. . . But Congress won't, so Manchin made a good argument that Democrats should not run roughshod over Senate rules, disable the filibuster, and pass an 800-page federal takeover of elections without a single Republican supporter. . .
"This weekend, Joe Manchin showed he is not all about Joe.
"This weekend, Joe Manchin said no to his party's No. 1 legislative goal. This weekend, he became a Profile in Courage, which is when a senator stands up to the mob and does the right thing.
He penned a column in the Sunday paper in Charleston, West Virginia, "Why I'm voting against the For the People Act."
"Although we elect congressmen and senators directly, ours is not a democracy. America is a constitutional republic, which is why an Electoral College selects our president.
"The proposed Democrat voting act would federalize all elections in violation of the Tenth Amendment, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
"If Congress had power over elections, it would have lowered the voting age to 18 by a simple vote. Instead, Congress needed the approval of 38 states to make the 26th Amendment the law of the land.
"However, Manchin does not make the 10th Amendment argument against federalizing the elections. He merely wants Republicans and Democrats to find common ground.
"In his column, Manchin wrote, "During my time as West Virginia’s secretary of state, I was determined to protect this right and ensure our elections are fair, accessible and secure. Not to benefit my party but all the people of West Virginia. For example, as secretary of state I took specific actions to establish early voting for the first time in West Virginia in order to provide expanded options for those whose work or family schedule made it difficult for them to vote on Election Day. Throughout my tenure in politics, I have been guided by this simple philosophy — our party labels can’t prevent us from doing what is right.' ". . .
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