No Labels it seems is still out there lurking. Like that slasher movie character who’s body in the grave became exposed and was struck by lightening and ‘revived’ to go out and kill more teenagers being naughty. I think they have found new life and Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is my evidence.
Manchin continues to be the Joe Manchin so many Democrats love to loathe. He hails from a smallish in size state, with a smallish population that’s among the whitest in the country. Riding the coattails of the iconic Robert Byrd he managed, despite considerable ethics issues to get elected Governor and then succeed Byrd in the Senate. Well, he got elected to the seat when Byrd was gone. Manchin never was fit to so much as shine Byrd’s shoes. Still, over the years his delusions of grandeur over getting 500k or so votes (his vote totals and winning margin dwindle with each election and he never had a chance this year so he’s retiring) convinced him he was a Party and national leader. He even became associated with No Labels, a group formed to make sure President Biden wouldn’t get a second term.
Manchin’s main claim to fame was tossing sand in the gears of legislation and policy most Democrats and a majority of voters wanted. Allegations of corruption have swirled around him and his family going back decades. Draw your own conclusion but for me I couldn’t help but think the guy who is a pure creature of DC, lives on a fancy schmancy houseboat on the Potomac and drives a Maserati AND only sets foot back home because he has to in order to sucker voters has “issues.” The kind that led to him repeatedly tossing turds in the punchbowl. However as I said he’s long harbored delusions of grandeur and while he knew even before he switched Party affiliation from the Democratic Party to Independent a group like No Labels would be his only shot at being President.
Well, No Labels appeared to have quietly died off in some ditch alongside the road named Politics. Maybe not. When President Biden dropped his bombshell yesterday about stepping aside AND endorsing Harris it seems Manchin took exception. He publicly and pointedly refused to endorse the VP, instead suggesting a “primary” which, if she won would “strengthen” her. Then he’d support her. Sure Joe. Yank on the other legs – it’s got bells on it. No, Manchin wants what some of those who called for President Biden to step aside wanted, a Democratic Party Cluster F**k. Which would of course breathe new life into the ONLY agenda his pals at No Labels had – scuttling Biden’s re-election bid and delivering the WH to Trump. (They knew damn well their candidate – and Manchin was for a time a possibility – wouldn’t win. Only siphon off enough voters for Trump to again thread a tricky Electoral College needle like he did in 2016)
I wrote here on Politizoom last night that Manchin might decide to revive his bid to be President. (And we could have some fun at his expense watching him face-plant) I shouldn’t have joked around about it. As author Roger Kahn wrote in The Boys of Summer dark humor lies within its creator’s brain and makes them victims. Anyway when the President made his announcement Manchin was one of of the few who want a “process” (code for political food-fight) or a primary. As this article from the Hill I read after seeing Manchin say it himself on Morning Joe, he’s not going to re-register as a Democrat and throw his hat in the ring to be Harris’ running mate.
The linked article says on CBS this morning Manchin stated he wasn’t running for President, that he didn’t need that in his life. Instead his main message was to have some sort of primary:
The West Virginia lawmaker called for a mini primary and said he “could not believe” such a process was not going to take place.
“People are looking in the middle. Where do you? Well, we’d like to see that. We’re not going to be able to see a vigorous, even a three-week primary process,” Manchin said. “No one else is willing to speak up. They’ll say, ‘Well, we’re falling behind. We’re just going to get in line. I’m sorry, I don’t agree with that.”
I beg to differ. Between the steadily growing number of Democratic politicians (including the most commonly bandied about folks the “Joe must go” people had floated) coming out with strong endorsements of VP Harris plus the flood, the Tsunami of small dollar donations and major groups also endorsing her I’d say voters and crucial Democratic groups are making it clear no “mini primary” is needed. But Manchin wasn’t done. On CNN he modified what he’d earlier told CBS:
When asked on CNN if he will run against Harris for the Democratic nomination, he said, “I don’t think that, I don’t know. I just, we’ll see.”
He also called for “going through some sort of process” to pick the strongest candidate and ruled out serving as Harris’s vice president.
It’s that first part that really grabbed at me. And, as I said I watched him on Morning Joe. I think, I really do that phone lines were burning up with Manchin and others in the No Labels gang. While it’s too late for them to field a candidate and get on ballots they might well believe they’ve got the money and contacts to make a lot of mischief. And screw over VP Harris, Democrats, the country and the free world by getting Trump back in the WH.
And Manchin might well have agreed to front the whole thing.
The one hope it has is to convince major Democratic big money donors that THEY are being ignored. “Unfairly” cut out of things and denied what many of them feel is THEIR “god given right” to determine who the Democratic nominee will be. And keep those checkbooks closed, or open them up to No Labels to “avenge” what they feel is a betrayal. Democratic (and Independents that lean our way) have quickly made it clear what they want. But to these mega donors the attitude is, to paraphrase a memorable line from Blazing Saddles ‘Regular voters? We don’t care about no steenking regular voters!’
No Labels had better hurry. If things today move along like I think they will, it will mostly wind up tomorrow and by Wednesday it will be a done deal. It will be announced the virtial roll call WILL take place soon and more importantly that damned near every delegate who had been scheduled/committed to vote for President Biden will have confirmed they will be voting for Harris. And that will be that. Mega donors will gulp, and maybe throw hissy fits in their offices and whine to each other on the phones but they will face a tough choice. Get on board by opening their wallets again or get left behind.
However, that doesn’t mean No Labels can’t still cause trouble. Denied their dream of a fractured Democratic Party and a brokered convention there are plenty of journalists who will be happy to please their bosses in the executive suites doing stories about unnamed Democratic officials being unhappy about our not having a “mini primary.” For a nice anonymous donation to their Super PACS dozens of elected Democrats will gladly play ball. And Manchin I’m starting to think will be fronting the effort. He’s got his own Super PAC and is the exact type I wrote about a couple of days ago who would take the nefarious (and easy with a competent election law lawyer) to convert all the unused money in it into personal funds. (And we’ll never know)
So Machin’s leading the “charge” for a mini-primary. Except there’s a problem. All the people floated as possibilities have come out with unambiguous endorsements of Harris. So, I’ll leave you (and Manchin and No Labels) with a question:
What if they held a “mini primary” and nobody came? (neither candidates or voters?)
Phuck that coal barron. He lives like a king in a state where many towns are boarded up and people are dirt poor. He likes it that way.
Manchin’s “concerns” would hold more weight if he hadn’t decided to become an “independent.” As soon as he did that, ANY input he might have in DEMOCRATIC PARTY politics went right out the window.
If I were Chuck Schumer, I’d take Manchin into a private room and remind him what a useless, worthless piece of s#!+ he truly is.
If that would work Joseph, but I’m sure you know people don’t change that easily, especially when greed has it’s hold over them. It’s an old old story. If I were Schumer I’d focus on getting the rich Jews to stop being Zionists and support democracy. Fat chance I know from personal experience, but at least they might listen to ONE OF THEIR OWN. Manchin is a lost cause.
She set a,record for getting the most campaign donations in the first 24 hours.
Good luck with your delusions of mattering Joe. They are officially irrelevant. A Black and Asian brilliant woman is the one we want defeating Trump. And she is beautiful to boit .
Byebye, Joe.