Sure, Hate Manchin, He Deserves it. But Now Focus on What We Can Do About It.

I feel your contempt and loathing for Manchin. He’s earned it. I’ve been seething all morning. It’s far from the first time he has me feeling this way. But justified as our disgust & anger is, I’m not sure they’re constructive. A thread on why hating him is right but not enough.

First, railing at what a heartless, corrupt, hypocritical, jackass Manchin is won’t change anything. And if you’re angry at him for the right reasons, which is seeking a better life for Americans in need, protecting democracy, etc.-the real issue isn’t him. He’s not going away.

He’s part of a political reality for now in which just one intransigent, ignorant, greedy, yacht-residing, motherfucker of a “Democrat” can ally himself w/50 similarly craven, cold-hearted, power-hungry, one percent-serving, conscienceless Republicans to control our Senate.

Imagine what our situation would be if Democrats had not won those two Georgia Senate seats in 2020. We’d be getting nothing. Not the $1.9 American Rescue Package, not the infrastructure bill, not the record number of judges who have been confirmed. Nada.

The upper chamber of our legislature would be suffering from acute McConnellitis, which is to say heart-failure, brain-failure, and conscience-failure. It would effectively be an obstacle to anything the president or the House of Representatives sought to get done.

Manchin has actually made a difference for the better. He’s a monstrosity as a politician and responsible for the needless suffering and deprivation of millions. But without him even less would have gotten done this year.

He’s also probably the best the Democrats are likely to get out of West Virginia. That shouldn’t be the case. The state depends on Democratic driven programs and would have been a big beneficiary of BBB. But it’s conservative and that is not changing overnight.

So our focus needs to be on a.) playing the legislative hand we have been dealt and b.) adding to the Democrats margin of power in the Senate. These two things are not unrelated.

Even more important than BBB is voting rights reform. In the past week there have been modest signs that progress might be possible there. But it will require filibuster reform. And that will require not just Manchin but Sinema and other wavering Dems as well.

If Biden can work a deal that can get meaningful voting rights legislation through it will stem the massive, systematic, coast-to-coast efforts of Republicans to gut our democracy and rig future votes in their favor. What’s more, it’s probably our last best hope in that regard.

So, step one needs to be trying to find the path to that filibuster reform and voting rights legislation. It might mean reinstating the talking filibuster or other such changes. But getting it passed will require Manchin and Sinema to reverse their stands.

This should be the top legislative focus of the president and the Democratic leadership now. If there is a shred of hope, we must work toward this goal. Because the risk to our democracy is so great. And because only with fair elections can we add to the Dem majority in the Senate.

Building that Dem majority should be another focus of Dems who are incensed by Manchin. We must identify and work to flip vulnerable seats. If you care, donate to Democratic candidates. Volunteer.

Do whatever you can to produce Georgia-like results in key states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Misouri, Florida and Wisconsin. And protect vulnerable Democrat seats like Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and New Hampshire. (This is especially vital if Manchin amd/or Sinema screw the country and don’t do what’s right on reform.)

The other thing we can do if we care about the huge environmental and human benefits BBB would have produced is find ways to structure those elements of the bill that will work for Manchin, etc. He wants 10-year programs that pay for themselves. Give it to him.

If you care about the child tax credit (you should) or the environment (you should) or free childcare and preschool (you should), then let’s find the form in which they can get passed or do whatever we can trying.

Finally, we need to encourage our leaders to step back and do the other things that will be essential to winning those additional seats in 2022. First, that means redoubling efforts to control the pandemic…and messaging better.  (Speaking of messaging…as an aside…one reason the failure of BBB as it is will have less of an impact is the public never understood what it was. Breaking it into component parts and passing them may help better communicate why these programs are so important.)

Next, it means pushing for accountability for the Trump Administration and the coup plotters and funders. The January 6th Commission has only a year of life left if the GOP wins back the House in November. But it is less likely to win back the House if there is voting rights reform, big pieces of the Democrat agenda pass, the economy continues to recover, COVID is better controlled (and where GOP leaders fight that…call ’em out clearly and repeatedly), and if the GOP attack on democracy is seen for what it is.

That last point will be best achieved if (and when) Trump and those around him and members of Congress who colluded with the insurrection (all GOP, of course) are charged and convicted. The 1/6 Commission needs support…not just from us but from the DOJ.

All these things–filibuster reform, voting rights reform, winning back the Senate, protecting our majority in the House, passage of key legislation, holding Trump & the GOP accountable–are more important and better uses of our energy than fuming about Manchin.