He votes 90% with Biden's agenda, which we've been told is the most progressive in history! He's a pretty reliable supporter of the Biden agenda. If 90% is not enough for him to still be considered a Democrat, then that's wild. Like I thought Trump and the right were the ones doing all of these litmus tests and if you disagree 1 time then you're a RINO. Dems need to be better! Even if they don't get everything they want at the moment. He deserves criticism from the left for not supporting the agenda, so go ahead and be critical! I understand it. But I don't think that he deserves to be labeled a DINO, or a Republican. That is not productive for Dems, the party, the ability to get Biden's agenda through for the remainder of his presidency. Flip another couple of seats and Dems wouldn't have to rely on the coal Dem from conservative WV so much! I shit on progressives when I am discussing things with people who are liberal/progressive/Dems. I shit on Republicans when I'm discussing things with people who are mostly conservative. You should see me in P&R right now!
You've made your opinion on progs very clear. I find most of your arguments on this particular subject to be wanting. Saying 'well, he's GOPer who compromises more,' isn't much of a defense. It worsens if he's actually a liberal. And to be blunt, he's not much of one. He does have to represent his constituents. But we can pretty much objectively state that his folks are going to be on the front lines of getting their ass beaten by the very same things he is rejecting in this bill. Moreover, arguing that he's combating inflation and that will help his folks is a great argument; poorer folks are hurt the most by inflation....it's just that his reasoning doesn't apply. Regarding you and progs: you literally shit on them more than any other group. To the point that you go "horseshoe theory is applicable," and provide weak comps from them and their 'counterparts' on the right. Regardless, calling him reliable isn't accurate; Biden shifted left and is still a centrist, the party is still centrist, and he told the centrists to go kick rocks. He's reliable in the same way a guy like Antonio Brown is reliable; he's there a lot....he can do some great things...but he'll implode and take a lot of people out with him. It's depressing. You depress me. You are my enemy now. )=
there's a text limit on here, wtf! I do lean more centrist on economic issues for sure, and I do have beef with progressivism in some instances, and the Democratic party historically, so those are my biases...but I understand why they are upset! I just hope they don't lose a 90% reliable seat in a conservative area as a result. I'm just realistic about the state of politics/how things work and Dems/Progressives need to be more pragmatic in terms of how things get done IMO by not overreacting to something as unsurprising as a coal Dem not supporting spending a lot of money on climate change. The more people who support the majority of Biden's agenda the better, but I understand why some politicians don't support 100% of it all the time. It's just impossible to rely on a 50-50 split (or whatever it is right now) to get you all the votes you need.
My friend, I think you are misunderstanding my perspective when you talk about "folks with [my] mindset". I acknowledge that he is doing something unpopular amongst Dems, especially progressives. If he is a "republican" as many leftists are saying, then you could argue that he has compromised by supporting 90% of the Democratic agenda thus far. I don't believe he is a Republican, and I do believe he is still a valuable aspect of the Dem agenda. At the end of the day, he was elected by his constituents, as such must represent them, and likely is thinking about being re-elected (like all politicians are). It isn't a surprise at all that a long-term politician in coal country is not supportive of spending a lot of money on climate change stuff, during inflationary economic times. I'm sympathetic to the idea that he is sabotaging the Dem agenda and I don't blame Dems for being upset about it. But I think we need to keep in perspective who he is, who he represents, and how often he does support the Biden agenda (90%!!!!) before overreacting and bashing him as not Dem enough. The Dems are the only big tent party right now, and it would be folly to stop being the big tent party by pushing out Dems like Manchin and his voters. The solution is not to demonize Manchin, but instead to flip a seat in a more liberal district that can be more relied upon to support things like a climate change agenda.
Voting with the bulk of the agenda is one thing, but breaking from the party line that's filled with mostly moderates, centrists, however you want to qualify it, on the main legislative platform of the party is pretty large as a departure. You seem to offer a "well, you can't do this, but you could do that," type of offer. Not only does that feel like it misses the mark on what I say above, his reasoning for the departure from the party platform isn't sound in either policy. This is my problem: folks with your mindset will bash and falsely attack Progs as folks who won't compromise and then almost glorify him for doing the exact same thing. West Virginia, a poor state that contributes very little to the union and is subsidized federally by all the blue states filled with people that WV folks apparently dislike are handing the GOP a victory. Biden is historically unpopular at this time, the Dems have a chance at pashing popular legislation,and we're left with this.
I would respond by saying that he has voted with the Dems on 90% of their agenda during the Biden admin, which is about 90% more than a GOP senator from WV would vote for the Dem agenda. So, while it is frustrating for Dems to not be able to get everything they want done, something is better than nothing, and there sure as hell ain't anybody left of Manchin getting elected in WV. And in spite of being a 90% Democratic agenda voter, he's still very popular there. I've read a lot of people on the left calling him a traitor, a Dem In Name Only, a Republican who needs to be replaced... a lot of hyperbole. Be careful what you wish for.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/polit...ons/index.html I proffer this as more proof. Don't blame the Progs for a lack of a POTUS in 2024, or midterms. This is a centrist obstructing pretty much the rest of the party. I use the term centrist loosely.
Everything is good in the world!
The scottish way, probably - A-ber-deeeeen The me way - uh-bur-deee-in
How do I phonetically pronounce your name?
