Posted on 12/13/2022 8:22:16 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Last Friday, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona caused headlines when she announced she would quit the Democrat party to become independent.
Sinema told Politico that she “never really fit into a box of any political party.”
Sinema began her political career in the Arizona Green Party and rose to prominence for her advocacy of LGBT rights and opposition to the war on terror.
However, when Sinema first ran for office, she ran as a Democrat in 2004, perhaps to increase her clout in politics. It turned out to be an astute decision; it enabled her to be elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2012 and to the U.S. Senate in 2018.
In recent years, Sinema has shown reluctance to blindly side with the Democrats’ far-left agenda.
Still, it is rare for an incumbent to quit their party and choose to be independent where there is no party support for multimillion-dollar reelection campaigns.
[SNIP]
The Democrats had 51 seats in the Senate following a victory in the Georgia Senate runoff. However, with Sinema’s departure, the Democrats are back to 50. The GOP holds an identical number of seats in the Senate. But, Democrats have Vice President Kamala Harris as the potential tie-breaker.
Democrats fear that Sinema's departure may open the floodgates and cause ‘conservative’ Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, from West Virginia who also faces re-election in 2024, to seek independence
This could bring down the Democrat Senate seat count to 49 with VP Harris’s vote making it 50, meaning, both parties will have 50 Senators.
The Democrats have good reason to be concerned, as Manchin and Sinema have a great deal in common.
The two blocked Biden’s far-left agenda to some extent.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
From 1932 to 1996, the only Republican presidential nominees to win West Virginia were Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984.
But the color began to turn to red in 2000, when Al Gore’s environmental extremism repelled Democratic voters linked to the coal industry, causing George W Bush to win that state. Bush also won reelection in 2004 with West Virginia backing him. Obama lost the state in 2008 and 2012. Trump won in 2016 and 2020.
West Virginia has elected only GOP candidates to the U.S. House since 2014 and currently has a GOP governor. Manchin’s colleague in the Senate is a Republican.
However, West Virginia Democrat Party Chairman Mike Pushkin dismissed rumors of Manchin wanting to take the independent route branding it wishful thinking on the part of Republicans.
Manchin told CNN he has no intention of leaving his party immediately. But didn’t rule out the possibility of the distant future.
Here’s where I agree with the article. From a political point of view, it is more advantageous for Manchin to STAY with the Dems than go independent.
Manchin probably sees Sinema’s departure as an elevation of his importance in his party. He could be the sole difference in between the passage and failure of any bill. It gives him more bargaining power. Remaining in the party gives him the support and funding for his reelection also protection from media hit jobs.
It remains to be seen if Manchin faces a tough primary challenge from a far-left Democrat.
Mitt would love this as he'd make himself the center of attention.
Democrat, Joe Manchin has no real choice but to leave the Democrat Party...period!!! If Manchjin cannot see this clearly, he has been smoking too much Mary Jane, drinking excessive booze or just simply is an idiot!!!
Man hi. Co authored the most aggressive anti 2 A legislation during obamas turn. I lived in WV and watched them line back up to vote from r more.
Look at his record during Obama.
As they say, it's not a question if IF, it's a question of WHEN.
Manchin will stay in the party and continue to hoodwink the people of West Virginia into voting for him. He’s got over 20 years of experience doing it so no need for him to go independent.
Its not so much a question of Manchjin seeing it clearly. Its more a matter of the inability of West Virginians to see what Manchin really is. He’s got them fooled.
Excellent post! +10
“Rented space in the GOP”. Wow, you nailed it with that one.
Manchin is interesting... The democrats basically spit in his face and didn’t keep the deal they made with him... He’s 75 years old... and he’s from a Red State....
Would he consider changing parties or going I and caucusing with R’s putting the senate back at 50/50?
I don’t know.. he was absolutely betrayed, but will he walk away from a lifetime of being part of the Democrat machine over it?
It is interesting to ponder, but I wouldn’t bet my farm on it.
Joe is a Liberal who pretends to be a moderate.
He is no moderate.
Get rid of him in 2024.
Shelley Moore Capito is an assistant democRAT. But yes, she does put an "R" after her name.
Manchin isn’t as smart as people think he is, and this IS West Virginia. Moonshine is cooked here, both legally and illegally. Not saying Manchin partakes in either ...
In the last senatorial election, Munchkin received 49.?% of the vote. Patrick Morrissey (sitting attorney general) received 46.? % of the vote, and the libertarian got 4.?% of the vote ...
He has less than half of US fooled. His best bet would be to retire at the end of his current term ... He's been a professional politician since the early 1980s.
Though called a RED state and despite owning the majority if seats in state government, this state is primarily a RAT state. Not today's RAT, but 1940s-50s RAT. A far-left challenger stands no chance here...thank God.
jmo
Blame W.Va voters. They had chances to vote for the true conservative R’s but they kept choosing their homegrown son like he was something special. Manchin is a flag in the breeze, flapping to the prevailing winds out of DC. All his gyrations prove worthless to conservatism and Schmucky owns him in the end.
He is up for reelection in 2024. If he is to go independent he needs to do it now so it looks better than doing it close to his reelection where it will look like pandering to the conservatives in WV. Sinema beat him to the punch on that deal so we will know in the next month or two if he will go independent or not or if this is just more BS from Manchin. IMHO of course
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