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June 21, 2023 04:06 PM UTC

"Manchin Whisperer" Hick Works To Stop Ill-Conceived Prez Bid

  • 11 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-ish).

As Politico’s Burgess Everett reports, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, whose name is mud in many Democratic circles despite having voted after long deliberation with Democrats to pass important legislation in the first two years of Joe Biden’s term, is rumored to be entertaining a third-party presidential run supported by the “post-partisan” political organization No Labels–a group with a long and controversial history on the ground here in Colorado:

Manchin’s refusal to silence talk of a White House bid, potentially funded by centrist group No Labels, gives him leverage over party leaders: The more they need him to seek Senate reelection, the more attention he can get for his priorities.

That’s because Manchin is the only candidate with a prayer of keeping his Senate seat blue. And if Republicans win the presidency in 2024, they’d only need one Senate pick-up to take control.

So some fellow Democrats are letting Manchin know he’d be making a mistake.

“I have advised him against it. I think it would be a terrible idea,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) recalling a conversation with Manchin this spring. “It would help Donald Trump.” [Pols emphasis]

The acknowledgment Sen. John Hickenlooper got from Manchin is as much as anybody has:

Manchin’s private reaction, as recalled by Hickenlooper, reflects his public indecision: “He looked at me and he nodded.”

Former Sen. Cory Gardner (R), an early No Labels success story.

Although Manchin’s stalling and painful concessions demanded in order to pass legislation in the narrowly-divided Senate made him unpopular among liberal Democrats, our perception is that Manchin has always had a sense of the limits of his power, and came through at the critical moments to deliver enough for Democrats to claim big wins in the Biden administration’s first two years. Manchin is intelligent enough to understand the probability of being a spoiler for Donald Trump in a three-way race that includes himself, Trump, and Joe Biden, and we don’t think that’s where Manchin would choose for his legacy to end.

Unfortunately, we can’t make the same presumption of good faith with the No Labels organization, which in Colorado is best known for its controversial support for Cory Gardner in the 2014 election for U.S. Senate that barely unseated much-beloved Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall. No Labels’ support for Gardner, as longtime readers will remember, led to Joe Manchin’s resignation from the organization immediately following the 2014 elections, after which at some point we assume they mended fences. Organizing as a minor political party of their own earlier this year, No Labels claims they will stand down a third-party bid if they determine it would help Trump–but does that mean Ron DeSantis is their post-partisan “Problem Solver?”

There’s nothing about “No Labels” that makes sense in 2024, unless the goal is, like it was in 2014, to elect Republicans.

In Colorado, we have the receipts.

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11 thoughts on ““Manchin Whisperer” Hick Works To Stop Ill-Conceived Prez Bid”

  1. It's nice to see that it's not just the far left that likes to indulge in reckless fantasies.

    Think of it:  an election with something for everyone who is not a MAGA-donian. 

    On the far left, we will have Cornel West.

    In the middle, we will have Joe Biden.

    And on the right, we may get to have Joe Manchin.

    And for the MAGA-donians who are detached from reality, Trump.

    I would normally think that Manchin would not do this BUT since he is trailing Jim Justice (there's a misnomer if ever) badly in West Virginia, he may want to end his career by making a big mark on history.

    But by helping to re-elect Trump, it will be a big skid mark. 

  2. ???????!

    "Please Joe, take it from someone who knows, you should learn something from my futile and stupid mistake of running for President."

     

  3. As a young voter, I wound up voting for non-major party John Anderson. Largely convinced of the need to increase taxes on gasoline as a way to force alternative energy advances, thinking that Carter would be like most Presidents and win another term, and "knowing" that Reagan would lose as an empty suit full of bad Republican ideas, I went for the "message" vote. 

    Never again.  Not even when there is a need for a "message" being sent. 

    No Labels has a strange idea that someone elected who is NOT beholden to a particular party would be good for something.   In this era of negative partisanship, with a Republican cult following (and sometimes leading) Trump, and a Democratic Party with a substantial ability to be unified enough to get things done, someone who cannot appeal to either major party will simply be an afterthought.

  4. Follow the money. End of confusion.

    Conservative billionaires fund No Labels, Sinema and Manchin. These are the very same billionaires who funded the Federalist Society, and provide billiionaire-bro friends for Supreme Court justices. 

    Organizing as a minor political party of their own earlier this year, No Labels claims they will stand down a third-party bid if they determine it would help Trump–but does that mean Ron DeSantis is their post-partisan “Problem Solver?”

    No. You are being naive in your reading of the No-label propaganda.

    Republicans (meaning Trump, because no one else will win the primary) can win the 2024 general election IF AND ONLY IF a third Party candidate pulls Biden below 50%. This mathematical reality is the entire reason for No Labels to exist.

    No Labels said they will not run a candidate if Biden polling shows he has it in the bag. On the other hand, if the election is close, then No Labels will run a third-Party candidate in swing states in order to give the electoral college to Trump. It's efficient and strategic money spending and rat-fucking all the way down. 

    There’s nothing about “No Labels” that makes sense in 2024, unless the goal is, like it was in 2014, to elect Republicans.

    Yes, exactly.

    No Labels is a rat-fucking political organization. Manchin and Sinema are heavily funded by the right-wing billionaires. They also funded the Federalist Society takeover of the Supreme Court.

  5. I think it's far-fetched to imagine a No Labels candidate taking significant Electoral College votes, but L*rd help us if someone does, maybe. If no candidate gets 270 EC votes or more, the election goes to the House but each state only gets one vote. Yep, Wyoming's 600K people cancel out California's 40 million, while the 2 Dakotas outnumber California 2-1. Frankly, I'd prefer rat-fucking to an outcome like that. 

    2. Let me play devil’s advocate here.

      So, Vermont has the same voting strength as Texas while Delaware has the same punch as Florida in a contingent House election?

      With any luck, Mary Peltola gets re-elected in Alaska and cancels out Ohio’s House Republican votes.

      I know. There are still a greater number of smaller populated red states than there are sparsely populated blue states.

        1. He won't be around for a while. It's Pridefest in Denver this weekend.

          Moddy is in granny's basement curled up in his customary fecal position.

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