Joe Manchin Releases Scathing Statement at Bernie Sanders After Personal Attack
These days, it doesn’t take a whole lot of courage to say what the woke mob wants to hear, but it takes a heck of a lot of fortitude to stand against them.
Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has long been demonized by the majority of his own party for daring to stick to a less-than-wildly-radical political platform, something which speaks volumes in an era when the party’s progressive factions consider anything less than total avowed loyalty to the full breadth of their agenda to be nothing short of sheer fascism.
Yet as a politician, one has to imagine that while Manchin may be driven by personal integrity, he’s also got to be driven at least in part by the constituents he hopes will keep him in office.
We know this is certainly the case with his lone fellow moderate in the Senate, Kyrsten Sinema of deep-purple Arizona, who, along with Manchin, has received the brunt of the radical left’s ire over the last few weeks as the two maintain that they will not vote on a wildly expensive social spending bill that would fulfill the majority of President Joe Biden’s aggressively statist agenda.
So it was wildly foolish of the most progressive in the upper chamber, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent and self-avowed “Democratic Socialist,” to take to a West Virginia newspaper to bash Manchin for sticking to his guns this week.
Nonetheless, perhaps blinded by the cushy comfort of a largely uncritical media establishment and the support of the mainstream wing of the party, this is exactly what Sanders did, prompting Manchin to fire back in scathing fashion.
On Friday, the Charleston Gazette-Mail, West Virginia’s largest newspaper, published a piece from Sanders in which he sang the praises of the massive spending bill that Manchin has refused to support.
“The $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill, supported by President Biden and almost all Democrats in Congress, is an unprecedented effort to finally address the long-neglected crises facing working families and demand that the wealthiest people and largest corporations in the country start paying their fair share of taxes,” Sanders declared, detailing all the supposed glories of the bill, which would tax the rich, expand Medicare, create universal pre-K programs, provide more free housing and save the planet from inevitable destruction.
He didn’t bother to address why every GOP senator and the obstinate Sinema and Manchin are refusing to sign the lengthy socialist wish list, but he did essentially demand that Manchin fall in line posthaste.
“I believe that now is the time, finally, for Congress to stand up for working families and have the courage to take on the big money interests and wealthy campaign contributors who have so much power over the economic and political life of our country,” he wrote.
“Poll after poll shows overwhelming support for this legislation. Yet, the political problem we face is that in a 50-50 Senate we need every Democratic senator to vote ‘yes.’ We now have only 48. Two Democratic senators remain in opposition, including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.”
So, in short, the bill is unquestionably wonderful and Manchin should sign it so it can pass. What a stunning display of rhetorical skill from everyone’s favorite crazy socialist.
Well, Manchin was not about to take this sitting down. Again, he’s the one who has been standing his ground this whole time.
“This isn’t the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best for them despite having no relationship to our state,” the irked moderate wrote in a statement he shared on Twitter.
“Millions of jobs are open, supply chains are strained and unavoidable inflation taxes are draining workers’ hard-earned wages as the price of gasoline and groceries continues to climb,” he continued.
Sanders’ only solution, Manchin explained, is to “throw more money on this already overheated economy while 53 other Senators have grave concerns about this approach.”
Ooooh, that’s right. All money spent on all the glorious social programs that Sanders touted has to actually come from somewhere. Amazing!
“Congress should proceed with caution on any additional spending and I will not vote for a reckless expansion of government programs,” Manchin declared. “No op-ed from a self-declared Independent socialist is going to change that.”
https://t.co/iU96GLGzsT pic.twitter.com/ly944dr2dE
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) October 15, 2021
Mic. Drop.
I mean … what was Sanders expecting? That reading the supposed virtues of a bill Manchin has no doubt already examined exhaustively because it was in a local newspaper would be the catalyst to get him to change his vote?
No, this was a dirty trick on the part of Sanders to try to put pressure on Manchin where he thought it would hurt: Among Manchin’s own constituents.
Poorly played, considering this is the very constituency that Manchin no doubt remains firmly committed to his moderate platform to please.
It’s taken a lot of courage on the part of this brave West Virginia senator to hold the line for this long. This lame little political attack most certainly wasn’t going to shake him.
This is a good reminder of the power of standing one’s ground in the face of a bunch of bullies, and yes, bullying is exactly what the Democratic Party is doing as they continue to put pressure on Manchin and Sinema to bend to their will.
Our system was designed to give minority voices a place at the table, but we’re going to have to fight to keep that place by refusing to budge from it. The more people stand up to the mob, the stronger we get.
Yet, as clearly demonstrated in Manchin’s case, if you consistently refuse to budge even when standing alone, no one will ever be able to touch you.
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