
Bob Palmer ; Also, I had this thought. "The public" does not blame Democrats as much as the media does blame the Democrats and Biden. Many people have been paying attention and question the media. There is only so much BS that people can believe. After the reality that a reality TV 'star' can slither into the oval office and the resulting chaos, harm and lawlessness that was wrought ; I think 'the public' may be more hip than one might think. The Jan 6 commission has gotten some much needed attention. The latest tricks played by the 'Supreme' court are NOT popular! Don't fool with Mother Nature!
This is my hope too, that some people will lose their taste for lies that are wrapped in commercialism and sensationalism. But our national commercial conversation is is powerful, is on message all the time 24/7. How can someone find a quiet place to reflect and realize, 'There is something just off about all of this? I think we went down a very dangerous road when we plopped pre-verbal infants in front of the television screen, in loco parentis. Do those kids, now adults, even have a concept of r self apart from it?
Bob Palmer ; It is a challenge to have children in a two worker family. I was able to stay at home with my twins for the first 3 years. part time daycare helped in a good place. We were lucky. Later, when the kids were tweens they were 'latch key' for a few hours after school. Neighbors and an aunt who lived across the street helped. We got through it, but there are challenges to being a parent who must work. It is awful how the BBB was blocked, along with so much more.
Good question! My mother was in my life for the first ten/11 years, She limited our TV. It was easy when we were small in the early 50's. Not everyone even had TV. She also commented on TV commercials and we had learned some critical thinking skills. Her education stopped at the 10th grade or so. She had to go to work to help her family. She was smart, but not 'educated'. she could read and spell very well, though. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." was an ad campaign I remember. I have 84 college credits ; A's and B's. Liberal arts, science, humanities ; but no degree. I can manage.
First of all, hundreds of people a day are dying of COVID and even allowing Biden a month or two following Trump's presidency almost double the Americans died under his watch in the same period of time WITH vaccines. Right now as we speak the new variants are on the rise and his administration gives zero guidance for pulbic health, so he has NOT pulled us out of it at all. Just because you put a blindfold on doesn't mean COVID is somehow resolved. As for Manchin and Sinema, last I saw Pelosi and Democratic leadership poured resources into beating progressive pro-choice, anti-gun, pro-labor women to get anti-choice, pro-gun, anti-labor Democrats into Congress (eg Jessica Cisneros vs Henry Cuellar in Texas). So when you blame Manchin and Sinema, blame Democrats for working against candidates who do not take corporate money to put right-wingers into Congress. The Democrats are in power although you would never know it from Biden's weakness and failure to use the bully pulpit. At least it appears he will appoint anti-abortion judges to state federal courts for lifetime appointments at least. Wonder how bad it will get for liberals to stop making excuses for their corrupted and inept party.
I do not like the Democratic Party's performance, either. For the first time in fifty years I no longer consider myself a Democrat. But I will continue to lean toward Democratic Party candidates as long as those candidates are not as bad as their Republican opponents. But there may be a time soon when I will just write in someone else if just can't vote for either major party candidate.
Scapegoat Manchin all you want. Democrats always have a scapegoat, whether it's Putin, Trump, Susan Sarandon, Bernie Sanders, Joe Manchin now or joe Lieberman then. Or it could be the Senate Parliamentarian who serves at the whim of Chuck Schumer, who could have simply gone ahead with a federal minimum wage but decided to let the Parliamentarian have the final say (which they do not, they just offer guidance). And your choice, along with liberals in general, is to keep focusing on the trees while the forest burns. I would suggest you take a look at Biden's, Pelosi's, Obama's and Schumer's actions leading to this moment rather than following their words and those of MSNBC and The New York Times.
Actually, Reagan's tax cuts and Bill Clinton's repeal of Glass Steagall are the engine of our financial woes, although I agree that the 2017 bill continued the upward flow of wealth to the 0.1%. Then there is the Wall Street bailout by Obama, mortgage relief of which 9% of designated funds actually went to homeowners and so on.
No Republicans signed on to that, did they? You mean it was >all< Democrats that did that in a non-bipartisan way? Gracious. I suppose the Republicans are going to come to the rescue and change all that, right? . . . . . . . . . . Right ‽ I say every time Democrats get into the bipartisan bed with the Republicans they get royally screwed. Discussion over on this issue.
TRUE ALSO.... must be noted....and I was against the Wall ST. bailout....that those firms paid back those loans.... and there were real problems as to how that bailout money was distributed to those who needed it most...
And they are doing the exact same thing they did that caused the financial collapse in the first place, and they used that money for bonuses and stock buybacks.
Barry J Kaufman DO ; You might want to stick to your work as a DO, because you sure are off base with the facts. WHAT have the Republicans done lately about climate change? And you should not make ass/umptions about what people on this forum think about MSNBC OR The New York Times. What rock have you just crawled out from under?
GrrlScientist ; Yuck! Cannibalism!? We better tell the 'pro'lifers that some scientists are suggesting that human flesh is 'fair game' for human food! They should go ballistic! (Why do I suspect they won't?).
although i don't know from first-hand experience, i've been told that human flesh tastes like pork. an assessment that kinda gives a wee bit more support to fanny flagg's fanciful story, fried green tomatoes at the whistlestop cafe.
Republicans love to talk about RINO’s, but here is a prime example of a representative that campaigned himself as one thing, but his every word and action show the world he is something else.
If I was a more cynical person I would assume Republicans had a part in running Manchin and Sinema as Democrats, when their every vote is Republican.
You said it: the Democrats can’t have it any worse right now with Manchin’s loss. All I hear is “Biden said he’d do this” or “Biden promised this would be done.”
And to be sure, there are things he’s done that have nothing to do with Congress that I don’t like, but as far as the items you ticked off, the things that are detrimental or just really pissing off Americans to the point of losing their vote, his hands are virtually tied.
Why? Because we don’t have a bigger majority and McConnell uses the stupid filibuster every time there’s something worthwhile for America or Americans.
I swear, I will never understand how one man has so much control over the ENTIRE country. McConnell is bad enough; he’s horrible, in fact. But Manchin should hang his head in shame. It’s not enough he’s never going to do the right thing, but to pretend like he’s going to, wasting everyone’s time and energy, is stupid and infantile.
I’m sick of hearing Manchin, almost as sick of hearing Sinema, and if I never hear the names McConnell or Trump EVER again, it will be too soon.
Man you are right on the money with comments & I couldn’t agree more! McConnell taught Manchin well in how to be an obstructionist. They are both doing exactly what they did to Obama 12 years ago & kept him from completing his hope & change agenda. It made me sick to my stomach every time McConnell put out any kind of televised statement. He sends me the most ridiculous form letters in answer to any petition I or my husband send him. Rand Paul’s are even worse, they never even address the subject of the petition. We Dems in KY tried out best to get rid of Moscow Mitch in ‘18 but those poorly educated rural Evangelical voters in this state believe he makes the Sun rise! McConnell said he would retire if he didn’t get the gavel back in ‘22 so we all really need to help him keep that promise & make it become our reality. Biden only asked for 2 more Dem Senators but he really means he needs a minimum of 4, 2 to replace Manchin & Sinema & 2 more to have a solid majority!! I saw an email yesterday that showed how many Dem Senators each President had going back to Kennedy I believe & Biden has had the fewest. I even believe it would be best to replace Schumer as Leader because he doesn’t seem to have the energy necessary to keep his Senators on message & working for the same goal. I’d like to see what Elizabeth Warren could do with them! I sound like an armchair quarterback for sure but I feel as angry as Prof Reich sounds over the damage & BS the country has had to put up with from those 2 DINOs.
KY has I hope a decent candidate to try to send Rand Paul packing but I’m wondering if he’s getting any help from the DNC since KY isn’t considered a battle ground state???
Just heard Bernie’s dressing down of Manchin over his refusal to support his President’s climate/social issues bill but I’m betting Manchin looks at those comments as more publicity & attention for himself!
Bottom line is Dems must make this midterm election roll into a Blue Wave much bigger than it was in 2018! Once the Dems see the results of these midterms & they turn out to be very positive for adding more Senators, I believe they will do some kind of punishment to Manchin or ask him to leave the party! I hope Biden calls him up & gives him a piece of his mind. In the meantime all of us on here should be helping their Dem candidates win & try to rout the extremists Rethugs out of Washington!
Thank you for your comments, Shirley. It is encouraging that a voter from Kentucky is aware of the damage being done by McConnell and Manchin and the big question is "Are there enough other voters in Kentucky (and W Virginia) to save our democracy from the narrow bias of three moronic senators?" Vote everybody was if your life depended on it......because it does.
KP ; With the present reality of our State of the Union , that is what we should have ; a flippin' Super Majority! People are not well informed and Citizens United helps this payola 'chain gang' of the public to continue! I was watching a weekend MSNBC evening show where the pundit's messages were all very negative for Democrats. It was all rubbish and I fast forwarded to a discussion about the upcoming Jan 6th hearing, a somewhat brighter spot for a minute or so, until this 'lawyer' pundit said that it is unlikely that tRump or Pence will be subpoenaed, or appear at the Jan 6th Committee hearings at all. He seemed to relish his role as the dasher of hopes! I wished I could punch him in the face! ...Gee ! ; Where would I get that kind of energy!?!? WE NEED BILLBOARDS TO CALL OUT THESE INJUSTICES AND NAME NAMES!
Paula B ; There was also a story repeated on all the MSNBC Sunday shows that focused on blaming the police for their criminal lack of courage at Uvalde. No mention of the policies and politics of allowing weapons of war to be available to any 18 year old. No mention of the 'nonprofit' NRA lobbying our 'representatives' to keep the crazy, dangerous laws that are on the books. Just point at the working class people who are our police and call them cowards for "not doing the right thing" and rush into certain annihilation. The root of the horrible problem is not seen at all! Not spoken or shown in any way! I was looking at the TV pundits who were saying 'cowards' and wanted to ask them if they would run into automatic gunfire certain to kill them!
I think this state has been gerrymandered a long time ago but I know there was a new map submitted this year but don’t know if Gov Beshear vetoed it or not. McConnell has a really huge war chest to spend on campaigns that scares many people away from running against him & his team puts out many negative attack ads on his opponents throughout the day especially in the last few weeks before the election. He really attacked Amy McGrath over being pro-choice & that she was for late term abortions which was a lie. In my memory it’s always attack ads & nothing about what he wanted to do!
Shirley Roberts ; Typical Repug attack ads ; hitting below the belt with lies and repetition with absolutely no real platform or agenda to help voters. They seem to have more money than brains or ethics! They take money from Big Pharma or fossil fuel companies to drive up prices for their donors, then scare people with horror stories about their opponents, laughing all the way to the bank!
That’s because he doesn’t want to actually legislate. All he wants to do is aggrandize himself. I’ll bet his parents were a nightmare, producing a sociopath like that.
Rigs....must be...anyway Hillary was stupid enough to promise to close coal production... she thought she would lock up coal miner vote!!!?? Oy vey!Manchin rode in with Trump.
I'd love to have your comments widely spread and known! It makes me think that we got to a sad point of people having lost our voice and willpower in this republic!
I wonder what can be done? The open opposition of Mitch McConnell to Obama and to Biden raised the question: Is Mitch McConnell a dictator of USA? Is he a second president? What gave him so mch power to oppose and undermine all that the Democtrtats want to accomplish to the benefit of all Americans and of the world, like the Climate Control. You are correct: McConnell showed Manchin that one can act in a way inconsistent with the phiolophy of "We the People"... A sad time for America!...
I believe you are in a dream world! They have not done anything and won't do anything! These are paid puppets whose only concern is to continue the lip service to get the next big payout! Biden is bought and paid for. He is worthless with his sorry bullshit excuses.
If you don't want to hear McConnell's name, don't kick a Democrat out and make McConnell Majority leader. It isn't an honorarium. It is a very important position that decides committee chairs, what gets voted on, judges.....
Hold your nose, and for now, until we have a bigger majority, only complain about GOP and raise issues that will help people. If the GOP can win elections running on phony CRT, Parental Rights, etc. as they suppress votes, the Democrats can find something to run on.
@Daniel, Precisely. I simply would add that Dems present whichever provisions pass as a downpayment of more to come if they hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
Manchin must be expelled from the Democratic Party; the question is all about the timing.
First, let's put him in perspective. He was a Republican billionaire in a poor state determined to completely fortify his wealth there but he had one problem: the Repugnicant party in West Virginia was controlled by other individuals who were unwilling to become his peons. The Democratic Party in West Virginia was moribund however. So without changing his spots, Manchin registered as Democrat In Card Only, bought his way to the governorship, and turned the West Virginia Democratic Party into his personal secretariat for years. Nothing changed when Manchin took his act to the Senate. Now, a reform slate has just largely dismantled Manchin's apparatus in West Virginia during this last year, all the more reason for him to block anything and everything in Congress since he can't continue to do so in his own state. Manchin has largely burned his bridges with the Republicans, so if he wasn't on a Democratic Party ticket, he'd have to declare as an independent. As a powerless independent, he could quite possibly win re-election in West Virginia---he has the money, and too many people have no sense---but Manchin is much too vain to give up the perks and powers of being a major Committee chairman, so he wouldn't leave the Democratic Party of his own accord, in my view; he's sitting pretty just right where he is.
Manchin has never been a Democrat. He has openly sneered at his own constituents as drug addicts and welfare chiselers; and still the man gets elected. From the instant he blocked a rise in the national minimum wage, it was clear how this would go. And I have to say, it is obvious Manchin is totally relishing kicking the Democratic 'misleadership' in the gonads over and over again and watching them crawl back and lick his boots asking him for pennies on their goals. A major reason why Joe Biden should not be ALLOWED to run again is his gross misreading of Manchin, who blatantly lied to him about voting for a chunk of the social legislation the Democrats meant to pass while Biden believed him---and now looks like the mook he is. Biden got the same kick in the rear from the Republicans in the Obama Administration when he was completely outwitted in Congress. So Joe is a dope, who gets played by smarter guys, pure and simple.
Thing is, the Demos in Congress haven't retaliated against Manchin to this point because passing anything at all has come down to his signature on . . . anything at all. If they were to expel Manchin at this point, they would lose control of the Senate if Manchin simply became an independent and caucused with neither party. No judges would be confirmed. No executive appointees would be confirmed. Seriously: no legislation of any kind would pass without paying tribute to the Senate Repugnicant caucus, such as the abortion extremist judge Biden was cutting a deal to nominate in return for penny ante gains he wanted (which were all he could get). The Repugnicants would also reacquire a major national platform to spew their brew in the face of the public thereby. I can't tell you what a pleasure it's been not to see McConnell and Graham quoted in the major media on a daily basis, because the major media devotes an enormous volume of their daily news feed to the party in power in a Congressional body. So the _current_ costs of booting Manchin are substantial.
Still, booting Manchin from the Party should happen; the day AFTER the midterms. But what to do until then, given control of the Senate comes down to his party affiliation, and control of the Senate has very significant repercussions whether or not it is possible to pass major legislation? I do think that the Democratic Party should run against Joe Manchin during this Autumn's campaigns. It's a game of chicken, but again, I don't think Manchin will give up his perks of his own accord, he has a cast iron stomach for the kind of dirty game he's playing. So a) the Democrats should blame him publicly point by point for the blockage of their agenda, b) turn to the public and say "Give us more actual Democrats," and c) pull his Committee chairmanship to make the point. That puts the ball in his court, and the case before the public. If Manchin _quits_ the Democratic Party, that only makes their point in the election campaign: Joe's a traitor, which he is.
I think there is a substantial probability that the Democratic caucus in the Senate will increase by several members after the midterms, though the House is significantly more problematic. If that happens, the Democrats don't need Manchin anyway, and his obstructive betrayal would be intolerable. That would be the time to fire him. If in fact the Democrats were to lose the Senate, they again wouldn't need Manchin. That would be a time to fire him, though if it didn't look as nice in those circumstances it would still be justifiable by blaming him over the Autumn for the situation. So: eat your cake and have it too. Don't kick him out of the party YET, but make it clear that he is the problem and turn to the public for the solution. That is my considered view, and has been so since Spring, 2021.
Wow. Thanks for the peek into WVa's political history. I was going on the theory that Manchin was an out-and-out plant from the Republican party, but this puts a new light on that idea. Fascinating.
Manchin not only plays dirty pool,he plays filthy pool,as well as Sinema.Looks like the type to lift her skirt at the Rethugs in Congress,sorry,but that seems very real.
I completely agree. It would be great if Biden did this AND first threw him off his chairmanship. To the enormous detriment to this country the Democrats have been completely weakened and dominated by their donor class and are unable to work for the good of the country. What I see as the savage defilement of the state of West Virginia is the years of coal barons, plutocratic governors (Jay Rockefeller for one) wiping their ass with that state's citizens. Harsh words I know but let's get totally honest here. Read West Virginia's political history. The ruling class knows well that if you can keep people poor, struggling and sick (opioid crisis) you can own them. Watch out America, pardon the expression, but West Virginia is our "canary in the coal mine." They're coming for all of us.
Oh, maybe we can't stand the Democrats but we MUST VOTE FOR THEM. There's no alternative the GOP will destroy us rapidly if they regain power. The US is, well known to other countries, in terrible decline.
The oil companies have been price gouging, & they intentionally raise prices higher under Democratic administrations because they know that Republican administrations will favor them even more than Democrats do. Even so, Obama lowered gas prices significantly over the course of his administration, & prices have dropped significantly over the past month under Biden.
Trump did several things that would in the long term raise prices, including gas. His trade war against the world, the Republican Wealthcare package, & getting Russia & Saudi Arabia to lower oil production with the specific goal of raising prices.
Other things that exacerbated it were global supply chain delays, which started with the pandemic that Trump handled very poorly; Russia's war on Ukraine, during which Russia has deliberately prevented Ukrainian produce to reach countries in Africa & Asia that badly need it, causing widespread famine; & price gouging by the oil companies, & their refusal to ramp up production. Practically none of this is Biden's fault.
Always someone else's fault. Biden owns it. Shutting down Keystone first day in office, not renewing oil and gas leases on federal lands. The only folks that do price gouging is the federal and state governments with their tax on everything. We became energy independent during Obama and Trump ensured that. Not doing those things to keep us energy independent ensures our enemies fill their coffers by selling oil to other nations. Biden is helping Putin by not allowing US producers to produce. It is all Biden's fault.
Ha! Completely wrong! Not that Biden hasn't done some things wrong, including in his attempts to lower gas prices, but they have been going down for a month.
Ugh, I know....and I'm terrified. There seems to be no end in sight. Rachel Maddow said, paraphrasing closely; this 50 year project is now in its prime and just getting started." Scores of remarkably repressive laws are being passed daily in GOP states. The DOJ appears totally non-existent in any area of law enforcement. Looks like the Robb Elementary school hallway littered with useless lawmen. Look at all the people who have been involved with the seditious acts against our country and not one's been touched in 18 months. Stunning.
Agree! I don't know if we can "get rid of him," only Biden can do that and won't, I'm certain. Why isn't there a "special counsel" like there was in the Watergate corruption? I always wanted to see people like Andrew Weissmann or Preet Bahara (sp?) handling this. Prosecutors with brains and a spine. Unbelievably in the moment of gravest danger to our country the DOJ is busiest trying to resuscitate its apolitical reputation at the expense of our democracy. The timing couldn't be worse. Again, where is Democratic leadership?
It’s unbelievable that your democratic system allows Minchin and Sinema to behave as they do. Of course they should be kicked out. Of course they should not be allowed to accept these massive bribes from Big Business to vote in the latter’s favour - that’s called bribery and corruption elsewhere in the world. It’s the ‘people’ that voted them into their positions of power and the People who should benefit from, and dictate, their voting decisions.
Lonny it doesn't happen like this--even the disintegrating Tories stop, or are stopped, short of this fossil fuel millionaire chairing the Energy Committee in the midst of a planetary catastrophe!
Irradiated Thorium is more dangerously radioactive in the short term. The Th-U cycle invariably produces some U-232, which decays to Tl-208, which has a 2.6 MeV gamma ray decay mode. Bi-212 also causes problems. These gamma rays are very hard to shield, requiring more expensive spent fuel handling and/or reprocessing.
No I was never for any kind of nuclear power since I was young. Because of the lack of being able to safely dispose of the waste. Oh and I was alive and near enough to 3 mile Island when that happened. I know people who lost their livelihoods after that accident. I am 64. Ironically my son went to Drexel for Chemical Engineering and went on to work at Areva. Areva is part owned by France and has systems to cool and clean the waste water in Nuclear Power plants to reuse if I have that correctly. Some of the older guys patented a way to do this. He was working with this group. He had a hard time living in Lynchburg and missed his family so he came back here and went to work at his old job. Sadly he went on to have a stroke and is disabled now living with me. Back when I was young working I. parks under the Carter administration we were to put in solar energy in a barn. It was just starting to take off. Thanks to the Reagan administration everything was cut. If we had pushed back then for less waste more renewable kinds of energy we would not be in the mess we are in now. Americans are the most wasteful polluting humans on earth and we have strewn it all over the world. We brought our mess everywhere. I lived through a time when there was no plastic anything at least in way of disposables so in just what 30 some years we have managed to pollute the oceans and even disrupt the endocrine systems of wildlife all over the world as far as where polar bears are and in the Southern parts of South America. We are disgusting for doing this. And no one is held accountable. All for more stuff and greed! Don’t get me started of the mass extinction of wildlife, birds and native plants!
We had a Light Water Breeder Thorium/U-233 Reactor, courtesy of Admiral Rickover, that successfully operated from 1977 to 1982 in an electric utility plant in Pennsylvania. We need another Rickover!
Now is not the time to obsess about Manchin. What's important is getting Biden a Senate with more then 50 Democrats. That's our job, as voters.
If Manchin were to leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican, we'd have Mitch McConnell as Senate MAJORITY leader. Ugh. Shooting ourselves in the foot.
We need to keep our eyes on the ball, and put all our efforts into electing more Democratic Senators and members of Congress in the upcoming midterms.
With Manchin and Sinema in his court, Moscow Mitch is already effectively the Senate majority leader, but, as long as they pass for Democrats, it's the Democrats voters will blame for having done nothing, so a lot of them will vote Republican NOT Democrat. There's no hope of getting Biden a Senate with more than 50 Democrats as long as these two ReThuglican sleeper agents keep sabotaging him.
Moscow Mitch is not effectively Senate majority leader when judicial appointments are nominated, Maureen. In fact, MM's Kentucky colleague Rancid Paul just wrecked a Biden-MM backroom deal to appoint an anti-abortion judge.
As satisfying as it would be to kick Manchin out, giving Mitch power again would be too high a price. Better to keep him inside, and make the best of a bad deal, and win enough seats in the midterms to make him irrelevant.
You mean that if the Senate has a GQP majority after the November elections, Moscow Mitch won't be majority leader, or do you mean that Biden won't/can't make any judicial appointments between the 2022 elections and the end of his term in 2024?
I mean that anytime MoscowMitch is Senate majority leader he'll do what he did before as majority leader, Maureen, deny judicial appointment to anyone not Federalist Society-anointed
I can't believe Manchin still leads the Energy committee. I do agree that the Democrats need to kick Manchin out of the party. It IS true that they've lost control of the Senate anyway. It is completely frustrating not only about Manchin but also that legislators participating in 1/6 are still in Congress. There seems to be absolutely no consequences anymore to breaking laws
I couldn’t agree more, Manchin needs to go, Trump likes to use the term RINO for Republicans who go against him. Well Manchin is most certainly the DINO of the Democratic Party.
When will Biden realize that Lucy Manchin will ALWAYS move the football?
He'd be better off courting one of the few remaining Republicans with a spine and a sense of decency who cares about the well-being of the country: perhaps Romney or Cheney or Kinzinger. He wouldn't get everything he wants, but he'd get SOMETHING. Cheney and Kinzinger would lose nothing by bucking Moscow Mitch; they've already done so and the GQP is baying for their blood, anyway, so why not do something for their constituents while they still can?
Maureen, Whatever provisions the Senate can settle upon through budget reconciliation already have passed in the Democratically controlled House. Hence, the only pertinent name you provided is Romney. Regrettably, I wouldn’t expect Romney or Murkowski or Collins, or any other Republican so-called institutionalist to lend their support.
I wasn't thinking when I mentioned Cheney and Kinzinger.
I guess there aren't any GQP Senators left with a spine and a sense of decency who care about the well-being of the US anymore. Eisenhower--heck, Goldwater--would puke!
Makes me glad I emigrated to a civilized democracy when I had the chance, but no country in the world is safe if the US becomes--as it looks more and more likely to become--a fascist dictatorship. It was a brave experiment, but I guess it failed.
@Maureen. Not yet friend! Vote in the mid term elections! There are at least 6 vulnerable Republicans and we only need one or two. Val Demings might be able to win against Rubio! Ron Johnson (R) is going down against Mandela Barnes! Cheri Beasley is showing well in North Carolina! Tim Ryan might pull it off in Ohio!
Benjamin, Though you’re not addressing me, I would note we also must hold the House if we’re to advance any legislation. Moreover, at the state and local levels, we have to out-organize Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
Oh, I will vote, not that I expect it to do much good. I vote in Alabama. At least my vote there once did some good by keeping Roy Moore out of the Senate.
Maureen, Though admittedly we have a small window to protect the key mechanisms of democracy in the US, I take heart from the presence of the millions of people, probably anxious, frightened, and uncertain, who, nonetheless, are training themselves and acquiring the knowledge and tools to defend against a fatal weakening of American institutions.
I wish I could share your confidence. A recent poll seems to show that Hispanic and working-class voters--once the mainstay of the Democratic Party--couldn't care less about the fatal weakening of American institutions.
In fact, they overwhelmingly believe that "America is the greatest country in the world," that "Racism comes from individuals who hold racist views, not from our society and institutions.," and that "Most people who want to get ahead can make it if they're willing to work hard."
Here's a quotation from the article I just read about it:
"Strong progressives clearly live in a different world than Hispanic and working class voters. In strong progressive world, views on abortion, gun control and January 6th fit neatly into an overarching set of sociocultural beliefs that are highly salient to them and increasingly drive the Democratic party’s priorities and rhetoric. Hispanic and working class voters lack this overarching set of beliefs—in fact, don’t share many of them—and are much more concerned with the basics of their material lives. It should thus be no surprise that these voters are increasingly losing interest in the party of abortion, gun control and January 6th. As Josh Kraushaar notes:
Democrats are becoming the party of upscale voters concerned more about issues like gun control and abortion rights.
Republicans are quietly building a multiracial coalition of working-class voters, with inflation as an accelerant."
Even during WWII, most Germans still believed that Germany--the land of Goethe and Beethoven--was the most civilized nation on earth. I hope Americans don't get the kind of wake-up call those Germans did.
Sorry I sound so pessimistic, but looking at the US from outside is pretty depressing. That could just be that, from outside, we only see the bad news.
Maureen, Though I don’t doubt the validity of the thesis you present, I would note that, nationwide, it is incumbent upon us to educate everyday people about what they’re losing every time Biden’s social and climate legislative agenda is stalled due to every Republican and 2 Senate Democrats. Simply put our job is to show, despite undue obstruction, that what Dems have managed to accomplish can justifiably be understood as a downpayment of more to come if Dems can hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
If we can't get a Democratic majority in both houses in this election, If it weren't for Trump, I could probably live with a GQP sweep in 2024.
I think if there were a billion ton asteroid headed straight at earth, Moscow Mitch would rather see it destroy the world than let a Democrat get credit for saving it, but, if HE were to get the credit, he'd save it. From what I've read, even many Republicans are starting to accept the danger of climate change, and, if the GQP were in charge, McConnell might even let some legislation pass to do something about it--at least if it came with a tax-cut for the rich.
But Trump's the problem. McConnell knows Trump's as crazy as a wolverine on speed, but he's afraid of him and will do anything he wants. The combination is deadly.
Kicking Manchin out of the Democratic Party would help people see that the problem lies with an obstructionist GQP, not with a do-nothing Democratic President and Congress, but, as someone else pointed out, that would make Moscow Mitch the Majority Leader and ensure that Biden could appoint no judges for the rest of his term.
Manchin's popularity among Democrats in WV is tanking; they could probably successfully primary him, but that would just mean that a Republican in name AND deed would succeed him (unless he changed parties--apparently, his popularity among WV Republicans and Independents is going up).
The US is between Scylla and Charybdis, and Biden doesn't have a loyal crew to row him through.
Well stated. This part hit the nail on the head. "Democrats are becoming the party of upscale voters concerned more about issues like gun control and abortion rights. Republicans are quietly building a multiracial coalition of working-class voters, with inflation as an accelerant."
When the Democrats abandoned their working class base they may have got bigger donations but they also abandoned their future.
I think there's hope to bring the working class together with the current base of university educated voters. A recent NYT article says that "Since the Great Recession, the college-educated have taken more frontline jobs at companies like Starbucks and Amazon. Now they’re helping to unionize them." I just don't know if they'll pull together in time.
Though Manchin (and Sinema) disgust me, they both, contrary to Republicans, supported the Democrat’s $1.9 trillion Coronavirus Relief package. Moreover, while both bear responsibility for virtually upending Biden’s social and climate legislative agenda, let alone blocking the passage of federal voter protection safeguards, if Democrats can pass the admittedly narrow, but important, provisions to lower prescription drug prices and to extend enhanced ACA subsidiaries through 2025, they should. In turn, I would advise Democrats, while educating everyday people nationwide about what they’re losing every time Biden’s agenda is stalled, also to portray whichever provisions pass as a downpayment of substantially more to come if they can hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
I do not believe Manchin has any intention of voting for either of those last two very important and needed provisions. Recall that just weeks ago, he was all for climate legislation and increasing taxes on the wealthy. He cannot be trusted at all, and I think Democrats should proceed with that as a given. The same applies to you-know-who, another tool of the rich.
John, Considering West Virginians repeatedly prioritize jobs, healthcare, childcare, housing and tax reform as vital to their well-being, I would submit that Manchin likely could be pressured into passing something. As for Sinema, her constituents in Arizona mostly are calling for expanding healthcare, while also holding Sinema accountable for her unseemly corporate ties, especially to Big Pharma. Hence, I remain hopeful that something will pass.
I give a cluck! Kick him out of the party! No use in retaining no control. How about Kristin S. I can never remember how to spell her unimportant name. Maybe kicking these turncoats out of the party will at least send a message. I agree Bob. Damn, I try to disagree but you are so right on that it would be hypocritical.
If the "FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT " is not already in place early enough before the MIDTERM ELECTIONS this November, then Republicans will win TOTAL CONTROL OF CONGRESS.
IF THAT HAPPENS, Republicans will REVERSE everything that President Biden has accomplished including the "BUILD BACK BETTER ACT" (Should it become law before then)
And Republicans will STOP the investigation into the Jan 6, insurrection claiming that the attack on the capital was completely legal.
Then Trump or someone just like him will be back in the white house in 2024.
PLEASE!!!
I am demanding that all Americans with websites and media platforms who believe in DEMOCRACY and the RULE OF LAW must immediately urge Americans to PEACEFULLY take to the streets in protest to protect our voting rights and to REVERSE Republican anti voting laws before it is too late to do anything about it.
And because our voting rights are being stolen by Republicans who are viciously passing anti voting laws---many more Americans are going to lose the right to vote.
Without our right to vote we will lose many of our precious rights and freedoms.
Trump-Republicans are attacking our Democratic norms. They want to control who gets to vote, who counts the votes, and who declares the winners.
As an American who loves the precious freedoms of the United States, I cannot sit back and watch our FREEDOM TO VOTE disappear without doing everything I can to help stop this from happening.
Because of the URGENCY of this situation, and with all due respect, I must demand that you ADD to your website's agenda to: PLEASE URGE YOUR READERS TO PEACEFULLY TAKE TO THE STREETS TO PROTECT OUR VOTING RIGHTS IMMEDIATELY.
And because Republicans have passed Anti Voting laws into their favor, including the right to DECERTIFY AND OVERTURN AN ELECTION, they will illegally win in all future elections.
SO FAR Republicans have passed over 400 new anti-voting laws in 49 states using false allegations of voter fraud. Making it much harder for people to vote..
THEY are using the FILIBUSTER to continue to block our CIVIL LIBERTIES. Including VOTING RIGHTS, HEALTHCARE, PLANNED PARENTHOOD, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS, ANIMAL RIGHTS, GUN SAFETY, LGBT RIGHTS, SOCIAL SECURITY PROTECTION, TAXING THE RICH, ETC. ETC. ETC.
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS have said that they will OVERTURN any election that does not go their way.
WHAT KIND OF DEMOCRACY IS THAT???
Without the FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT, all parties (except The Republican party) will no longer be able to win elections.
The "Freedom To Vote act" will REVERSE all Republicans ANTI VOTING laws and PROTECT our right to vote.
And if the filibuster still stands in the way, then it must be abolished.
Please push for peaceful mass protests to protect and restore our voting rights before Trumps Republicans succeed in an AUTHORITARIANISM TAKEOVER of the United States.
@Lonny. That is some bogus history right there. The 800 years or so that Greece dominated culturally and militarily is far longer than any other regime in the West, except Rome which was just another style of democracy.
Perfectly stated! Thank you, Robert Reich. I wish Joe Biden and the Democratic Party would get your message. I keep writing and calling the White House, my Senators, and my Congresswoman. Your messages give me hope.
What a great idea for Democrats (SARCASM) kick out anyone who doesn't go along and Make McConnell's Day...all committee chairs will be Republicans....judges, the most long lasting people in govt. will be decided by theocracy leaning GOP. We don't like Manchin, but two very important things. 1. He isn't running, 2. he's a Democrat.
How about running on "We need more Democrats, because a 50 -50 split is not enough." Unlike the GOP Democrats sometimes don't vote as a 100% block.
Can you PLEEEZE (cartoon cat) write columns against 50 GOP Senators instead of one renegade Democrat, against the GOP Congress people who threaten to take control of the House and make the Speaker McCarthy who will put dangerous people as chairs of all committees. If you don't like what Manchin is doing, you REALLY won't like what a GOP lead Congress does.
You will never change Manchin's mind or win independent voters by beating this drum.
If you want people to be mad at, you have Cruz, Hawley, Bachman, Grassley, McConnell and a few hundred more in Congress....you have down ballot elections to motivate you.
LETS WORK ON GETTING DEMOCRATS ELECTED SO WE CAN GET THINGS DONE.
I understand what you are saying, but as long as the system is such that the majority has so much power on what bills get brought up, who are the committee chairs, what hearings are held, what appointments are confirmed, and who are the judges (many for life) we need to get the majority. This isn't a contradiction of needing people who represent the common good.
Agreed. It is greed. Once the smoggy air produced by Trump blows away (and he is a giant dumpster fire that keeps smoldering) may we finally be able to see that McConnell and Machin are our two biggest stumbling blocks. Biden is too kind and perhaps too old to expose them for what they are, followers of money. This does nothing for the people or the environment, which really need some attention right now.
Greed at its finest. I doubt he is going to be ousted. So we need to win more Democratic seats which overrides his sfb power . But at this rate, we will be lucky to hold onto the seats we have. Biden is definitely NOT the sales person to his voters as trump is to his voters. This spells disaster.
That may be true he’s not a marketer but I bet he could call on Obama at any time to do his marketing campaigns for him to help any Dem candidates that are in trouble. He & Michelle are already being used in emails requesting monetary support for certain candidates! I hope the Obamas will be rallying with some of the newer Senate candidates. But we sure don’t need any Dem behaving anything like TFG did & is still doing!!
Absolutely right. The Democrats should not only dump Mankin, they should use this example as grounds for changing laws so that Capital cannot buy votes in future. The USA cannot be the beacon of democracy if in effect its legislature is controlled by thinly masked bribery.
it must be absolutely maddening for the democrats to be blamed for being a "do nothing party" when they are the victims of the real "do nothing party". i think both manchin (AND sinema) should be booted from the democratic party -- a long time ago, in fact. and every time i see how filthy rich manchin is and continues to become by selling the future of this planet to line his pockets, i become almost apoplectic with rage.
the worst thing is that manchin is shamelessly preying on his own constituents, the poorest of poor amerikkkans, as he works on enlarging his financial portfolio. it's almost like west virginia is a modern-day giant plantation (except it's all about coal) and manchin is the slave owner who cynically lords his privilege over the entire lot of them. If manchin's little "experiment in destruction" continues, this country will, by default, adopt the climate change policies that killed Sri Lanka, and are crushing Dutch farmers.
would anyone like some soylent green for thanksgiving?
https://www.businessinsider.com/cannibalism-eating-human-flesh-climate-change-2019-9
joe manchin's duplicity is far deeper and more egregious than you might suppose. manchin was the top $$$ recipient from the following industries in the 2021-2022 election cycle:
-- coal mining (#1)
-- mining (#1)
-- natural gas transmission and distribution (#1)
-- oil and gas (#1)
-- savings and loan (#1)
-- tobacco (#1)
-- alternate energy production and services (#2)
-- defence aerospace (#3)
-- electric utilities (#3)
The best senator money can buy.
Well, no, not the best. pretty much the worst.
In the best democracy that money can buy
Ouch!
James Muncy ; The truth hurts, but it will set us free!
GrrlScientist ; I guess that gives a clear picture of the 'people' he works for! The poor people in his constituency sure don't have PAC money for him! And it's obviously all about the money for him! Thank you for this information.
“The poor people in his constituency sure don’t have PAC money for him!” Spot on! And isn’t that the Manchin plan?! Keep the voters distracted with their own poverty and ignorance, on survival, so Voting , which they believe, doesn’t help them, won’t be a strategy for change. A 2014 Atlantic article “Why Are the Poor and Minorities Less Likely to Vote?”supports what we believe happens in poor mostly repub states. 2014! Still true. As the authors of a recent 700-page study conclude, "Year after year, decade after decade, and from one generation to the next, the affluent and well educated have participatory megaphones that amplify their voices in American politics ... [and] shape what politicians hear about political needs, concerns, and preferences." The result, according to another academic, is that poor and near-poor citizens exert "no discernible impact on the behavior of their elected officials.“ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-are-the-poor-and-minorities-less-likely-to-vote/282896/
And yet Joe has the highest rating of all Senators in his/her home state.
Jan Churchwell ; The wealthy interests own the Corporate media. They are the source of all the negativity and frame the conversations about Biden and the Democrats. People say "Americans don't like Biden". Funny ; they voted for him, and I doubt that the majority will vote for tRump or his ilk. It's a bad deal in every way. He stacked the courts and those partisans will totally destroy "The land of the Free". The obscenely rich are looking for another big tax break and they don't care if they break our country. Don't trust polls!
Trust me, Laurie, I don't trust polls. 😊 But I'm not thrilled with Biden either (I didn't expect to be; I'd have voted for my neighbor's Doodle before I'd vote for TFG or any of his ilk). I LIKE Biden, but we needed a pit bull in 2020, and we got a bichon friese (look them up if you don't know their qualities). Take his tepid response to Dobbs: Why didn't he have a hard-hitting statement and all possible options already prepared so the WH could have responded within minutes of the decision's being announced? To my utter surprise, Merrick Garland got out a USEFUL statement faster than the WH did.
Then let's take a Tweet yesterday (@POTUS) about a space telescope. Imo there are more important issues to "focus on" at the moment. 😊
And his lukewarm response to ENDING THE FILIBUSTER.
If he went to the Mideast to promote important international matters, why didn't he detail VP Harris to take charge of a strong Dobbs response? She's a woman. She's also a former Senator, what's her position on ENDING THE FILIBUSTER.
Imo the only difference between corporate-Democrats and corporate-Republicans is that Dems aren't AS selfish or greedy. But they aren't working for "We The People" either. I'm not saying go all-in Progressive, but push some hot buttons NOW -- campaign $$ (end Citizens United), the filibuster, automatic weapons ban, women's health rights, SOMETHING for climate control, more than 50¢ off gas prices (Windfall Profits Tax?), and... [add your favorites]. Yes, it's a lot, but if Dems hadn't frittered away 18 of the 22 months they had, there might not BE so much. They knew what the issues were in 2020 -- so did WE. We've continued to push for action; THEY have not.
We will lose democracy and our national soul if Dems don't step up NOW. Like it or not, POTUS is the visible head of the party. If he isn't out in front, who will be?
PS: I agree he's getting a raw deal from the press. But that's something else he should have people deal with. Just letting things happen will result in disaster. Kicking Manchin out would be a nice, high profile start. He's as much a traitor to social needs as Susan Collins is to women's rights.
Ok, I'm done.
Jan Churchwell ; I agree with your viewpoints and can't believe how badly Joe Manchin has blocked everything President Biden has tried to do, especially the windfall profits tax and climate funding. There's voting rights, ending the filibuster and many other initiatives that won't move too. We need to end Citizens United and the Electoral College if we can even pretend to have free and fair elections, or a Democracy. Climate heating is actually mentioned on the MSNBC shows last evening, with Joe Manchin front and center, as he should be, for blocking all action on that. thousands of people in UK an Europe dead from extreme heat; up to 106 F. I do think JOe is much better than the other side, and he has made executive orders to give relief for women's health care since the ending of Roe. The Rethugs are throwing everything and the kitchen sink at us, and Biden is at least doing what he can actually do. Very frustrating how our laws are set up!
Hi again, Science Girl. Thanks for the stats. We all knew it was bad with Baby Joey, but having the numbers out there makes him more of a villain than one might previously have thought.
Ruth Sheets ; there is something powerful about well presented facts. The truth outs him for what he is. A Grifter, and liar.
And the result is almost the worst state in the country. Why these idiots keep voting for someone who screws them into the ground I can’t imagine. Probably the terrible education system in West Virginia.
Paula B. ; Religion often goes hand in hand with control of the people. If people are taught to fear things that are forbidden because they can be ostracized and shamed/isolated that is very powerful. My own grandmother coldly stared at me after I had my rapist's child and pretty much shut me our of her life. There are worlds of pain that can accompany ignorance and religion. The last thing I needed was to be shut out by family members who ignorantly judged me. I was isolated and had nobody!
Geez, Laurie, I’m so sorry! That’s just awful. From what I see of you you turned out wonderful in spite of everything that’s happened to you. And as far as the religion stuff is concerned, I don’t know what to do. I keep hearing that Americans are turning away from religion but it sure doesn’t seem like it.
Paula B. I was helped by many good people as I grew up. It helped that I could read. The Catholic nuns made sure of that. It was an excellent education (with few interruptions! and no nonsense!). Look at this forum that Dr. Robert Reich has provided for us to enjoy for reasonable cost! It just dropped into my life from;;;Facebook! Seek and you shall find. i know a good deal when i see it.
You’re a very positive person, Laurie. An inspiration!
Paula B. there are still those who keep faith. I have relatives who attend services often.
I am not anti faith, just anti oppression and anti greed. Like most sane people I detest Tyranny.
Paula B. ; There is an exodus from organized religion in many places. Churches are auctioned off and turned into restaurants ( Holy Smokes! Rib Joint) or community centers, or even housing. I am not the only person in America who drifted away from a church that denied my sexuality( straight), and many truths of my existence, My mother sought a much needed divorce. The first thing the Catholic church did was to excommunicate her. (like my grandmother did me after I was victim of ignorance and neglect), there she was, with 5 children and a 6th on the way. She got an apartment that she could ill afford and she walked through the worst part of town two miles to the box factory where she made $53 per week in the early 60's to support us. She could not sustain and we were all wards of the state. She did keep the youngest, who was not born yet.
This is heartbreaking, Laurie. I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix it all.
Shara ; Thank you for your response ; She was not retarded, but brainwashed by the Catholic church and oppressed by the Patriarchy. Years later, we had a family reunion. In the picture she looked so sad. We did not speak and I think she regretted her anger and estrangement from me.
Coups elections be rigged in West Virginia?
what's amazing is that WV dems still keep electing him. Like he's doing something for them. It's still one person one vote as far as I know. It takes people to vote for a flawed candidate like Joe Manchin.
Remember, most elections are won by the candidate who can raise the most money because they can control the media and the narrative.
To be honest, I think that might soon be a thing of the past. I think the last election showed that action is more powerful than money. Social media isn't all that expensive. Nor are boots on the ground. People are much less likely to watch commercial television advertising today than they were even 3 years ago. People, especially young people, don't watch TV commercials anymore.
I hope you're right. Progressives who refuse to accept big donor money are demonstrating a level of integrity that deserves our support. It's interesting that corporate democrats see them as such a threat.
Of course, the party doesn't really know that yet given the number of requests we get for funds. constantly.
Very informative...explains his stance on many issues these folks hold dear.
This is just so eloquently said and so very on point. Thank you.
Machin and Moscowmitch are 130,000% why the actually wimpy but well-meaning democrats are being labled as do-nothings. I have no idea how that monster can sleep at night, unless he truly is a psychopath/sociopath?
Daniel H Laemmerhirt ; Our 'legal' system allows bribery at the ballot box for the wealthy, which destroys the rationale for a Democracy of by and for the humans. The 'morality ' of giving shareholders' profits priority over our children's safety, our rights' of autonomy over our bodies and even our very planet/environment totally corrupts 'the vote, ethics and decency. Small wonder if our 'leaders' and 'representatives ; even 'judges' and 'spiritual leaders' have no shame! They ARE sociopaths all who ascribe to this selfish and destructive worldview! IMHO
We need to get each and every millionaire and billionaire out of Congress because taken as a whole, they are out of touch with and don't represent average Americans.
They are just a part of the symbiosis between Corporations , the wealthy, in general, and our government. the very laws that have been, and continue to be made should be cleaned up, made ethical. Our stacked partisan courts and so many unjust laws hurt any attempts at fairness. the media misinforms daily. Where could we get the best traction?
There's no easy answer. Change happens one person at a time as we help others see what they want, mostly by example. What most people want is honesty, integrity, fairness, and compassion. Politicians who can't deliver these don't deserve to lead.
Kindness, compassion, laughter, speaking the truth without making others feel attacked or less than; these things are contagious.
Peter ; I like Robert Reich's focus on Manchin on Sunday, and think it is a good idea to examine people in power, maybe one at a time each week. The volume of trash being thrown at us by the extreme right is unprecedented. I like your idea of "change happens one person at a time.."
A pretty good definition of the essentials of fascism. Now all they need is a strongman at the helm and we're back in 1933, only in the US and not Germany.
Sadly, yes. I hope the majority who voted in Biden is paying attention and at least tries to vote! In the meantime: whatever can be done by executive order to protect our Constitutional rights to vote in free and fair elections should be done! If not, The Commander in Chief needs to protect our country and its citizens as if we are being invaded by the Taliban, or a Bin Laden or a Hitler!
Yes, but getting that kind of money out of politics mean over turning Citizens United, and with this SCOTUS it will be practicaly impossible.
They must go! We will NEVER have justice with this stacked partisan court! Impeach them , march, propaganda campaigns whatever we 'little people' can do to send a message! If that does not get their selfish attention, climate disasters will.
Peggy Jo. I suspect both of those fools are pretty sociopathic. They love chaos as long as it harms someone else, and they will both work to see that it happens to someone else while they become more wealthy. It works for them! Now, how do we stop them!
Naomi Klein's book "Disaster Capitalism" being used as a playbook. Chaos & destruction equals opportunity!
Interesting. He fits perfectly in the maga category.
Could not have been said better."Plantation"/oppression, indeed!
I agree. I think Manchin WANTS West Virginians to be kept in poverty( a kind of slavery if you think about it) and he is their "overseer". Poverty stricken and under-educated people have almost zero power. If he lightened their loads, they might figure out who he really is. As a native West Virginian who no longer lives there, Manchin's actions embarrass and also sadden me that his constituents mean so little to him that he continuously deprives them of life-saving help. Manchin is no friend of West Virginia in particular and our country in general.
Victoria Wilson, I had not thought of WV as a feudal state owned by Baby Joey and his buddies before, but the analogy and other similar ones are apt. The sad part is that the "enslaved" persons don't even realize how Baby Joey sees and uses them. They keep electing him and entrench their enslavement. The people of Appalachia get one more white corporate entity raping their land and leaving strong but desperate people behind pleading for rescue.
Yes, by keeping these people in the dark, not funding their schools, roads, infrastructure like Biden's Build Back Better act would have done, these people do not even know what they are missing. You know, I suspect this same scenario is happening in other poor, red states instigated by other "overseers" similar to Joe Manchin( Baby Joe). This is how these people who are constituents keep electing people over and over who vote against their interests every time.
There is an incredible group in Virginia that helps this region,Americans helping Americans.I got to know Cameron Krisek,whose father and grandfather founded the group,were pages in the White House.Incredibly good work!!!
I am one of many who support Americans Helping Americans. It is part of a larger organization with national and international branches. Add small gifts to many others and they all help greatly.
Good to hear that such an organization exists in Virginia. It could prove beneficial if the work they do received more attention, encouraging similar groups to form in areas that would benefit from the information.
Spot on!
Er, Joe Manchin is worth $8 million; Nancy Pelosi, $135 million, so the money is not necessarily the deciding factor. Nancy's our friend; Joe isn't. Rich people can be good citizens, like the Kennedys or Bernie Sanders (worth $3 million -- that's very rich to me).
Nancy Pelosi is NOT our friend. She slaps down any REAL Progressive legislative attempts or potential candidates.
I like Nancy for how she stood up to Trump. Few others did; maybe Bernie, AOC, and Adam Schiff, a wonderful statesman who would make a wonderful president.
Also, isn't she due a lot of credit for shoehorning Obamacare through Congress? If memory serves, that's true.
Correct. Nancy Pelosi is NOT our friend. She is when it advances her agenda. I wish one of the progressives would challenge her.
...or Jay Rockefeller
What I think more perplexing than that Manchin & Sinema are allowed to continue misrepresenting themselves as Democrats, >>is that this is even still an issue for discussion!<<
If they haven't already, the Democrats should:
1) State clearly in the by-laws that the party has the absolute right to recognize or disavow >any< candidate attempting to run for office as a Democrat.
2) Retain the right to take legal action on anyone misrepresenting themselves as a Democrat if the party has disavowed them, and
3) Actively campaign in said candidate's home district, any such candidates misrepresenting themselves as Democrats.
4) >Contractually Require< any candidate that is recognized as a Democrat abide by the party platform, should they successfully achieve elected office, under penalty of legal action for breech of contract with the party constituency, including a lawsuit requiring >minimum< damages of $500,000.
A sample anti-campaign against a disavowed message:
"This candidate misrepresents themself as a Democrat and is therefore a Liar."
I think you have a point. As things stand now, the public blames the Democratic Party for doing nothing since Biden took office. This is wrong on two counts: Biden took over the controls after Trump, covid et al had us in a death spiral, and Biden & Co pulled us out of it. This is wrong too because the Democrats never really had a majority in the Senate, they just had the appearance of one. Manchin and Sinema were the unreliable swing votes. The public should blame the Republicans.
Bob Palmer ; Also, I had this thought. "The public" does not blame Democrats as much as the media does blame the Democrats and Biden. Many people have been paying attention and question the media. There is only so much BS that people can believe. After the reality that a reality TV 'star' can slither into the oval office and the resulting chaos, harm and lawlessness that was wrought ; I think 'the public' may be more hip than one might think. The Jan 6 commission has gotten some much needed attention. The latest tricks played by the 'Supreme' court are NOT popular! Don't fool with Mother Nature!
This is my hope too, that some people will lose their taste for lies that are wrapped in commercialism and sensationalism. But our national commercial conversation is is powerful, is on message all the time 24/7. How can someone find a quiet place to reflect and realize, 'There is something just off about all of this? I think we went down a very dangerous road when we plopped pre-verbal infants in front of the television screen, in loco parentis. Do those kids, now adults, even have a concept of r self apart from it?
Bob Palmer ; It is a challenge to have children in a two worker family. I was able to stay at home with my twins for the first 3 years. part time daycare helped in a good place. We were lucky. Later, when the kids were tweens they were 'latch key' for a few hours after school. Neighbors and an aunt who lived across the street helped. We got through it, but there are challenges to being a parent who must work. It is awful how the BBB was blocked, along with so much more.
Good question! My mother was in my life for the first ten/11 years, She limited our TV. It was easy when we were small in the early 50's. Not everyone even had TV. She also commented on TV commercials and we had learned some critical thinking skills. Her education stopped at the 10th grade or so. She had to go to work to help her family. She was smart, but not 'educated'. she could read and spell very well, though. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." was an ad campaign I remember. I have 84 college credits ; A's and B's. Liberal arts, science, humanities ; but no degree. I can manage.
You mean "commercialism" and "sensationalism" like this? Or perhaps you are watching MSNBC so much that you cannot recognize "journalism." https://theintercept.com/2022/07/16/saudi-prince-taunts-biden-caring-khashoggi-shireen-abu-akleh/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
First of all, hundreds of people a day are dying of COVID and even allowing Biden a month or two following Trump's presidency almost double the Americans died under his watch in the same period of time WITH vaccines. Right now as we speak the new variants are on the rise and his administration gives zero guidance for pulbic health, so he has NOT pulled us out of it at all. Just because you put a blindfold on doesn't mean COVID is somehow resolved. As for Manchin and Sinema, last I saw Pelosi and Democratic leadership poured resources into beating progressive pro-choice, anti-gun, pro-labor women to get anti-choice, pro-gun, anti-labor Democrats into Congress (eg Jessica Cisneros vs Henry Cuellar in Texas). So when you blame Manchin and Sinema, blame Democrats for working against candidates who do not take corporate money to put right-wingers into Congress. The Democrats are in power although you would never know it from Biden's weakness and failure to use the bully pulpit. At least it appears he will appoint anti-abortion judges to state federal courts for lifetime appointments at least. Wonder how bad it will get for liberals to stop making excuses for their corrupted and inept party.
I do not like the Democratic Party's performance, either. For the first time in fifty years I no longer consider myself a Democrat. But I will continue to lean toward Democratic Party candidates as long as those candidates are not as bad as their Republican opponents. But there may be a time soon when I will just write in someone else if just can't vote for either major party candidate.
Scapegoat Manchin all you want. Democrats always have a scapegoat, whether it's Putin, Trump, Susan Sarandon, Bernie Sanders, Joe Manchin now or joe Lieberman then. Or it could be the Senate Parliamentarian who serves at the whim of Chuck Schumer, who could have simply gone ahead with a federal minimum wage but decided to let the Parliamentarian have the final say (which they do not, they just offer guidance). And your choice, along with liberals in general, is to keep focusing on the trees while the forest burns. I would suggest you take a look at Biden's, Pelosi's, Obama's and Schumer's actions leading to this moment rather than following their words and those of MSNBC and The New York Times.
the 2017 tax scam bill is the engine of our financial woes ... and the deficit Manchin cries about.
Actually, Reagan's tax cuts and Bill Clinton's repeal of Glass Steagall are the engine of our financial woes, although I agree that the 2017 bill continued the upward flow of wealth to the 0.1%. Then there is the Wall Street bailout by Obama, mortgage relief of which 9% of designated funds actually went to homeowners and so on.
No Republicans signed on to that, did they? You mean it was >all< Democrats that did that in a non-bipartisan way? Gracious. I suppose the Republicans are going to come to the rescue and change all that, right? . . . . . . . . . . Right ‽ I say every time Democrats get into the bipartisan bed with the Republicans they get royally screwed. Discussion over on this issue.
TRUE ALSO.... must be noted....and I was against the Wall ST. bailout....that those firms paid back those loans.... and there were real problems as to how that bailout money was distributed to those who needed it most...
And they are doing the exact same thing they did that caused the financial collapse in the first place, and they used that money for bonuses and stock buybacks.
yes
Barry J Kaufman DO ; You might want to stick to your work as a DO, because you sure are off base with the facts. WHAT have the Republicans done lately about climate change? And you should not make ass/umptions about what people on this forum think about MSNBC OR The New York Times. What rock have you just crawled out from under?
Science Girl, you really presented the dilemma well. Thanks.
GrrlScientist ; Yuck! Cannibalism!? We better tell the 'pro'lifers that some scientists are suggesting that human flesh is 'fair game' for human food! They should go ballistic! (Why do I suspect they won't?).
although i don't know from first-hand experience, i've been told that human flesh tastes like pork. an assessment that kinda gives a wee bit more support to fanny flagg's fanciful story, fried green tomatoes at the whistlestop cafe.
Vegetarianism looks better every day....
“The secret’s in the sauce.” Fried Green Tomatoes --great book.
It is PAST time to boot this fraud to the curb!
Republicans love to talk about RINO’s, but here is a prime example of a representative that campaigned himself as one thing, but his every word and action show the world he is something else.
If I was a more cynical person I would assume Republicans had a part in running Manchin and Sinema as Democrats, when their every vote is Republican.
You said it: the Democrats can’t have it any worse right now with Manchin’s loss. All I hear is “Biden said he’d do this” or “Biden promised this would be done.”
And to be sure, there are things he’s done that have nothing to do with Congress that I don’t like, but as far as the items you ticked off, the things that are detrimental or just really pissing off Americans to the point of losing their vote, his hands are virtually tied.
Why? Because we don’t have a bigger majority and McConnell uses the stupid filibuster every time there’s something worthwhile for America or Americans.
I swear, I will never understand how one man has so much control over the ENTIRE country. McConnell is bad enough; he’s horrible, in fact. But Manchin should hang his head in shame. It’s not enough he’s never going to do the right thing, but to pretend like he’s going to, wasting everyone’s time and energy, is stupid and infantile.
I’m sick of hearing Manchin, almost as sick of hearing Sinema, and if I never hear the names McConnell or Trump EVER again, it will be too soon.
Man you are right on the money with comments & I couldn’t agree more! McConnell taught Manchin well in how to be an obstructionist. They are both doing exactly what they did to Obama 12 years ago & kept him from completing his hope & change agenda. It made me sick to my stomach every time McConnell put out any kind of televised statement. He sends me the most ridiculous form letters in answer to any petition I or my husband send him. Rand Paul’s are even worse, they never even address the subject of the petition. We Dems in KY tried out best to get rid of Moscow Mitch in ‘18 but those poorly educated rural Evangelical voters in this state believe he makes the Sun rise! McConnell said he would retire if he didn’t get the gavel back in ‘22 so we all really need to help him keep that promise & make it become our reality. Biden only asked for 2 more Dem Senators but he really means he needs a minimum of 4, 2 to replace Manchin & Sinema & 2 more to have a solid majority!! I saw an email yesterday that showed how many Dem Senators each President had going back to Kennedy I believe & Biden has had the fewest. I even believe it would be best to replace Schumer as Leader because he doesn’t seem to have the energy necessary to keep his Senators on message & working for the same goal. I’d like to see what Elizabeth Warren could do with them! I sound like an armchair quarterback for sure but I feel as angry as Prof Reich sounds over the damage & BS the country has had to put up with from those 2 DINOs.
KY has I hope a decent candidate to try to send Rand Paul packing but I’m wondering if he’s getting any help from the DNC since KY isn’t considered a battle ground state???
Just heard Bernie’s dressing down of Manchin over his refusal to support his President’s climate/social issues bill but I’m betting Manchin looks at those comments as more publicity & attention for himself!
Bottom line is Dems must make this midterm election roll into a Blue Wave much bigger than it was in 2018! Once the Dems see the results of these midterms & they turn out to be very positive for adding more Senators, I believe they will do some kind of punishment to Manchin or ask him to leave the party! I hope Biden calls him up & gives him a piece of his mind. In the meantime all of us on here should be helping their Dem candidates win & try to rout the extremists Rethugs out of Washington!
Thank you for your comments, Shirley. It is encouraging that a voter from Kentucky is aware of the damage being done by McConnell and Manchin and the big question is "Are there enough other voters in Kentucky (and W Virginia) to save our democracy from the narrow bias of three moronic senators?" Vote everybody was if your life depended on it......because it does.
Ohio included
Totally agree. I know it’s wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it be awesome to get a super majority?
KP ; With the present reality of our State of the Union , that is what we should have ; a flippin' Super Majority! People are not well informed and Citizens United helps this payola 'chain gang' of the public to continue! I was watching a weekend MSNBC evening show where the pundit's messages were all very negative for Democrats. It was all rubbish and I fast forwarded to a discussion about the upcoming Jan 6th hearing, a somewhat brighter spot for a minute or so, until this 'lawyer' pundit said that it is unlikely that tRump or Pence will be subpoenaed, or appear at the Jan 6th Committee hearings at all. He seemed to relish his role as the dasher of hopes! I wished I could punch him in the face! ...Gee ! ; Where would I get that kind of energy!?!? WE NEED BILLBOARDS TO CALL OUT THESE INJUSTICES AND NAME NAMES!
!!!
Paula B ; There was also a story repeated on all the MSNBC Sunday shows that focused on blaming the police for their criminal lack of courage at Uvalde. No mention of the policies and politics of allowing weapons of war to be available to any 18 year old. No mention of the 'nonprofit' NRA lobbying our 'representatives' to keep the crazy, dangerous laws that are on the books. Just point at the working class people who are our police and call them cowards for "not doing the right thing" and rush into certain annihilation. The root of the horrible problem is not seen at all! Not spoken or shown in any way! I was looking at the TV pundits who were saying 'cowards' and wanted to ask them if they would run into automatic gunfire certain to kill them!
Shame on them. I don’t watch TV but I thought MSNBC was supposed to be left-leaning. I guess not.
What a joke. There can never be enough leeches at the trough?
Do you think McConnell wins his Senate races legitimately or does he interfere & try to rig them in his favor?
I think this state has been gerrymandered a long time ago but I know there was a new map submitted this year but don’t know if Gov Beshear vetoed it or not. McConnell has a really huge war chest to spend on campaigns that scares many people away from running against him & his team puts out many negative attack ads on his opponents throughout the day especially in the last few weeks before the election. He really attacked Amy McGrath over being pro-choice & that she was for late term abortions which was a lie. In my memory it’s always attack ads & nothing about what he wanted to do!
Shirley Roberts ; Typical Repug attack ads ; hitting below the belt with lies and repetition with absolutely no real platform or agenda to help voters. They seem to have more money than brains or ethics! They take money from Big Pharma or fossil fuel companies to drive up prices for their donors, then scare people with horror stories about their opponents, laughing all the way to the bank!
That’s because he doesn’t want to actually legislate. All he wants to do is aggrandize himself. I’ll bet his parents were a nightmare, producing a sociopath like that.
do cows fly
Moscow Mitch. To say nothing of his tie$ to China, er Taiwan.
I've heard that KY hates McConnell...I don't understand it...he has to be doing something to keep being voted in.
Rigs....must be...anyway Hillary was stupid enough to promise to close coal production... she thought she would lock up coal miner vote!!!?? Oy vey!Manchin rode in with Trump.
I'd love to have your comments widely spread and known! It makes me think that we got to a sad point of people having lost our voice and willpower in this republic!
I wonder what can be done? The open opposition of Mitch McConnell to Obama and to Biden raised the question: Is Mitch McConnell a dictator of USA? Is he a second president? What gave him so mch power to oppose and undermine all that the Democtrtats want to accomplish to the benefit of all Americans and of the world, like the Climate Control. You are correct: McConnell showed Manchin that one can act in a way inconsistent with the phiolophy of "We the People"... A sad time for America!...
I believe you are in a dream world! They have not done anything and won't do anything! These are paid puppets whose only concern is to continue the lip service to get the next big payout! Biden is bought and paid for. He is worthless with his sorry bullshit excuses.
If you don't want to hear McConnell's name, don't kick a Democrat out and make McConnell Majority leader. It isn't an honorarium. It is a very important position that decides committee chairs, what gets voted on, judges.....
Hold your nose, and for now, until we have a bigger majority, only complain about GOP and raise issues that will help people. If the GOP can win elections running on phony CRT, Parental Rights, etc. as they suppress votes, the Democrats can find something to run on.
@DK. You have stated the real reason that Democrats are helpless to discipline Manchin and Sinema...
Pass what is feasible.
Remove the chairmanship for cause only after a vote.
@Daniel, Precisely. I simply would add that Dems present whichever provisions pass as a downpayment of more to come if they hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
downpayment Yes!
Yes. He will soon be irrelevant anyway. Pobrecito. My heart bleeds for him. (That’s sarcasm.)
Manchin must be expelled from the Democratic Party; the question is all about the timing.
First, let's put him in perspective. He was a Republican billionaire in a poor state determined to completely fortify his wealth there but he had one problem: the Repugnicant party in West Virginia was controlled by other individuals who were unwilling to become his peons. The Democratic Party in West Virginia was moribund however. So without changing his spots, Manchin registered as Democrat In Card Only, bought his way to the governorship, and turned the West Virginia Democratic Party into his personal secretariat for years. Nothing changed when Manchin took his act to the Senate. Now, a reform slate has just largely dismantled Manchin's apparatus in West Virginia during this last year, all the more reason for him to block anything and everything in Congress since he can't continue to do so in his own state. Manchin has largely burned his bridges with the Republicans, so if he wasn't on a Democratic Party ticket, he'd have to declare as an independent. As a powerless independent, he could quite possibly win re-election in West Virginia---he has the money, and too many people have no sense---but Manchin is much too vain to give up the perks and powers of being a major Committee chairman, so he wouldn't leave the Democratic Party of his own accord, in my view; he's sitting pretty just right where he is.
Manchin has never been a Democrat. He has openly sneered at his own constituents as drug addicts and welfare chiselers; and still the man gets elected. From the instant he blocked a rise in the national minimum wage, it was clear how this would go. And I have to say, it is obvious Manchin is totally relishing kicking the Democratic 'misleadership' in the gonads over and over again and watching them crawl back and lick his boots asking him for pennies on their goals. A major reason why Joe Biden should not be ALLOWED to run again is his gross misreading of Manchin, who blatantly lied to him about voting for a chunk of the social legislation the Democrats meant to pass while Biden believed him---and now looks like the mook he is. Biden got the same kick in the rear from the Republicans in the Obama Administration when he was completely outwitted in Congress. So Joe is a dope, who gets played by smarter guys, pure and simple.
Thing is, the Demos in Congress haven't retaliated against Manchin to this point because passing anything at all has come down to his signature on . . . anything at all. If they were to expel Manchin at this point, they would lose control of the Senate if Manchin simply became an independent and caucused with neither party. No judges would be confirmed. No executive appointees would be confirmed. Seriously: no legislation of any kind would pass without paying tribute to the Senate Repugnicant caucus, such as the abortion extremist judge Biden was cutting a deal to nominate in return for penny ante gains he wanted (which were all he could get). The Repugnicants would also reacquire a major national platform to spew their brew in the face of the public thereby. I can't tell you what a pleasure it's been not to see McConnell and Graham quoted in the major media on a daily basis, because the major media devotes an enormous volume of their daily news feed to the party in power in a Congressional body. So the _current_ costs of booting Manchin are substantial.
Still, booting Manchin from the Party should happen; the day AFTER the midterms. But what to do until then, given control of the Senate comes down to his party affiliation, and control of the Senate has very significant repercussions whether or not it is possible to pass major legislation? I do think that the Democratic Party should run against Joe Manchin during this Autumn's campaigns. It's a game of chicken, but again, I don't think Manchin will give up his perks of his own accord, he has a cast iron stomach for the kind of dirty game he's playing. So a) the Democrats should blame him publicly point by point for the blockage of their agenda, b) turn to the public and say "Give us more actual Democrats," and c) pull his Committee chairmanship to make the point. That puts the ball in his court, and the case before the public. If Manchin _quits_ the Democratic Party, that only makes their point in the election campaign: Joe's a traitor, which he is.
I think there is a substantial probability that the Democratic caucus in the Senate will increase by several members after the midterms, though the House is significantly more problematic. If that happens, the Democrats don't need Manchin anyway, and his obstructive betrayal would be intolerable. That would be the time to fire him. If in fact the Democrats were to lose the Senate, they again wouldn't need Manchin. That would be a time to fire him, though if it didn't look as nice in those circumstances it would still be justifiable by blaming him over the Autumn for the situation. So: eat your cake and have it too. Don't kick him out of the party YET, but make it clear that he is the problem and turn to the public for the solution. That is my considered view, and has been so since Spring, 2021.
Wow. Thanks for the peek into WVa's political history. I was going on the theory that Manchin was an out-and-out plant from the Republican party, but this puts a new light on that idea. Fascinating.
Heart!
Manchin’s counterpart on the other side is “Spotlight Susie” Collins.
Manchin not only plays dirty pool,he plays filthy pool,as well as Sinema.Looks like the type to lift her skirt at the Rethugs in Congress,sorry,but that seems very real.
But they say: "we won't be able to confirm any more judges".
At minimum, Manchin should be removed from the chairmanship of the Energy Committee. If he then leaves the Democratic Party for the GOP, then let him.
Billboards in West Virginia describing the damage done by Manchin should be a no brainer. Take away the chairmanship.
👏👏👏
I completely agree. It would be great if Biden did this AND first threw him off his chairmanship. To the enormous detriment to this country the Democrats have been completely weakened and dominated by their donor class and are unable to work for the good of the country. What I see as the savage defilement of the state of West Virginia is the years of coal barons, plutocratic governors (Jay Rockefeller for one) wiping their ass with that state's citizens. Harsh words I know but let's get totally honest here. Read West Virginia's political history. The ruling class knows well that if you can keep people poor, struggling and sick (opioid crisis) you can own them. Watch out America, pardon the expression, but West Virginia is our "canary in the coal mine." They're coming for all of us.
Oh, maybe we can't stand the Democrats but we MUST VOTE FOR THEM. There's no alternative the GOP will destroy us rapidly if they regain power. The US is, well known to other countries, in terrible decline.
I think it was under a Republican in the White House that gas was $1.89/gal. Correct me if I am wrong.
Because that, clearly, is the most important thing to be considered. /sarcasm.
Ummmm..YA. Can't afford an EV. Can't afford to go anywhere at $5.00/gal. This is hurting more than just me. not sarcasm!
The oil companies have been price gouging, & they intentionally raise prices higher under Democratic administrations because they know that Republican administrations will favor them even more than Democrats do. Even so, Obama lowered gas prices significantly over the course of his administration, & prices have dropped significantly over the past month under Biden.
Trump did several things that would in the long term raise prices, including gas. His trade war against the world, the Republican Wealthcare package, & getting Russia & Saudi Arabia to lower oil production with the specific goal of raising prices.
Other things that exacerbated it were global supply chain delays, which started with the pandemic that Trump handled very poorly; Russia's war on Ukraine, during which Russia has deliberately prevented Ukrainian produce to reach countries in Africa & Asia that badly need it, causing widespread famine; & price gouging by the oil companies, & their refusal to ramp up production. Practically none of this is Biden's fault.
Always someone else's fault. Biden owns it. Shutting down Keystone first day in office, not renewing oil and gas leases on federal lands. The only folks that do price gouging is the federal and state governments with their tax on everything. We became energy independent during Obama and Trump ensured that. Not doing those things to keep us energy independent ensures our enemies fill their coffers by selling oil to other nations. Biden is helping Putin by not allowing US producers to produce. It is all Biden's fault.
Ha! Completely wrong! Not that Biden hasn't done some things wrong, including in his attempts to lower gas prices, but they have been going down for a month.
They are already here.
Ugh, I know....and I'm terrified. There seems to be no end in sight. Rachel Maddow said, paraphrasing closely; this 50 year project is now in its prime and just getting started." Scores of remarkably repressive laws are being passed daily in GOP states. The DOJ appears totally non-existent in any area of law enforcement. Looks like the Robb Elementary school hallway littered with useless lawmen. Look at all the people who have been involved with the seditious acts against our country and not one's been touched in 18 months. Stunning.
We've held out long enough,I believe we need to rid ourselves of Mr. Garland,he's been a huge disappointment to us.
Agree! I don't know if we can "get rid of him," only Biden can do that and won't, I'm certain. Why isn't there a "special counsel" like there was in the Watergate corruption? I always wanted to see people like Andrew Weissmann or Preet Bahara (sp?) handling this. Prosecutors with brains and a spine. Unbelievably in the moment of gravest danger to our country the DOJ is busiest trying to resuscitate its apolitical reputation at the expense of our democracy. The timing couldn't be worse. Again, where is Democratic leadership?
It’s unbelievable that your democratic system allows Minchin and Sinema to behave as they do. Of course they should be kicked out. Of course they should not be allowed to accept these massive bribes from Big Business to vote in the latter’s favour - that’s called bribery and corruption elsewhere in the world. It’s the ‘people’ that voted them into their positions of power and the People who should benefit from, and dictate, their voting decisions.
Comment from the UK
I should add that it’s crazy incomprehensible that the Democratic Party allows individual Members to accept huge sums from vested interests
No wonder you find it unbelievable. This system is presidential, not parliamentary.
You have a correct view of our so called government. Money roiled. It’s disgusting,
The UK has its problems but boy, do I envy you. (Hope you’re staying cool during this horrendous heat wave!!!)
Lonny it doesn't happen like this--even the disintegrating Tories stop, or are stopped, short of this fossil fuel millionaire chairing the Energy Committee in the midst of a planetary catastrophe!
Irradiated Thorium is more dangerously radioactive in the short term. The Th-U cycle invariably produces some U-232, which decays to Tl-208, which has a 2.6 MeV gamma ray decay mode. Bi-212 also causes problems. These gamma rays are very hard to shield, requiring more expensive spent fuel handling and/or reprocessing.
No I was never for any kind of nuclear power since I was young. Because of the lack of being able to safely dispose of the waste. Oh and I was alive and near enough to 3 mile Island when that happened. I know people who lost their livelihoods after that accident. I am 64. Ironically my son went to Drexel for Chemical Engineering and went on to work at Areva. Areva is part owned by France and has systems to cool and clean the waste water in Nuclear Power plants to reuse if I have that correctly. Some of the older guys patented a way to do this. He was working with this group. He had a hard time living in Lynchburg and missed his family so he came back here and went to work at his old job. Sadly he went on to have a stroke and is disabled now living with me. Back when I was young working I. parks under the Carter administration we were to put in solar energy in a barn. It was just starting to take off. Thanks to the Reagan administration everything was cut. If we had pushed back then for less waste more renewable kinds of energy we would not be in the mess we are in now. Americans are the most wasteful polluting humans on earth and we have strewn it all over the world. We brought our mess everywhere. I lived through a time when there was no plastic anything at least in way of disposables so in just what 30 some years we have managed to pollute the oceans and even disrupt the endocrine systems of wildlife all over the world as far as where polar bears are and in the Southern parts of South America. We are disgusting for doing this. And no one is held accountable. All for more stuff and greed! Don’t get me started of the mass extinction of wildlife, birds and native plants!
We had a Light Water Breeder Thorium/U-233 Reactor, courtesy of Admiral Rickover, that successfully operated from 1977 to 1982 in an electric utility plant in Pennsylvania. We need another Rickover!
Now is not the time to obsess about Manchin. What's important is getting Biden a Senate with more then 50 Democrats. That's our job, as voters.
If Manchin were to leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican, we'd have Mitch McConnell as Senate MAJORITY leader. Ugh. Shooting ourselves in the foot.
We need to keep our eyes on the ball, and put all our efforts into electing more Democratic Senators and members of Congress in the upcoming midterms.
With Manchin and Sinema in his court, Moscow Mitch is already effectively the Senate majority leader, but, as long as they pass for Democrats, it's the Democrats voters will blame for having done nothing, so a lot of them will vote Republican NOT Democrat. There's no hope of getting Biden a Senate with more than 50 Democrats as long as these two ReThuglican sleeper agents keep sabotaging him.
Moscow Mitch is not effectively Senate majority leader when judicial appointments are nominated, Maureen. In fact, MM's Kentucky colleague Rancid Paul just wrecked a Biden-MM backroom deal to appoint an anti-abortion judge.
As satisfying as it would be to kick Manchin out, giving Mitch power again would be too high a price. Better to keep him inside, and make the best of a bad deal, and win enough seats in the midterms to make him irrelevant.
You mean that if the Senate has a GQP majority after the November elections, Moscow Mitch won't be majority leader, or do you mean that Biden won't/can't make any judicial appointments between the 2022 elections and the end of his term in 2024?
I mean that anytime MoscowMitch is Senate majority leader he'll do what he did before as majority leader, Maureen, deny judicial appointment to anyone not Federalist Society-anointed
I agree.
My point about the Biden-MM collusion muddied the water, Maureen, and I knew it when I posted. I should have controlled my pique.
Well put!
Thank you.
I can't believe Manchin still leads the Energy committee. I do agree that the Democrats need to kick Manchin out of the party. It IS true that they've lost control of the Senate anyway. It is completely frustrating not only about Manchin but also that legislators participating in 1/6 are still in Congress. There seems to be absolutely no consequences anymore to breaking laws
Just strip him of his power in the party.
I couldn’t agree more, Manchin needs to go, Trump likes to use the term RINO for Republicans who go against him. Well Manchin is most certainly the DINO of the Democratic Party.
We have a big tent.
Need more Democrats. We have the capacity to sweep the midterms if we keep our eye on the ball.
@Daniel. Yes! Get one or two more Democratic Senators! Critical!
Agreed!
When will Biden realize that Lucy Manchin will ALWAYS move the football?
He'd be better off courting one of the few remaining Republicans with a spine and a sense of decency who cares about the well-being of the country: perhaps Romney or Cheney or Kinzinger. He wouldn't get everything he wants, but he'd get SOMETHING. Cheney and Kinzinger would lose nothing by bucking Moscow Mitch; they've already done so and the GQP is baying for their blood, anyway, so why not do something for their constituents while they still can?
Maureen, Whatever provisions the Senate can settle upon through budget reconciliation already have passed in the Democratically controlled House. Hence, the only pertinent name you provided is Romney. Regrettably, I wouldn’t expect Romney or Murkowski or Collins, or any other Republican so-called institutionalist to lend their support.
I wasn't thinking when I mentioned Cheney and Kinzinger.
I guess there aren't any GQP Senators left with a spine and a sense of decency who care about the well-being of the US anymore. Eisenhower--heck, Goldwater--would puke!
Makes me glad I emigrated to a civilized democracy when I had the chance, but no country in the world is safe if the US becomes--as it looks more and more likely to become--a fascist dictatorship. It was a brave experiment, but I guess it failed.
@Maureen. Not yet friend! Vote in the mid term elections! There are at least 6 vulnerable Republicans and we only need one or two. Val Demings might be able to win against Rubio! Ron Johnson (R) is going down against Mandela Barnes! Cheri Beasley is showing well in North Carolina! Tim Ryan might pull it off in Ohio!
Benjamin, Though you’re not addressing me, I would note we also must hold the House if we’re to advance any legislation. Moreover, at the state and local levels, we have to out-organize Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
Oh, I will vote, not that I expect it to do much good. I vote in Alabama. At least my vote there once did some good by keeping Roy Moore out of the Senate.
Maureen, Though admittedly we have a small window to protect the key mechanisms of democracy in the US, I take heart from the presence of the millions of people, probably anxious, frightened, and uncertain, who, nonetheless, are training themselves and acquiring the knowledge and tools to defend against a fatal weakening of American institutions.
I wish I could share your confidence. A recent poll seems to show that Hispanic and working-class voters--once the mainstay of the Democratic Party--couldn't care less about the fatal weakening of American institutions.
In fact, they overwhelmingly believe that "America is the greatest country in the world," that "Racism comes from individuals who hold racist views, not from our society and institutions.," and that "Most people who want to get ahead can make it if they're willing to work hard."
Here's a quotation from the article I just read about it:
"Strong progressives clearly live in a different world than Hispanic and working class voters. In strong progressive world, views on abortion, gun control and January 6th fit neatly into an overarching set of sociocultural beliefs that are highly salient to them and increasingly drive the Democratic party’s priorities and rhetoric. Hispanic and working class voters lack this overarching set of beliefs—in fact, don’t share many of them—and are much more concerned with the basics of their material lives. It should thus be no surprise that these voters are increasingly losing interest in the party of abortion, gun control and January 6th. As Josh Kraushaar notes:
Democrats are becoming the party of upscale voters concerned more about issues like gun control and abortion rights.
Republicans are quietly building a multiracial coalition of working-class voters, with inflation as an accelerant."
https://theliberalpatriot.substack.com/p/working-class-and-hispanic-voters?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220718&instance_id=66922&nl=the-morning®i_id=49404254&segment_id=98820&te=1&user_id=34a1fc9c91a305966c49a7131d1386de
Even during WWII, most Germans still believed that Germany--the land of Goethe and Beethoven--was the most civilized nation on earth. I hope Americans don't get the kind of wake-up call those Germans did.
Sorry I sound so pessimistic, but looking at the US from outside is pretty depressing. That could just be that, from outside, we only see the bad news.
Maureen, Though I don’t doubt the validity of the thesis you present, I would note that, nationwide, it is incumbent upon us to educate everyday people about what they’re losing every time Biden’s social and climate legislative agenda is stalled due to every Republican and 2 Senate Democrats. Simply put our job is to show, despite undue obstruction, that what Dems have managed to accomplish can justifiably be understood as a downpayment of more to come if Dems can hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
If we can't get a Democratic majority in both houses in this election, If it weren't for Trump, I could probably live with a GQP sweep in 2024.
I think if there were a billion ton asteroid headed straight at earth, Moscow Mitch would rather see it destroy the world than let a Democrat get credit for saving it, but, if HE were to get the credit, he'd save it. From what I've read, even many Republicans are starting to accept the danger of climate change, and, if the GQP were in charge, McConnell might even let some legislation pass to do something about it--at least if it came with a tax-cut for the rich.
But Trump's the problem. McConnell knows Trump's as crazy as a wolverine on speed, but he's afraid of him and will do anything he wants. The combination is deadly.
Kicking Manchin out of the Democratic Party would help people see that the problem lies with an obstructionist GQP, not with a do-nothing Democratic President and Congress, but, as someone else pointed out, that would make Moscow Mitch the Majority Leader and ensure that Biden could appoint no judges for the rest of his term.
Manchin's popularity among Democrats in WV is tanking; they could probably successfully primary him, but that would just mean that a Republican in name AND deed would succeed him (unless he changed parties--apparently, his popularity among WV Republicans and Independents is going up).
The US is between Scylla and Charybdis, and Biden doesn't have a loyal crew to row him through.
Most of the people killed by guns are minorities. They certainly should care about the issue.
Well stated. This part hit the nail on the head. "Democrats are becoming the party of upscale voters concerned more about issues like gun control and abortion rights. Republicans are quietly building a multiracial coalition of working-class voters, with inflation as an accelerant."
When the Democrats abandoned their working class base they may have got bigger donations but they also abandoned their future.
I think there's hope to bring the working class together with the current base of university educated voters. A recent NYT article says that "Since the Great Recession, the college-educated have taken more frontline jobs at companies like Starbucks and Amazon. Now they’re helping to unionize them." I just don't know if they'll pull together in time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/business/college-workers-starbucks-amazon-unions.html
Now that is a fine idea. Strip him of his power and court a republican with a conscious
If there is one.
Though Manchin (and Sinema) disgust me, they both, contrary to Republicans, supported the Democrat’s $1.9 trillion Coronavirus Relief package. Moreover, while both bear responsibility for virtually upending Biden’s social and climate legislative agenda, let alone blocking the passage of federal voter protection safeguards, if Democrats can pass the admittedly narrow, but important, provisions to lower prescription drug prices and to extend enhanced ACA subsidiaries through 2025, they should. In turn, I would advise Democrats, while educating everyday people nationwide about what they’re losing every time Biden’s agenda is stalled, also to portray whichever provisions pass as a downpayment of substantially more to come if they can hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
I do not believe Manchin has any intention of voting for either of those last two very important and needed provisions. Recall that just weeks ago, he was all for climate legislation and increasing taxes on the wealthy. He cannot be trusted at all, and I think Democrats should proceed with that as a given. The same applies to you-know-who, another tool of the rich.
John, Considering West Virginians repeatedly prioritize jobs, healthcare, childcare, housing and tax reform as vital to their well-being, I would submit that Manchin likely could be pressured into passing something. As for Sinema, her constituents in Arizona mostly are calling for expanding healthcare, while also holding Sinema accountable for her unseemly corporate ties, especially to Big Pharma. Hence, I remain hopeful that something will pass.
I give a cluck! Kick him out of the party! No use in retaining no control. How about Kristin S. I can never remember how to spell her unimportant name. Maybe kicking these turncoats out of the party will at least send a message. I agree Bob. Damn, I try to disagree but you are so right on that it would be hypocritical.
If the "FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT " is not already in place early enough before the MIDTERM ELECTIONS this November, then Republicans will win TOTAL CONTROL OF CONGRESS.
IF THAT HAPPENS, Republicans will REVERSE everything that President Biden has accomplished including the "BUILD BACK BETTER ACT" (Should it become law before then)
And Republicans will STOP the investigation into the Jan 6, insurrection claiming that the attack on the capital was completely legal.
Then Trump or someone just like him will be back in the white house in 2024.
PLEASE!!!
I am demanding that all Americans with websites and media platforms who believe in DEMOCRACY and the RULE OF LAW must immediately urge Americans to PEACEFULLY take to the streets in protest to protect our voting rights and to REVERSE Republican anti voting laws before it is too late to do anything about it.
And because our voting rights are being stolen by Republicans who are viciously passing anti voting laws---many more Americans are going to lose the right to vote.
Without our right to vote we will lose many of our precious rights and freedoms.
Trump-Republicans are attacking our Democratic norms. They want to control who gets to vote, who counts the votes, and who declares the winners.
As an American who loves the precious freedoms of the United States, I cannot sit back and watch our FREEDOM TO VOTE disappear without doing everything I can to help stop this from happening.
Because of the URGENCY of this situation, and with all due respect, I must demand that you ADD to your website's agenda to: PLEASE URGE YOUR READERS TO PEACEFULLY TAKE TO THE STREETS TO PROTECT OUR VOTING RIGHTS IMMEDIATELY.
And because Republicans have passed Anti Voting laws into their favor, including the right to DECERTIFY AND OVERTURN AN ELECTION, they will illegally win in all future elections.
SO FAR Republicans have passed over 400 new anti-voting laws in 49 states using false allegations of voter fraud. Making it much harder for people to vote..
THEY are using the FILIBUSTER to continue to block our CIVIL LIBERTIES. Including VOTING RIGHTS, HEALTHCARE, PLANNED PARENTHOOD, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS, ANIMAL RIGHTS, GUN SAFETY, LGBT RIGHTS, SOCIAL SECURITY PROTECTION, TAXING THE RICH, ETC. ETC. ETC.
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS have said that they will OVERTURN any election that does not go their way.
WHAT KIND OF DEMOCRACY IS THAT???
Without the FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT, all parties (except The Republican party) will no longer be able to win elections.
The "Freedom To Vote act" will REVERSE all Republicans ANTI VOTING laws and PROTECT our right to vote.
And if the filibuster still stands in the way, then it must be abolished.
Please push for peaceful mass protests to protect and restore our voting rights before Trumps Republicans succeed in an AUTHORITARIANISM TAKEOVER of the United States.
THEY HAVE ALREADY JUST ENDED
ROE V. WADE
@Lonny. That is some bogus history right there. The 800 years or so that Greece dominated culturally and militarily is far longer than any other regime in the West, except Rome which was just another style of democracy.
Perfectly stated! Thank you, Robert Reich. I wish Joe Biden and the Democratic Party would get your message. I keep writing and calling the White House, my Senators, and my Congresswoman. Your messages give me hope.
What a great idea for Democrats (SARCASM) kick out anyone who doesn't go along and Make McConnell's Day...all committee chairs will be Republicans....judges, the most long lasting people in govt. will be decided by theocracy leaning GOP. We don't like Manchin, but two very important things. 1. He isn't running, 2. he's a Democrat.
How about running on "We need more Democrats, because a 50 -50 split is not enough." Unlike the GOP Democrats sometimes don't vote as a 100% block.
Can you PLEEEZE (cartoon cat) write columns against 50 GOP Senators instead of one renegade Democrat, against the GOP Congress people who threaten to take control of the House and make the Speaker McCarthy who will put dangerous people as chairs of all committees. If you don't like what Manchin is doing, you REALLY won't like what a GOP lead Congress does.
You will never change Manchin's mind or win independent voters by beating this drum.
If you want people to be mad at, you have Cruz, Hawley, Bachman, Grassley, McConnell and a few hundred more in Congress....you have down ballot elections to motivate you.
LETS WORK ON GETTING DEMOCRATS ELECTED SO WE CAN GET THINGS DONE.
I understand what you are saying, but as long as the system is such that the majority has so much power on what bills get brought up, who are the committee chairs, what hearings are held, what appointments are confirmed, and who are the judges (many for life) we need to get the majority. This isn't a contradiction of needing people who represent the common good.
Agreed. It is greed. Once the smoggy air produced by Trump blows away (and he is a giant dumpster fire that keeps smoldering) may we finally be able to see that McConnell and Machin are our two biggest stumbling blocks. Biden is too kind and perhaps too old to expose them for what they are, followers of money. This does nothing for the people or the environment, which really need some attention right now.
Greed at its finest. I doubt he is going to be ousted. So we need to win more Democratic seats which overrides his sfb power . But at this rate, we will be lucky to hold onto the seats we have. Biden is definitely NOT the sales person to his voters as trump is to his voters. This spells disaster.
That may be true he’s not a marketer but I bet he could call on Obama at any time to do his marketing campaigns for him to help any Dem candidates that are in trouble. He & Michelle are already being used in emails requesting monetary support for certain candidates! I hope the Obamas will be rallying with some of the newer Senate candidates. But we sure don’t need any Dem behaving anything like TFG did & is still doing!!
Absolutely right. The Democrats should not only dump Mankin, they should use this example as grounds for changing laws so that Capital cannot buy votes in future. The USA cannot be the beacon of democracy if in effect its legislature is controlled by thinly masked bribery.
Yes, i would like to see us be way more vocal — and get something done — about campaign finance reform and political bribery!!!!