Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Thursday he is “thinking seriously” about dropping his affiliation with the Democratic Party and becoming an independent.
Why it matters: Manchin has made a career out of proclaiming his independence from D.C. Democrats. But his latest comments have added significance, given his public flirtation with a possible third party presidential bid in 2024.
What he’s saying: “I’m thinking seriously,” Manchin told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval, adding, “I have to have peace of mind, basically. The brand has become so bad. The D brand and R brand … You’ve heard me say a million times, I am not a Washington Democrat.”
- Pressed on how seriously he is approaching the idea, Manchin said he has “been thinking about that for quite some time” and wants to “make sure that my voice is truly an independent voice.”
- Manchin said he hasn’t “made any decisions,” telling Kercheval, “When I get ready to make a decision, I’ll come see you.”
The backdrop: Manchin has been dropping hints for months that he may follow the lead of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who announced her switch to independent in December but still caucuses with Democrats.
- Asked about becoming an independent later that month during a CBS News interview, Manchin said, “I’ll let you know later what I decide to do, but right now I have no intention of changing anything.”
- There were rumors as far back as 2021 that Manchin may bolt the party – though he dismissed them then as “bull****.”
What we’re watching: Manchin faces an uphill reelection battle in a state that voted for former President Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020. The frontrunner in the GOP primary for his seat is popular Gov. Jim Justice.
- Manchin has spent the last year distancing himself from President Biden and fellow Democrats, repudiating parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and even threatening to oppose Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency nominees.
- He may also decide to go another way. He headlined a New Hampshire town hall last month hosted by No Labels, a centrist group that is laying the groundwork for a potential third party presidential ticket.
I mean… he isn’t a Democrat, so…
He’s following Kyrsten Sinema into irrelevance.
*all the way to the bank
FTFY
DINO.
He is though? Conservative Democrats are a thing.
Biden and Clinton are center-right democrats. Buttigieg is center-right to center. Bloomberg is a right wing democrat. Warren and Sanders are center left to left. Tulsi Gabbard is not on the chart. Manchin and Sinema are not on the chart.
They should pull his funding and his assignments and send them where they can do more good. The republicans shot themselves in the foot by overplaying the culture war thing. They lost on abortion in almost every race. Shit, they lost on an off year special ballot initiative in freaking Ohio just because it would pertain to abortion in a future election - it wasn’t even mentioned on the ballot, even though they tried to deny it was about preventing a popular vote on keeping abortion legal. Everyone just knows by now that they’re lying about that kind of thing, because they just can’t back away from the issue.
On an American scale, Joe Biden is not right wing. He is center left. He is socially left wing, supporting lgbtq+ rights, and abortion. He is also economically left wing, supporting unions and green energy.
A Conservative Democrat isn’t a term for a centrist Democrat, it’s a term for Conservatives registered/running as a Democrat. They are most Drmocrats in ancestrally Drmocratic states like WV and Kentucky.
Your observations are correct about what he supports, your characterization of the American political spectrum is not.
All democrats support lgbt rights. That’s like saying a republican is center right because they voted for a tax cut. It’s the default position in the party. The same with abortion. In fact, Biden has even said that as a Catholic he’s personally against abortion, but he’s for a woman’s right to choose. That’s the right wing position on the democratic side. Even on the lgbt front, he’s been extremely uninvolved. He’s done okay, but nothing remarkable, especially in the face of the injustices our community is facing. The same with unions and green energy.
And you know why it’s not only not center-left by the standards of the democratic party, it’s also in keeping with the majority of American citizens. LGBT rights and abortion rights are supported by the vast majority of Americans. It’s the republican party that has moved to the far right and invented wedge social issues, like lgbt rights as a political football. I’ve been active in the lgbt rights movement for more than thirty years, and this is socially as bad as it has been since the 90s. We’re heading back towards Anita Bryant.
That might be the default republican politician’s position, but that does not define the political spectrum within the democratic party nor does it define the political spectrum of America.
No one has seriously considered Manchin to be a Dem for a while, so, good for him to get with the times
Hopefully Synema loses her reelection and all these idiots leaving the Democratic Party learn a real hard lesson.
Her move to leave was blatant self interest. Polls showed she was going to lose a primary in a landslide. She has no chance in hell of winning re-election. She’s just hoping to be a spoiler at this point.
I don’t think I’ve seen anything that predicts she has a chance in hell. I’m betting she moves on to guest host on Fox.
Yeah, they need a new liar now that fucker Carlson is gone.
The amount of people that don’t understand that Manchin prevented Mitch McConnell from being the speaker of the Senate is disappointing.
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Good riddance?
As much as I hate the guy and his blantant dishonesty (especially about political affiliation)
The guy happens to be threatening control of the house. Though it sounds like he’s fishing for bribes or something from the pubies.
*control of the senate
small correction. agree wholeheartedly otherwise, however.
please leave. we know how you vote already
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The wolf tries and fails to charade as a sheep, manchin doesn’t try a charade he just plays lip service and everyone goes “uh huh, sure” and we move on.
Bernie Sanders has also “left the Democratic party”, he’s an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
If that’s what Manchin is considering, it probably makes him more electable in WV. If he’s voting with Democrats on most things like he is now, that sounds like a good thing.
I didn’t consider this. Good point.
Hes makin the joe lieberman circuit. I think Chris Coons is next in line to be the democrats scapegoat for not getting anything done.
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Yeah, well, fuck him now and later.
No don’t do that!
Ugh. Just get the fuck out already. He’s such a motherfucking piece of shit.
I thought he’d left already, or was that only in spirit?
Just go.l, Manchin. Your hatred of all that’s good makes you a Republikklan.
Why he hasn’t been kicked out for blocking the alleged dem agenda every step of the way is a bit of a puzzle…until you put the pieces together to realize he’s expertly doing his job.
Because voting republican most of the time is better than all the time, Manchin is the most liberal person West Virginia would elect.
Kicked out of what, the Democratic Party?
Yeah, let’s kick him out so now we have 49 votes in the Senate and can pass nothing, that’ll sure show him!
If not Manchin, Sinema. If not her, the senate parliamentarian. If not them, repugs will yell at us. If not that, anything they need, to not actually do a damn thing to materially improve the lives of working class people.
Yeah well, he represents the voter constituents in a state that is historically right leaning so I’d say I agree with you but I’m fairly sure you didn’t mean it that way.
