An Open Letter To Sen. Joe Manchin: It’s Time To Change Parties

West Virginia set this pattern two centuries ago when they split from Virginia over slavery and secession. Democrats as well; they wanted to end the Civil War on the slave-holders terms, just as they did in the Vietnam War, those thousands killed and wounded notwithstanding. West Virginians did not want to be part of a cause destroying America's history and noble foundation. TD

Manchin

 Issues & Insights  "Last week’s Senate runoff elections in Georgia gave the Democrats full control of the federal governing apparatus. America is now a one-party state, and the Californication of the country will soon begin. But there’s one man who can slow it down if not stop it, at least for a while: Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.

"The West Virginian could erase the Democrats’ de facto Senate majority (the Democratic vice president is the tie-breaker in the 50-50 chamber) simply by changing parties. This is no radical suggestion. Manchin is the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, if not all of Washington, and the possibility of him flipping parties has come up before. But he remains a Democrat, and as recently as last week said he had no intention to switch.

"However, we would like to make a formal pitch, inviting him to follow an honorable path taken by others. Here is our open letter to the senator.

The Honorable Sen. Joe Manchin:

Though you have publicly announced that you will not be changing your party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, we would like for you to reconsider your decision. Please allow us to make our case.

First, your voting record. According to FiveThirtyEight, you have voted in line with President Donald Trump’s position 51.2% of the time throughout your Senate career. Congressional Quarterly reported a few years ago that you voted for Trump’s position 71% of the time, more than any other Democrat. Meanwhile, you voted your party’s line only 64% of the time, the lowest portion among Senate Democrats.

And please don’t forget, 68% of West Virginia voters chose Trump in 2016, 69% in 2020. This has happened even though party registrations in your state are almost dead even. Clearly many Democrats are crossing the line to vote for the GOP in West Virginia.

Recall, as well, that it’s your current party that has gone to war against coal, a valuable commodity whose mining supports tens of thousands of West Virginians. As your Wikipedia page notes, you support “a comprehensive, all-of-the-above energy approach that uses coal.”

We also mention that you were the first Democrat to announce you would vote for Trump Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and have publicly stated you oppose packing the court, a dream of the Democratic Party that could one day become a plank in its platform.

You also oppose another objective of the Democratic Party, which is to “pack” the Senate by granting statehood to Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Furthermore, you are more Republican than Democrat in your strong position on the filibuster.  . . .  Keep reading...

 Sincerely, The editors of Issues & Insights

 Joe, you are a good man; depart from these people and their sick causes! TD