Does he remain a Democrat?
As a Democrat, he will be expected to subsidize large, urban areas at the expense of everybody else. West Virginia has none of those large urban areas.
Large urban areas are grossly in debt. Using the same accounting standards that private companies are required to use, many of their pension funds are 25% funded. Large urban areas buy peace by sprinkling bread-and-circus on rabble-rousers.
Why should families in West Virginia take on debt to rescue cities that gave billionaires hundreds-of-millions of dollars to bribe them to keep their pro-sports teams in a given city? Why should West Virginia families take on debt to rescue businesses that pay their employees (athletes) millions of dollars a year? Can't those businesses cut the employee's pay?
Why should families in West Virginia mortgage their birth-right with debt to bail out cities who mistakenly assumed that property values would always ratchet upward at an ever-increasing rate? Knowledge workers figured out it is easier to send the work over a fiber optic line to the worker than to put the worker in a 3300 pound steel can and ship the worker to the work.
Rents in Pelosi's San Francisco have fallen 30% since Covid. Sales prices are negotiated based on the anticipated cash flow, the change in price will be even greater than 30% because it went from the expectation of rents "trending upward and accelerating" to "a falling knife". Falling property values means falling property tax revenues.
The Black child of two millionaire lawyer parents has a better chance of being admitted to a top-tier university than the child of an unemployed, West Virginia single mom because....diversity.
The coastal flat-landers despise "hillbillies". The Woke crowd will destroy a trainer who names a horse "Grape Soda" because that is racist but sneeringly characterizes West Virginians as Meth-mouth, Mountain Dew swilling trash collectors. The last part may be true. An amazing number of people who do the least desirable, most menial jobs in the Washington D.C. area COMMUTE from West Virginia. Many people working those jobs cannot afford the cost of housing in the D.C. area.
Steel is not coming back under the Democrats. Coal is not coming back. They hate both. Now the Democrats are intent on destroying natural gas. The Democrats are now the party of the elites and the "little brown people" the elites coddle to signal their Wokeness. West Virginia doesn't have many of either.
The other thing is that Manchin could look the other way on the Democrats' Second Amendment stand as long as it was just talk. The laws that Democrats WILL pass will make the majority of West Virginia adults liable to felony prosecution.
Does Manchin stay with the Democrats or does he cross the aisle?
You are talking politics, Joe. Pretty sure most Americans are talking Clausewitz.
ReplyDeleteah, like politics by other means.
He's gonna sit the fence and plead with both sides to play nice so he can keep his rice bowl. Team Steal will win the next few elections because I don't see conservative voters wasting time on voting.
ReplyDeleteManchin and his colleagues will treat all election victories as validation and a mandate. It won't even occur to them that when one side walks away the game is over. They won't get it. Ever... Even when they're facing the firing squad or the noose is actually being tied, they'll be confused and not understand. The progressive mindset is either pure evil or pure stupid. Sometimes both. Most of the time both.
Cross the aisle?
ReplyDeleteThe events of the last months reveals that there is no aisle.
Its a uniparty, engaging in Kabuki theatre to convince We The People that there are two parties.
IDGAF about Manchin or Casey or Toomey or Murkowski or Schumer.
I would not cross the road to piss on any of them if they were on fire.
This.
DeleteI would piss on them.
DeleteActually, I think that Mittens might change parties after the new congress is sworn in. He is a turncoat. Ben's Asse too.
\We are under a dictatorship now.
Question- which is the bigger crime- STEALING THE ELECTION, or MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCUSS IT ?
The taking away of our power to choose our leaders and representatives or the taking away of our right to free speech ? I submit that they both are treasonous acts, and if the government will not restore them, we must restore them by any means necessary. That is why they want to take our guns.
P.S.- if a government can take it away it is no longer a right, it is a permission slip handed out by your masters to its favorites.
DeleteThey chose to take away the voice of reason who would explain to us, hold on to hope, the thing is changing, your vote matters, don't do anything rash, I am going to help you with the american dream. Nope, crucified into silence, never to be heard again. Only their voice on the airwaves. I can feel the hardening taking place. Whether they work harden us by beat down, or quenching a red hot poker into water the stress is building. The result is the same either method. The tempering is gone, missing, silenced and now we shall reach the breaking point of no return.
ReplyDeleteGood question. I'm surprised he managed to get re-elected last time, but he did lots of fancy footwork and made promises he hasn't kept.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that he'll try to keep straddling the fence and doubt he'll switch parties. He MAY guess that nobody willing to run has a strong enough position (name recognition, etc) to beat him... he is probably right.
Well, they keep electing the guy. It is said that you can't fix stupid.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at his voting record, Manchin has been basically worthless his entire time in Washington. He tries to straddle the fence verbally, but rarely votes truly conservative, either not voting on an issue or taking the liberal side.
ReplyDeleteHe may find he has more power by staying on the fence and seeing which side offers the biggest bribes, er, I mean incentives. Issue by issue, vote by vote.
ReplyDeleteDamn good question.
ReplyDeleteHow about if they're not on fire? Asking for a friens
ReplyDeletefrienD (expletive deleted keyboard or fat fingers)
Delete