Recent reporting tells us Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema and her inner circle have been discussing a Presidential Run. I lived in West Virginia from 2003 to 2014 and hated it each time I voted for Joe Manchin. He’s always been a P.O.S. but it sucked knowing it was either him or a Republican who would be even worse. (Age won’t matter to him – he’d figure if Trump and Biden could do it why not him?) I have no trouble at all believing he too harbors Presidential delusions of grandeur. You might think I’m crazy. Am I? As has been noted on progressive sites a Presidential run would make Sinema’s antics make some type of (warped) sense. It would explain some of Manchin’s antics too.
Think about it. Each probably fancies themselves as a “maverick” who would appeal both to the bulk of their own Party but, due to their “independence” have plenty of crossover appeal, especially with conservative leaning independents. As I said, they are both delusional on this (with both Democrats and Independents. As for GOP voters no freaking way!) but even politicians surrounded by good advisors with some grasp of reality have to work at staying grounded in reality. If people close to them are drunk with power and have lost grip with the real world (especially the pragmatic political one) then watch out! We’ve seen more promising and well-liked politicians flame out when they got too full of themselves and listened to the wrong people. Remember Joe Kennedy III and how promising his prospects were in 2018 after his response to the State of the Union? Before just now when was the last time you thought about him? He could have bided his time and waited for either Marky or Warren to retire and won either’s seat handily. Or run for Governor. Instead he lost in the primary (handily as I recall) and did a lot of damage to his elected political career.
Manchin would likely retire with his ill gotten many millions after getting his butt handed to him, but Sinema is still young enough that being toast would burn like hell.
The thing is, both have already done incalculable damage. Imagine how much more either (or both) could do by launching an actual Presidential run to challenge President Biden. Or if he decides one term is it, against real candidates (and Harris would be my pick at this point) who actually could win? Journalists are salivating while awake and having wet dreams all night long about the legion of “Democrats in Disarray” stories they can “report.” (Anything to avoid the tough, grinding work of real journalism!)
There’s a worse problem than that however. The mid-terms are nine months away and these two are responsible for killing two initiatives critical to our maintaining control of Congress – Build Back Better and Voting Rights. The former would, even in the vastly scaled down (to meet these two’s demands) provide important economic benefits to the working class and poor and make (not nearly enough) progress on climate change. The latter? Well, with the all out GOP assault on voting rights without passage of the legislation that’s been sitting in the Senate the country, and the world for that matter are screwed.
They can prattle on and on about the (not really) good old days when the filibuster did sometimes promote across the aisle compromise on important matters. That ended before either of them became Senators. Hell, most of the traditions of the Senate got wiped out by Mitch McConnell, as the late John McCain noted in his farewell address. Our two turncoats no doubt envision themselves channeling McCain’s “maverick” candidacies for President but neither would be fit to carry his briefcase were he still alive. Only they and the idiots advising them can’t see that simple fact. (And less we forget, McCain failed in his bids to become President!)
Getting back to the point though is that I increasingly agree with the concept that both Sinema and Manchin imagine a much grander role than either is capable of filling even if they could somehow attain their goal. Sure, they’ve gotten tons of attention and are currently darlings of the GOP but the second either has outlived their usefulness they will find themselves in the wilderness. Even if they switched to the GOP they’d find themselves shut out of committee assignments they crave. They both (I think) do in fact know that which is why they haven’t done it already.
So they dream of moving up, and for a Senator that means the White House. Not that I need to remind anyone reading this but Democrats weren’t the only ones (back in the winter and spring) of 2016 wondering why the GOP establishment didn’t cut Trump’s candidacy off at the knees when they had the chance. He simply didn’t have the organization to navigate the primaries and caucuses, but of course they deluded themselves into thinking they could use the anger he was ginning up, and control his worst excesses. The problem was there was no Dick Cheney Trump would listen to to keep him on track. Once they’d jumped on the rabid tiger’s back they realized their only hope of survival was to try and ride it. And they failed but the point is that the primary process is complicated and all manner of procedural stunts regarding ballot access could have led to them being able to cripple Trump. For a while. But they didn’t take things seriously until it was too late, and we’ve all been paying for it since.
If either Sinema or Manchin has Presidential delusions of grandeur it’s time to kill off those delusions and I mean now. Starting in the next day or two.
How? For starters, while the Democratic Party reformed the primary process to keep Super Delegates from pre-ordaining the outcome there are still plenty of them and they carry enormous weight. They aren’t just anybody. They are important people in the Party both at the federal and state levels. They have enormous influence on everything from donors to how workers are allocated for campaign work. I’m quite certain DNC Chair Jamie Harrison has a special email list of just those very individuals. I’m also quite certain that if not every single one, then virtually every single one is supremely pissed at both Sinema and Manchin. If say 95 percent or more were to sign on to a message to the both of them that NEITHER would get their vote at the 2024 Democratic Convention, and in fact that over a to be determined time frame they’d be making individual official statements to that effect it would be more than a shot across the bow. It would be one that takes out the rudder of their Presidential campaign ships. Keep in mind how influential these Super Delegates are. If they didn’t have a wealth of contacts and power they wouldn’t be Super Delegates in the first place! Knowing that right off the bat, as in by Wednesday they were that far behind the curve, and with Schumer (and Pelosi) looped in it would make them think long and hard about opposing the Party’s and the voter’s will when Voting Rights legislation is brought up for a vote.
Especially if they are told that’s only the opening salvo. In other words forget about being President because it ain’t gonna happen. And get on board with the rest of the Party and start doing some good. Two years is a lifetime in politics and each have at least a chance to retain their Senatorial seats when their turn comes up again. Not much of a chance but it’s better than nothing. If they behave themselves who knows? They might find all those Party establishment types forgiving enough to provide more support than either deserves.
Well, those are my opening thoughts on this. But time is short. Very short. Yes, there is a procedural trick Schumer can use to ensure a revote on the voting rights bills, and BBB is still out there to be revived. But with this being the week we honor MLK we have to take advantage of every bit of momentum and leverage at our disposal. Hopefully enough people will read this, like it and pass it along to someone who might bring it to the DNC’s attention Tuesday.
I think you are right on point, Denis. We can only hope the powers that be heed your recommendation.
I would hope this has already occurred to the powers that be. I’ve had doubts about Schumer’s ability to see the forest for the trees since his days as head of the DSCC. He would always put his thumb on the scale for a candidate that could self-fund, rather than let a primary sort out who was the best candidate.
As majority leader, Schumer has not always inspired confidence. I don’t know that Harry Reid could navigate this mess, but I have faith he would make Cinema and Manchild pay for their perfidy.
Surely this is a piss-poor joke right? Do these effing idiots think they have a chance in any kind of hell existing in any universe? We always seem to ask the question “just how stupid are the magats”. Perhaps we ought to be asking the same question of a portion of the democratic party.
Some journalist actually published a piece speculating on Sinema having Presidential fever last fall. I can’t remember who or the outlet but the point is this isn’t new. However, last week there were multiple musings that her making a run is indeed a regular topic of discussion with her closest advisors/friends. (She has friends?) I think enough journalists have gotten wind of this to accept she’s really considering it. In Manchin’s case I don’t recall any reporting on him discussing it, but again I believe sure as I’m writing this it’s crossed his mind and he’s at least talked about it with his wife and very top & trusted (to keep their mouths shut) advisors.
Ever since I was growing up and Pat Paulson of Laugh In fame made a joke out of running for President (the gag coming from him was kind of funny) there have been politicians and not just from the two major Parties who announced a run and other than them & the ones egging them on everyone, and I mean virtually everyone else had a WTF are they thinking reaction. Yes, some know they have no chance at all and gin up enough resources to run in the early states & make debate stages to highlight a specific issue or generate buzz for overall policy priorities. We all know and more importantly those handful of candidates know they have no chance and will be dropping out early in the primaries, if not even before then.
The issue you raise (and for good reason) is that some of them really are that fucking stupid, or worse know how ridiculous their running is but hope that the voters are that fucking stupid. Sadly, sometimes the voters are. Trump is the most egrarious and tragic example I can think of but he’s far from the only person who many have wondered “how the hell did he pull it off?” person to make it to the Oval Office.
A corrupt coal baron moron & a self serving corrupt bitch. Sounds like they qualify for the GOP. They will have to up their game in the company of demons from Hell however.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why there is no discussion of consequences. No one has broached maybe removing Manchild from his precious chairmanship of the Energy committee or giving Cinema some least desired committee. They are not going to jump ship to GQP, their value to the dark money forces is because they are democrats.
There are very good reasons anyway why Mannequin shouldn’t be anywhere near the chairmanship of the Energy committee, namely huge conflicts of interest. IIRC, the senate ethics committee gave him a pass on this, but we all know that’s bullshit. His obstruction of the presidential agenda suggests the need to review the matter. If they come up with something closer to reality — and soon, because this is way overdue — it might be brought to his attention that his voting priorities only corroborate this. Then and only then could it be explained to him that the Biden agenda is crucial to the party, that a no vote would only serve to confirm the findings of the ethics committee, and that he would have to be censored and expelled from the chairmanship, it’s just too detrimental to the president and the party. But this takes political muscle.
Yeah, Kennedy certainly screwed the pooch on his ambitions. He got the bright idea he could pull a Barack Obama. His only problem was he tried to unseat a very popular senator that would have set him up to be a good candidate. It was a very stupid move from a Kennedy. That being said someone from higher up needs to tell these clowns to forget it. They try to run they will take it in the ass like never before.
Sinema and Manchin for President? God, what a nightmare! Let them change parties so they can take their Republican madness with them. It’s a disease that we use to call government and it’s too bad antibiotics can’t fix it.