West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has frustrated members of his own party including activist groups over his recent stances and pursuit of bipartisanship in the Senate. Following his criticized op-ed piece detailing his defense of the Senate filibuster and the opposition to the voting bill, a presidential historian criticized the Democratic lawmaker.
Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley criticized Manchin’s knowledge of the Senate filibuster and his excuse to defend what would be a roadblock that has been well-utilized by the Republican party to obstruct progressive initiatives from getting passed. While Republicans have kept mum over his stance, his Democratic colleagues have criticized his knowledge of the process. Along with Manchin, Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema has also been under fire from members of her party over her staunch defense of the Senate filibuster.
Brinkley also urged President Joe Biden to strong-arm Manchin, describing what would happen during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s term. Nevertheless, Brinkley went on to criticize Manchin for valuing his political power than passing legislation that the majority of his party has voted in support of. This is in light of his recent op-ed piece explaining why he plans to vote against the sweeping For the People Act that came as a result of GOP-led efforts to introduce voting restrictions.
“You would think at this point he would get behind the fact that the Republican Party is gerrymandering, trying to disenfranchise voters. But he wants to be seen as the maverick of West Virginia on issues of voting rights which has a lot to do with race,” said Brinkley. “He’s more worried about his future in West Virginia politics than he is helping the Biden Administration succeed.”
Brinkley is not the only one who has criticized Manchin as of late. Over the weekend, Manchin was grilled by Fox News’s Chris Wallace, who questioned why he opposes the sweeping voting reforms. Wallace pressed Manchin on whether he is aware that he is further empowering the GOP to obstruct progressive legislation.
Manchin maintained that there have been Republicans who are voting based on principle and not out of fear of political consequences, saying that he remains hopeful that there would be Republican support on Democratic initiatives.
