A Washington Post columnist Sunday evening responded to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) op-ed and TV tour announcing he will not support HR1/S1, the “For the People Act” to protect voting rights.
“Manchin has become the Senate’s Walter Mitty: a man who believes himself the champion of a fantasy and who has hope but no plan,” writes The Post’s James Downie. “He believes he will save the country by recruiting ’10 good Republicans,’ even though dreaming doesn’t will into existence that many Republicans who will cast a fair-minded vote.”
Manchin says instead of supporting the “For the People Act” he would support passing the “John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,” which would restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But that bill will not nullify all the dangerous voter suppression laws Republicans are passing across the country.
“And as for passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in a nonpartisan fashion, Manchin doesn’t have suggestions. ‘It’s starting out to be bipartisan,’ he told CBS’s John Dickerson, before listing exactly one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — far short of the 10 he’d need to pass it (or anything else) without a filibuster. When Dickerson asked why Republicans would vote for a bill that would restrict their gains at the state level, Manchin replied, ‘If we can’t come to an agreement on that, God help us, John.’ God help us, indeed.”
“I’m not being naive,” Manchin insisted. “I’m going to continue to keep working with my bipartisan friends and hopefully we can get more of them.” Again, he has hope but no “how” — the epitome of naivete. Worse still was his claim on CBS that “my Republican friends and colleagues see the deadlock also. This is not something they desire or wish.”
That’s past naivete or foolishness — it’s straight-up delusion.
“In his mind, he’s the hero of this story,” Downie says. “In truth, he’s the patsy. And the country pays the price for his delusions.”
Read the entire piece here.