Joe Manchin votes with Republicans 54% of the time (from 2018)

[karynnj]

69. Have you forgotten what it was like with Majority leader McConnell?

No hearings for nearly a year for Merritt Garland? Every committee investigating the Democratic administration? I remember a comment when we rather unexpectedly won the majority in 2006, that the difference between that nearly identical majority (51 but with Cheney as VP) and winning the House was that we could stop bad things from happening. However, if we could expand that majority, keep the House and elect a Democratic President, we could begin to do good things.

If the Republicans take back EITHER House, we lose the ability to much in the way of good things. We will be left with just those things that can be done by executive order. If Manchin chose to caucus with the Republicans tomorrow - Biden would lose the important ability to get judges approved. In addition, even under reconciliation, we would need one of the Republicans (possibly Manchin) to defy a party filibuster to pass anything.