Watchdog group Open Secrets reports that Joe Manchin received a $1,500 donation from a PAC supported by the Murdochs. Interesting. Almost as interesting as the fact that Manchin opposes the For the People Act, even though it polls very high among his constituents. Salon:
A corporate political action committee for the parent company of Fox News, funded partially by the Murdoch family, donated to the 2024 re-election campaign of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, campaign filings show.
A staunch moderate, Manchin’s vote is pivotal in the evenly-divided chamber — and the West Virginia senator has for much of the year used his position to stymie legislation on a number of liberal priorities, instead committing himself to a bipartisan approach criticized roundly within Democratic circles in Washington. In particular, progressives have been hammering Manchin over his support for the filibuster, a major procedural hurdle standing in the way of the legislative agenda favored by President Joe Biden and the vast majority of a currently Democratic-controlled Congress.
The $1,500 donation on June 27 appears to be the first to Manchin from the Fox Corp. PAC, which according to the watchdog organization Open Secrets is funded largely by right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, as well as other executives at the Fox Corporation. Manchin raised more than $1.4 million during the second quarter of this year, the filings show.
Who knows if Manchin is taking dark money? Certainly this isn’t the first moment that has been thought of.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., even went so far as to suggest during an appearance on MSNBC last month that Manchin’s opposition to the For the People Act, which polls extremely highly among his constituents, may really concern measures aimed at cracking down on lobbyists and dark money.
“This is probably just as much a part of Joe Manchin’s calculus than anything else,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “You look at the Koch brothers and you look at organizations like the Heritage Foundation and conservative lobby groups that are doing a victory lap … over the fact that Manchin refuses to change on the filibuster. And I think that these two things are very closely intertwined.”
Donald Trump reportedly once told Manchin that he should become a Republican. Maybe he should. Maybe he already has.
I have thought for a long time that Manchin is a skunk, and going to do us dirty. I’ve suspected for a long time, too that he was on the take from Republican powerbrokers.
Manchin and Senima are both DINOs Democrats In Name Only. Otherwise known as secret (well, not secret anymore!) republiQanons!
Manchin HAS to know, with all the hand-wringing discomfort of the Dems out there, that his pivotal position is a National concern, on the other hand he seems to be tone deaf on the take down of the filibuster … a total waste of Congressional time, which could be making solutions for the country, including health and job security, normal peaceful days ahead after Trump’s fiasco …
We are running down the clock against global warming with so many things in need of huge changes … sure it will cost a lot of money, but what does it matter if your family can live and prosper, instead of suffer and die?
Manchin is clearly enjoying the power he has now. Bipartisanship is a joke, a non-existent pipe dream that he is using to appease his repug base while pretending to care about the future of this country. He’s trump light.
Why does everyone assume that “Democrats” like Manchin want to control congress?
They get paid the same if in the minority and can let the Republicans do their dirty work.
In fact, Manchin will say he is with whichever party keeps him in the Senate.
Being in the minority means he can stop defending the filibuster and let the policies favored by his masters, err donors, be passed into law and just say, “oh well, there’s nothing we could do”.
What do you bet, when Republicans retake the Senate next year, the word “filibuster” won’t be uttered.
Try harder.
If the GOP retakes the Senate, it may very well be Dems will have second thoughts about the filibuster. Otherwise, there isn’t much substance to your comment.
Whenever I see the “look who donated” stories, I am always wary. I seriously doubt the politician combs through every donation with his staff and says, “accept this one” or “reject that one.” Also very often the questionable donation is too small to be of much influence anyway.
Eat the Rich and their children. Start with the Senate.
Schumer needs to play hardball now. Or Schumer needs to STFU and GTFO.