Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he will back a Republican bill cutting off federal aid for Planned Parenthood. Manchin is a moderate and his decision Monday was not a complete surprise. Even so, Republicans were still expected to lose a Senate vote later Monday to halt federal assistance to the group. Republicans introduced their bill after an anti-abortion group began releasing secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood officials describing how they provide tissue from some aborted fetuses to researchers. The bill says it would transfer Planned Parenthood's aid to other women's health care providers.

One of the Senate’s biggest supporters of firearm background checks is renewing calls for Congress to fix the system in the light of a deadly theater shooting in Lafayette, La. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Sunday that Congress should “shut down the loophole” that allows some mentally ill people, like the Louisiana movie theater shooter, to slip through the government’s system for vetting gun sales. “Right now, I need Republican help,” said Manchin, a moderate Democrat has led the push to reform background checks. “I need my friends on the Republican side of the aisle to help us with a...

Joe Manchin (D-WV) wants everyone to know he really opposes Obama’s amnesty. He really is a moderate and so distressed by Obama’s radical takeover of his party. In fact, he is so upset with Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty that he is willing to do anything to stop it…well, anything except for something that would actually stop it. Manchin told National Review’s Joel Gehrke that Obama “overstepped his bounds,” but he doesn’t want to defund it through the DHS appropriations bill – the only must-pass bill that will actually force the issue. He contends that the Senate should just bring up a...

PBS’s new special, Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA, includes looks at other gun rights groups–like Gun Owners of America (GOA)–and actually credits GOA with dragging Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) into the light when he tried to cloak his 2013 gun control push with words like “compromise” and “loopholes.” (SNIP) Consequently, the GOA began pushing other gun rights groups–notably the NRA–by asking GOA members to call the NRA and “urge [them] to oppose [Manchin’s] bill.”

Democrats hope to take back control of the Senate in 2016, but their plans could be complicated by potential retirements. The two Democratic senators most likely to retire are Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who represent both sides of the party’s ideological spectrum. Boxer, whose fourth term expires at the end of 2016, has a paltry $149,000 in her campaign account, less than almost every other senator facing election next year. As the nation’s most populous state, California is expensive to cover with advertising. If Boxer decides to run for reelection, she would face a major fundraising...

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) blasted President Barack Obama Tuesday night in the wake of a devastating Democratic defeat in the midterm elections. "It doesn´t make sense that we have to fight so hard against our own government and our own administration and our President to try to find a balance," said Manchin on MSNBC. Manchin said West Virginians have "the perception of the government attacking them, which basically is what´s happening." Manchin added, "The people are speaking loud and clear. They don´t like what they´re seeing. I don´t like what I´ve been involved with the last four years and I´ve

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D) has some explaining to do. Although the senator has proclaimed to be pro-life, his recent support of a Democratic bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling on Hobby Lobby v. Burwell, suggests otherwise. This failed legislation would have reversed a decision that protects the Christian company’s religious freedom and avoid providing employees abortion-inducing drugs. Click here to sign up for daily pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com joemanchin2Manchin explained his support for the bill as such: “Today, I voted in support of overturning the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision that ruled for-profit companies can opt...

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he’s keeping “all options open” on whether to seek the governor’s office in 2016 or remain in the Senate, where he has expressed frustration with partisanship and gridlock. Manchin, a Democrat, said his time as governor was the most productive period in his life but he hasn’t felt the same way since his election to the Senate in 2010 to finish the term of the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd. Manchin, who served as West Virginia governor for six years, was elected to a full term in 2012.

The Talk Shows May 4th, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas; Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, California; Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; Richard Williams, father of tennis players Serena and Venus Williams.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.; former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabber; former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.

Powerful Democratic senators are considering including a measure in the Senate’s defense authorization bill that would offer legal status to young undocumented immigrants who join the military. With a similar effort in the House stalled, the Senate might provide a new opportunity for immigration advocates. But some senators are warning that including the proposal could sink the annual defense bill, one of the few must-pass bills remaining in Congress.

A group founded by moderate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle aiming to push politicians back toward the eroding political center is endorsing Republican Cory Gardner in his campaign to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Udall. At least, that’s how it was presented in a press release from Gardner’s campaign with the headline: “Bipartisan “No Labels” group endorses Cory Gardner.”

The 60 Plus Association today released TV and radio advertisements in seven states targeting Senate Banking Committee Members who are sponsoring recently introduced legislation that will allow the government to take over the mortgage industry in an action 'disturbingly similar' to Obamacare. 60 Plus targeted three Democrat and four Republican U.S. Senators supporting this government take-over, including Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Jerry Moran (R-KS).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (W. Va.) introduced the “National Rare Earth Cooperative Act of 2014” this week, bipartisan legislation that relieves America’s dependence on China’s rare earth minerals, encourages private sector jobs and innovation, and preserves our the United States’ military technological edge. To read the bill, click this link: http://www.blunt.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/8385bd2e-0063-48eb-85ed-ab19dc713c55/2-7-14%20National%20Rare%20Earth%20Cooperative%20Act%20of%202014.pdf

President Barack Obama's healthcare law could have a "meltdown" and make it difficult for his Democratic Party to keep control of the U.S. Senate next year if ongoing problems with the program are not resolved, a Democratic senator said on Sunday.

The Talk Shows December 22nd, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.; Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Michael Morrell, a former deputy CIA Director and member of an intelligence review panel created by President Barack Obama.THIS WEEK (ABC): Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii,...

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Sunday that Obamacare could be headed for a "complete meltdown" if costs rise too fast and people are unhappy with their coverage. “If it’s so much more expensive than what we anticipated, and if the coverage is not as good as what we've had, you’ve got a complete meltdown at that time,” Manchin said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The senator said such a situation would result in the law collapsing under "its own weight."(continued)

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's healthcare law could have a "meltdown" and make it difficult for his Democratic Party to keep control of the U.S. Senate next year if ongoing problems with the program are not resolved, a Democratic senator said on Sunday. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has urged delaying a penalty for people who do not enroll for health insurance in 2014 under the law, told CNN that a transitional year was needed for the complex healthcare program, commonly known as Obamacare, to work. "If it's so much more expensive than what we anticipated and if...

Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) are introducing legislation to suspend penalty fees for one year if individual U.S. citizens do not register for healthcare coverage. This remarkable bipartisan effort is a broadly worded bill that will appeal to both sides of the aisle, now deeply riven by the failed Obamacare initiative. “No individual or family should be penalized while the problems in new healthcare exchanges are being addressed,” is a key finding in the Kirk-Manchin proposal. This outstanding bipartisan effort would eliminate the $95 (or 1%) penalty slated to take effect in 2014 under current law...

Charleston , Kanawha County , West Virginia While U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller's supporters were listening to his celebration at the Civic Center Saturday, another Democratic leader was being protested outside. The Citizens Defense League gathered to protest U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. The group is the state’s largest pro-gun lobbying group, and advocates for lawful hunting and to keep and bear arms for self-defense. Lately, they've been upset with the decisions Manchin has made when it comes to guns and the federal government in general. "We made a promise to him, that if he continued to push for gun control legislation...

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III has quickly become a favorite of Republicans with his quest to delay the individual mandate to buy health insurance under Obamacare. Though that effort doesn’t seem to have much traction, it’s one that could start giving vulnerable Democrats heartburn. The West Virginian announced Wednesday that he is working with Georgia GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson to craft a one-year delay of the insurance requirement of the landmark health care law. That idea has already picked up the endorsement of Michelle Nunn, the Democrat seeking Georgia’s open Senate seat in 2014. “It has become apparent in recent...