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."
He took the secretary of state job very seriously. His uncle, A. James, a legendary figure in West Virginia, was secretary of state earlier, and had a lot of fun with it.
But Joe Manchin did the job right and used it as a stepping stone to the governorship. While he lost his first bid in 2000 (in the Democrat primary), he tried again and was elected in 2004. He was one of a string of successful governors who held office from 1997 to today. They stood in stark contrast to the ugly two-term governorships of Jay Rockefeller and Gaston Caperton.
In Manchin's column, he argued for bipartisanship.
He wrote, "congressional action on federal voting rights legislation must be the result of both Democrats and Republicans coming together to find a pathway forward or we risk further dividing and destroying the republic we swore to protect and defend as elected officials."
I believe Congress should butt out.
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.
He wrote, "As a reminder, just four short years ago, in 2017 when Republicans held control of the White House and Congress, President Donald Trump was publicly urging Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster. Then, it was Senate Democrats who were proudly defending the filibuster. Thirty-three Senate Democrats penned a letter to Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warning of the perils of eliminating the filibuster."
Did Democrats learn nothing when they removed the filibustering of judicial appointments?
Manchin also attacked the bill itself.
He wrote, "Yes, this process can be frustrating and slow. It will force compromises that are not always ideal. But consider the alternative. Do we really want to live in an America where one party can dictate and demand everything and anything it wants, whenever it wants? I have always said, 'If I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.' And I cannot explain strictly partisan election reform or blowing up the Senate rules to expedite one party’s agenda."
I can fully explain this bill without reading it.
Democrats want to empower a federal agency to control all elections in the United States. The rules promulgated by a bunch of Peter Strzoks will be so screwy that states will be required to elect minority governors and the like in the name of equity.
In stopping this F-- the People Act, Manchin will serve the nation well. Our heroes are not perfect.
He wrote, "I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening bonds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster. For as long as I have the privilege of being your U.S. senator, I will fight to represent the people of West Virginia, to seek bipartisan compromise no matter how difficult and to develop the political bonds that end divisions and help unite the country we love."
West Virginia broke from Virginia in 1863 because it wanted to preserve a nation literally torn by partisan division by a Democrat Party determined to keep black men as slaves.
In standing up to the F-- the People Act, and standing up for the filibuster, Manchin made history on Sunday. He showed he was a West Virginian first, a Democrat second.
I asked last week, "Is Manchin replacing Trump on the Democrat hate list?"
Maybe, dear readers. Maybe.
That's the article: Joe Manchin saved the Republic
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