Manchin says he's 'not a roadblock' for Biden's priorities

[TiberiusB]

57. A bit hyperbolic, but a much more reasoned response, thank you

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-joe-manchin-is-so-willing-and-able-to-block-his-partys-goals/

I think this is a decent analysis, though I think it ignores the corporate support he gets, which ties into his opposition to the $15 minimum wage. Joe Manchin is not a young man. At almost 74, he is close to the end of his career, so straining to hang on to his seat may be a lost cause, even if you put aside his narrow win in the last election (3%). I believe he is up again in 2024. That's a Presidential election year. That doesn't bode well for any Democrat.

As for the filibuster, I can guarantee that the GOP will eliminate it the second they take power again, should they find themselves unable to meet the 60 vote threshold. Preserving it now will not win any points for the Democrats. It won't stop the gerrymandering or the voter suppression. The GOP has no illusions as to their popularity. They cannot win without tilting the playing field, so they do, brazenly now, and they only care about the electoral college which Biden very narrowly won (look at the vote totals, not the electoral count). So long as only the Democrats play by the rules of a system badly biased in favor of the Right, they risk becoming the permanent minority in government where they represent the majority of the citizens.

But isn't "tyranny of the majority" another term for democracy? Is that how you view elections? We're not talking about forcing conservatives into labor camps. Obama reached out and got burned for four years. Mitch McConnell and the GOP have openly stated that they are prepared to block all of Biden's initiatives. How many recent votes have struggled to pry free even one Republican? How many have succeeded in winning over none? Can you name 10 who would cross over and risk a primary? Which party has censured those of it's members that dared to support the outcome of the election? It's a relief that some now recognize that when only one party is interested in bipartisanship, it's not compromise, it's capitulation. Decades of rightward drift have landed us in a world where attempted insurrection is dismissed as patriotism and all attempts to benefit the working class over the wealthy is labeled socialism. The GOP are pushing forward hundred of bills to suppress the vote. They've already tainted the census and packed the courts. The party is moving ever rightward, with some members actively looking to overturn the last election, and others openly supporting dangerously violent extremist groups like the Proud Boys and QAnon.

Opposing this and fighting to preserve even the tattered semblance of democracy left in this country looks like "tyranny"?