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WV-Sen: Joe Man Baby Threatens To Repeal His Own Bill If He Doesn't Get His Way [1]

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Date: 2023-04-25  

Sen. Joe Manchin (D. WV)

Ok, I get that Democrats in Red States have to take difficult votes and do what they have to do to get re-elected but this is ridiculous:

x The Biden administration is breaking its word to the American public by ignoring the text of the #InflationReductionAct to pursue its radical climate agenda. Let me be clear: if this continues, I'll do everything in my power to stop them — including voting to repeal the IRA. pic.twitter.com/d1l4SUUYcN — Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) April 25, 2023 Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Monday threatened to endorse a repeal of a major law he negotiated and helped pass less than a year ago: the Inflation Reduction Act. During an appearance on Fox News with conservative host Sean Hannity, Manchin complained about the implementation of the law, which includes billions of dollars in tax credits and deductions targeted toward reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. “Let me be very clear. If the administration does not honor what they said they would do, and continue to liberalize what we are supposed to invest in over the next 10 years, I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening,” Manchin said. “And if they don’t change, then I would vote to repeal my own bill.” The Treasury Department recently unveiled guidance on which electric cars qualify for Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, despite Manchin’s objections. He argued for stricter rules that favor American producers. Manchin is under increasing pressure in West Virginia, where GOP Gov. Jim Justice is expected this week to announce a campaign to oust him in 2024. That would hand Republicans one of their best opportunities to flip a Senate seat in a red state that voted heavily for Donald Trump.

Here’s some more info:

The West Virginia senator saw his approval rating in the state drop after he voted for the IRA, which included $370 billion in investment to promote the nation’s transition to cleaner energy sources, authority for Medicare to negotiate lower prices for a small group of prescription drugs, a $35 cap on monthly insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries and more than $100 billion in deficit reduction. A Morning Consult poll published last week found that 55 percent of West Virginia voters disapprove of Manchin. Only Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is more unpopular in his home state, according to Morning Consult. Manchin has responded to his drop in popularity by taking the Biden administration to task over its implementation of the IRA. He has also criticized Biden for not negotiating with Republicans to curb the growth of the nation’s $31 trillion debt. Last week, he accused Biden of demonstrating “a deficiency of leadership” on the looming expiration of the federal debt limit. “Our elected leaders must stop with the political games, work together and negotiate a compromise. Instead, it has been more than 78 days since President Biden last met with Speaker McCarthy. This signals a deficiency of leadership, and it must change,” Manchin said in a statement last week. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Friday praised the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a project Manchin also has pushed — and called for an independent government agency to proceed “expeditiously” on it.

I don’t want Democrats to lose a very slim Senate Majority but Karma certainly is hitting Manchin hard. But he’s long been a pain in the ass to Biden and the party and it’s not only infuriating that he hasn’t even announced his own re-election bid, he’s prematurely believing that Justice has the nomination in the bag which is far from a sure thing:

Justice will be joined at Thursday’s event by a crowd of family, friends, business associates and others from across the state, the GOP source said, adding that other senators may also attend the event. Justice’s three-and-a-half-year-old English bulldog, Babydog, is also expected to be a prominent part of the Senate campaign, the source confirmed. On the campaign trail, Justice plans to criticize the Biden administration while contrasting himself with both Manchin and declared GOP candidate Rep. Alex Mooney, the source said. Manchin, one of the Senate’s most conservative Democrats, has said he won’t decide whether to run for reelection until closer to the end of the year, regardless of Justice’s plans. Justice’s team believes a Senate bid by the governor could make Manchin less likely to seek reelection, the GOP source told CNBC last month. To face Manchin or another possible Democratic candidate, Justice would first have to win the state’s Republican primary, where Mooney has already won a $10 million pledge from the conservative Club for Growth. Former President Donald Trump, who is deeply popular in West Virginia, backed Mooney in his most recent House election. Mooney’s campaign manager, John Findlay, on Monday called Justice’s planned Senate bid a “terrible idea.” “Jim Justice has a liberal record. Republican primary voters will soon see he is a Democrat in sheep’s clothing,” Findlay said in a statement to CNBC. Meanwhile, national Republicans have seen Justice, reportedly his state’s wealthiest resident, as a top recruit in their bid to win the seat. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have encouraged Justice to run for the seat. He is term-limited from running for governor again.

Is there a good chance that Justice could win the nominee? Absolutely. And yes, if we lost Manchin’s seat, we could lose the Majority. However, we could always end up with a 50-50 Senate without Manchin and by replacing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I. AZ) with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D. AZ) and Vice President Harris being a tie breaker. We can then have a chance to either reform, carve out or get rid of the filibuster and get shit done. We also need to win back the House which Democrats are already focusing heavily on:

After New York Democrats’ dismal showing last November, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn is not leaving anything to chance. Together with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeffries is assembling an elite team inside the New York State Democratic Party that will run a coordinated campaign aimed at flipping Republican-held U.S. House seats and defending vulnerable Democratic House incumbents, according to three New York Democrats familiar with the matter. Although Jeffries’ initiative, which is still being finalized, would operate inside the New York State Democratic Party, its very creation reflects top Democrats’ concerns that the state party, in its current form, is not equipped to become a central node in Democrats’ campaign to retake the House. “You need someone to quarterback the development of the infrastructure, a message and a brand to create an environment in which Democrats can win,” said a New York City-based Democratic consultant who knows about the initiative and requested anonymity to protect professional relationships. “That quarterback is not going to be the New York State Democratic Party.” Even a handful of wins in New York could have a major impact. Nationwide, Democrats currently need to flip just five Republican-held seats to win back the majority in the U.S. House. In that scenario, Jeffries would be virtually assured to become the nation’s first Black speaker of the House. “What we need is a year-round operation that is continuing to talk to real people every single day to be able to make sure that we’re communicating the messages of the party, up and down the ballot, in every single race and every single year,” said a New York progressive strategist who is familiar with the strategy and requested anonymity to preserve professional relationships. “Layering operations on top of the essentially blank canvas that exists has to happen.”

Senators Sherrod Brown (D. OH) and Jon Tester (D. MT) are both running for re-election in their Red States in a Presidential Election and are already in a strong position to win. While Florida and Texas are extremely difficult options, Senators Rick Scott (R. FL) and Ted Cruz (R. TX) sure have made clowns of themselves and if we land some top recruits, we could get lucky. We’ll have to keep an eye on both of those races. In the mean time, let’s help keep these Democratic Senators in office and get involved with these Democratic Senate candidates campaigns:

Sherrod Brown

Jon Tester

Ruben Gallego

Jacky Rosen

Tammy Baldwin

Bob Casey

Elissa Slotkin

Katie Porter

Adam Schiff

Barbara Lee

Also, President Biden announced his re-election campaign today!

x Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms. I believe this is ours.



That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job. https://t.co/V9Mzpw8Sqy pic.twitter.com/Y4NXR6B8ly — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2023

Click here to donate and get involved with President Biden’s re-election campaign.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/25/2165808/-WV-Sen-Joe-Man-Baby-Threatens-To-Repeal-His-Own-Bill-If-He-Doesn-t-Get-His-Way

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