Clear-eyed and realistic assessment. I don't begrudge Manchin his position. If the D majority weren't whisker thin and in ever more danger of crumbling next year under the weight of the left wing of the party, and if the stakes of who controls Congress after next fall weren't so high, a Moderate like Manchin wouldn't be of such note, and…
Clear-eyed and realistic assessment. I don't begrudge Manchin his position. If the D majority weren't whisker thin and in ever more danger of crumbling next year under the weight of the left wing of the party, and if the stakes of who controls Congress after next fall weren't so high, a Moderate like Manchin wouldn't be of such note, and his presence and moderate positions would still be welcomed by a lot of nonpartisan folks such as myself as a countervailing force not only against whatever over the top stuff may be coming from across the aisle, but against the same coming from his left as well. Better that he live to fight another day than die what some fools would consider an honorable death.
The D's are not taking their role as the current firewall against the flames of authoritarianism licking at the fabric of our republic seriously. If they were, much more would have been done by now about the protection of voting rights and the voting process itself (read Electoral College). Party discipline would be in place and a united front would have been taking serious, meaningful and effective action on these issues, filibuster be damned.
But what do we get instead? The Squad et al co-opt the conversation and agenda with a lot of glitz and flash, suck all the air out of the room, the couple of moderates hangin' out in the joint get hosed as the bad guys for not being willing to walk the financial plank and commit political suicide, and the D's writ large end up, as usual, being their own worst enemies, and no real friends to those such as myself, all but ensuring their defeat as a majority next time around. And then who will stand up as the aforementioned firewall?
So, I just wanna' ask those Dimwits this: Considering that dollars and parchment are about equally combustible, if a pile of money meant to more or less buy yourselves a future seat in the game were burning on your left, and the document on which this nation stands as a democratic republic - and which your very oaths of office commit you to defend and protect above all else - were burning on your right, which way should you point your fire extinguisher first?
Well, we seem to already have that answer.
The only folks I'll detest more than the R's who continue to fan those flames will be the D's, if they allow them to fully catch and burn to their conclusion. Because if the R's get back the reins of power, with a blatantly partisan and invertebrate SCOTUS not even willing to hoist a garden hose, the fix will be in, literally. And there isn't a fire insurance policy in the world big enough to compensate for and fix that damage.
Clear-eyed and realistic assessment. I don't begrudge Manchin his position. If the D majority weren't whisker thin and in ever more danger of crumbling next year under the weight of the left wing of the party, and if the stakes of who controls Congress after next fall weren't so high, a Moderate like Manchin wouldn't be of such note, and his presence and moderate positions would still be welcomed by a lot of nonpartisan folks such as myself as a countervailing force not only against whatever over the top stuff may be coming from across the aisle, but against the same coming from his left as well. Better that he live to fight another day than die what some fools would consider an honorable death.
The D's are not taking their role as the current firewall against the flames of authoritarianism licking at the fabric of our republic seriously. If they were, much more would have been done by now about the protection of voting rights and the voting process itself (read Electoral College). Party discipline would be in place and a united front would have been taking serious, meaningful and effective action on these issues, filibuster be damned.
But what do we get instead? The Squad et al co-opt the conversation and agenda with a lot of glitz and flash, suck all the air out of the room, the couple of moderates hangin' out in the joint get hosed as the bad guys for not being willing to walk the financial plank and commit political suicide, and the D's writ large end up, as usual, being their own worst enemies, and no real friends to those such as myself, all but ensuring their defeat as a majority next time around. And then who will stand up as the aforementioned firewall?
So, I just wanna' ask those Dimwits this: Considering that dollars and parchment are about equally combustible, if a pile of money meant to more or less buy yourselves a future seat in the game were burning on your left, and the document on which this nation stands as a democratic republic - and which your very oaths of office commit you to defend and protect above all else - were burning on your right, which way should you point your fire extinguisher first?
Well, we seem to already have that answer.
The only folks I'll detest more than the R's who continue to fan those flames will be the D's, if they allow them to fully catch and burn to their conclusion. Because if the R's get back the reins of power, with a blatantly partisan and invertebrate SCOTUS not even willing to hoist a garden hose, the fix will be in, literally. And there isn't a fire insurance policy in the world big enough to compensate for and fix that damage.