In a series of unexpected moves, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin made headlines in 2021 by defying his party's expectations.
He notably declined to back a $1.8 trillion bill encompassing taxes, social programs, and clean energy, thereby thwarting President Joe Bidens Build Back Better initiative. His refusal to support a nominee that would have maintained the Democratic majority on the National Labor Relations Board was another instance of his party defiance.
According to American Military News, Manchin's actions were not limited to these instances. He played significant roles in Bidens economic stimulus program and his infrastructure bill, as well as the smaller climate change and health care law that emerged from the remnants of Build Back Better.
Manchin, an independent from West Virginia, expressed his discomfort with the direction his former party was taking. He felt that the Democrats had veered too far to the left, placing him in a position he did not desire the one individual who could make or break legislation. I did not run for that position, Manchin told the Washington Post. I did not try to wedge myself in that and be the deciding vote.
He made it clear that he was not going to be a guaranteed yes vote once the Democrats won the trifecta of the White House, Senate, and House in 2021. I dont work for you, he said he told his colleagues, according to the Post interview. You didnt hire me and you cant fire me. I work for the people of West Virginia on behalf of the United States government. Thats who I have to answer to, and if this stuff doesnt make sense no matter how bad you want it, I cant vote for it.
Manchin's vote was instrumental in passing Bidens major accomplishments the economic stimulus package, the infrastructure law, the climate change and health care measure, and the funding to bring manufacturing, including those of computer chips, back to the U.S.
In his farewell speech on the Senate floor, he emphasized the importance of bipartisan cooperation. Each of these victories required senators to come together from both sides of the aisle to find solutions for Americans, he said. These were bills that just made common sense. And when each side could take just a little step to find common ground, powerful things have happened.
In his final weeks as a senator, Manchin highlighted the funding in those bills for clean energy manufacturing in West Virginia coal communities, for a new hanger at a small West Virginia airport, and for a carbon storage hub in the state. He specifically mentioned the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (Arch2), which will receive up to $925 million in federal funding for projects in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Manchin officially left the Democratic Party in May and registered as an independent. He continued to caucus with his fellow Democrats until the end. However, he did not mince words about the party he left behind. The brand got so bad. The D brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of its just its toxic, he said in the CNN interview.
He criticized the Democrats for dictating what people have to believe in and what they have to do, no matter how outrageous. The Democrat I grew up being, they wanted to make sure that people had an opportunity for a good job, a good pay, he told CNN. I will protect you. Just dont try to mainstream it. And the Democratic Party, the Washington Democrats, have tried to mainstream the extreme. They have they have basically, expanded upon thinking, well, we want to protect you there, but were going to tell you how you should live your life.
Manchin did not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024, and said the election results showed that Americans didnt want someone on the left. He said it was nuts and completely insane to say Harris lost because she wasnt progressive enough. The problem was that her liberal voting record made it hard for her to pivot to the center in the fall campaign, he said.
Manchin resisted calls to run for president as an independent in 2024, but he said there was room for a real third party. The centrist part of both parties, he said on CNN. So the centrist moderate vote decides whos going to be the president of the United States. And when they get here, they dont govern that way. Neither side does. They go to their respective corners. So if a centrist had a voice and had a party that could make both of these, the Democrat and Republican Party come back, OK, that would be something.
Manchin told CNN that the new organization would be called the American Party, and while he wouldnt lead it, Ill be the best cheerleader theyve ever had. His departure from the Democratic Party and his subsequent actions underscore the need for a political landscape that values the middle ground and respects the diversity of political thought.
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