The fateful decision of Sen. Joe Manchin to cast the deciding votes on the absurdly named Inflation Reduction Act proved to be a mistake. Manchin, once a unicorn in the Democratic Party who also enjoyed wide Republican support in West Virginia, threw away all of that goodwill in an attempt to be the hero.
Reports at the time stated that left-wing Senator Chris Coons had convinced his colleague he could “hit homers in the ninth inning”, and calm the radicals, who had attacked him all year. The results were predictable.
The White House has once again declared war on coal while not honoring the promises made by Manchin’s own party members regarding reform of the permitting system. The far-left, however, refused to give Manchin any quarter and continued to oppose him publicly in his bipartisanship efforts.
By April, the situation had become so dire that the senator began to signal that he did not even support the Inflation Reduction Act. There were also the small jabs like Joe Biden calling Manchin a friend during a June speech and mocking him. This was a political death penalty in the red-hot state where the senator is from.
Maybe revenge is in the cards?
SCOOP: Joe Manchin is headed to New Hampshire on Monday with No Labels amid speculation of a third-party challenge to President Biden. He and Jon Huntsman will headline a No Labels event in Manchester: https://t.co/gj3pmQfYm0
— Emily Goodin (@Emilylgoodin) July 12, 2023
Sen. Joe Manchin will be in New Hampshire next Thursday for a No Labels event. The group is looking to run a candidate as a third party in the presidential election next year. Democrats are trying desperately to stop this because they fear it might steal votes away from Joe Biden and give Donald Trump victory.
No Labels, DailyMail.com reported that Manchin will headline the event, along with Jon Huntsman, the former Republican Governor for Utah.
No Labels is an organization that promotes bipartisan, centrist policies and politics. The Democrats are spooked at the idea of giving Americans another choice on the presidential ballot in 2024.
No Labels, a group of centrists led by the former Republican Jon Huntsman who you might remember from the 2012 election, has been courting Manchin since the beginning of the year to convince him to run for their third-party candidate. It’s not a fly-by-night organization either. The Democrats are scared of the potential consequences for 2024. They have real donors and resources.
Manchin is not in a position to lose anything, and that should worry the extreme left. Given that Jim Justice is a strong favorite, it looks less likely that Manchin will run for reelection in the US Senate. The presidential campaign is lucrative in many ways. Why wouldn’t Manchin jet around the nation, presenting himself to be the moderate alternative to two-party systems?
He would not win. Manchin’s vote share could have a major impact on the outcome of the presidential race. Given his name recognition and the statistical unpopularity the two front-runners currently enjoy, I suspect he’ll do even better. Manchin’s supporters are likely to include center-left independents, who don’t usually vote Republican. This is what has Democrats so spooked.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not back on Manchin’s side by any means. I think he sold his political career down the river by betraying Republicans who had trusted his word. But if Manchin is going to wave the white flag in West Virginia, as he should considering the odds, perhaps he can be useful. I’m all for him sticking it to Biden in 2024 for how he was treated.
