An independent lifelong Democrat warns the former party repeatedly and that the US “is not going left.”
On Sunday, US Senator Joe Manchin, a lifelong Democrat who resigned from the Senate after 15 years to become an independent earlier this year, sent a series of warnings to his former party members.
Manchin told CNN that he had not been able to identify as a Democrat “in the form of what Democratic party has turned itself into” because the D-brand has been so demonized from the perspective of “it’s just, it’s toxic.”
Rich coal mogul Manchin claimed that the party’s strategy had turned into one that was repressive and censorious to regular Americans, and he held progressives responsible for the change.
Manchin told the site, “They have essentially expanded upon the idea that, ‘Well, we want to protect you there, but we’re going to tell you how you should live your life from that far on.'”
Manchin asserted that the nation “is not going left” and that a party that had previously prioritized “good job, good pay” and other fundamental concerns was now preoccupied with delicate social issues, specifically highlighting the rights of LGBTQ+ people, while neither they nor Republicans took accountability for the federal budget.
The senator also claimed that neither party had taken a fair stance on the consistently high number of mass shootings and that Republicans lacked common sense when it came to gun control.
Manchin remarked of parties, “They’re too extreme – it’s just common sense.” Democrats are going too far and want to outlaw it. “Oh, let the good times roll,” the Republican responds. Permit anyone to have anything they desire.
“For someone to say that, they’ve got to be completely insane,” Manchin said in response to comments made by Greg Casar, the incoming chair of the progressive wing in Congress, who claimed the Democrats would have won the election if they had been more like progressive lawmaker Pramila Jayapal.
The senator also attributed Kamala Harris‘s failure to position herself as a moderate candidate after endorsing progressive causes during her 2019 Democratic primary campaign to her defeat by Donald Trump in the November White House election.
“It’s difficult to pretend to be someone you’re not,” Manchin said. The senator refrained from openly endorsing Harris’ campaign. He claimed he likes the president-elect and recently told him, “I want to help any way I can,” and he wants him to succeed. However, he declined to reveal whose candidate he voted for in November on Sunday.
“Whether you vote for him or not, whether you belong to the same party, whether you like him or not, every red-blooded American should want your president to succeed,” Manchin continued.
However, he added that he thought the US needed a third party, the American Party, that would act as a compromise between moderate Republicans and Democrats.
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The election of the US president is determined by the centrist-moderate vote. And they don’t govern that way after they arrive. Neither side does. They each go to their own corner,” Manchin remarked.
“That would be something if the center had a voice and a party that could bring back both of these—the Republican and Democratic parties.”
Manchin stated that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson would need “to come to grip that’s the worst performing Congress in the history of our country” during a more policy-focused interview on CBS’s Face the Nation. Republicans were “in knots and [they] can’t get anything through” as a result of the chaos during the last session, which included a protracted leadership contest. Additionally, he attacked the party for not attempting to engage Democrats “in order to maintain a majority with some bipartisanship.”
Trump will comprehend his duty as president “an awful lot better now than he did in 2016 when he won the first time,” according to Manchin’s prediction.
“He has some experience,” Manchin continued. “He is aware of the procedure and the authority he currently possesses.”