Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia earned more online ire from the left after he unequivocally said he would not vote to end the filibuster and explained that it was the lethal Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that changed his thinking.
Manchin, 73, explained how the riot changed his mind in an interview with CNN on Thursday.
“January 6 changed me. I never thought in my life, I never read in history books to where our form of government had been attacked, at our seat of government, which is Washington, D.C., at our Capitol, by our own people,” Manchin said.
“So, something told me, ‘Wait a minute pause. Hit the pause button.’ Something’s wrong. You can’t have this many people split to where they want to go to war with each other,” he added.
Manchin’s vote has become a key bulwark against the schemes of the less centrist Democrats since the Senate is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. In order to end the filibuster rule that forces parties to find some common ground to pass legislation, Democrats would need Manchin’s support.
“I’m not killing the filibuster. I’ve been very, very clear,” he said to CNN.
Some on the left lashed out at Manchin for not supporting the effort to pass liberal legislation without some support from Republicans.
“Joe Manchin is the most deeply dishonest man in America. He’s now saying the Capitol riot changed him and that’s why he’s blocking all Democratic legislation. What? What an absurd bulls*** claim!” tweeted failed congressional candidate and YouTube personality Cenk Uygur.
“No, you’re blocking it on behalf of your corporate donors. Ask him about the donors!” he pleaded.
“Getting sick and tired of Joe Manchin controlling the Senate,” filmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted.
Getting sick and tired of Joe Manchin controlling the Senate. Passing legislation that is supported by the vast maj… https://t.co/BzxBEBkr7b
— Rob Reiner (@Rob Reiner)1617931511.0
“Passing legislation that is supported by the vast majority of the American people should not rely on courting Republican Senators who stand for nothing but obstructionism and White Supremacy,” he added.
“Is he that stupid or is he just stalling for time to burnish his centrist rep? Either way, he is a foolish nuisance,” said Canadian comedian Deven Green.
Democrats thought they had found a way around the filibuster when the Senate parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could use the reconciliation process to pass their bills. Manchin also shot down any support for that technicality.
Here’s the CNN interview with Joe Manchin:
Manchin says ‘January 6 changed me’ as he calls for bipartisanship
www.youtube.com