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Post by mhbruin on Jun 10, 2021 17:36:42 GMT -8
Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat famous for his vow to maintain the Senate filibuster and thereby scuttle much of President Biden's agenda, recently published an op-ed opposing the For the People Act, Democrats' whopping voting-rights bill. That article strongly echoed talking points from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — and appeared shortly after the influential pro-business lobby resumed donations to Manchin's campaign after nearly a decade.
Manchin, who co-sponsored the sweeping voting rights legislation in 2019 and has supported filibuster reform in the past, became the first Senate Democrat to oppose the bill this week while reiterating his opposition to changing the filibuster, a key roadblock to voting reform. Skeptical members of Manchin's party have questioned the reasons for his opposition, especially after after a recent poll found that a majority of West Virginia voters support changing the filibuster rules and that 79% of the state's voters — including a large majority of Republicans — support the For the People Act.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., suggested that Manchin's opposition to the proposal and filibuster reform may really be about measures in the bill 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," she told MSNBC on Tuesday. "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."
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hasben
Resident Member
Posts: 1,022
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Post by hasben on Jun 10, 2021 20:57:55 GMT -8
Thank you. I think your comments are getting closer to the truth. I think those who keep insisting good old Joe is just representing his conservative constituents and in his heart is committed to bi-partisanship are very naive. And I think giving Joe a pass because he's our only hope of maintaining control of the Senate is also naive. The quickest way to lose the Senate is to let Joe handicap Biden's major initiatives then lose more Senate seats.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 10, 2021 21:21:30 GMT -8
Thank you. I think your comments are getting closer to the truth. I think those who keep insisting good old Joe is just representing his conservative constituents and in his heart is committed to bi-partisanship are very naive. And I think giving Joe a pass because he's our only hope of maintaining control of the Senate is also naive. The quickest way to lose the Senate is to let Joe handicap Biden's major initiatives then lose more Senate seats. Those are not my comments. They are from an article. Here's the sourceThe problem about not giving Manchin a pass, is there is no way to do that. With a 50-50 Senate, the options are VERY limited. The best course I see is to publicized this information I cited in West Virginia. Biden cannot do it. The Democratic leadership cannot do it. An organization like Meidas seems like the best messenger. |
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hasben
Resident Member
Posts: 1,022
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Post by hasben on Jun 11, 2021 7:14:34 GMT -8
Thanks for the link. I think this info in the article makes it very clear what is controlling Manchin and it sure as hell isn't ethics or concern for his voters or the country.
"Americans for Prosperity, a group backed by billionaire Republican donor Charles Koch, has explicitly targeted Manchin in its pressure campaign to defeat the legislation even though their own data shows that provisions cracking down on dark money are highly popular, including among Republican voters. Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the Koch-backed Heritage Foundation, organized a rally earlier this year to pressure Manchin to oppose the bill. Heritage Action has also partnered with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to craft model voting-restriction laws for Republican state legislators. A Heritage Action organizer boasted in a video obtained by Mother Jones that the group was behind key provisions of the controversial law recently passed in Georgia.
"Joe Manchin isn't moved by leaders who have spent decades organizing for civil rights," Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., tweeted after Manchin that said his position on the For the People Act had not changed after meeting with civil rights leaders on Tuesday. "Manchin isn't moved by the views of his constituents. Manchin isn't moved by GOP voter suppression bills in 43 states. Because Manchin is only moved by corporate donors and their agenda."
The op-ed came after the Chamber, which has launched an expensive lobbying effort against the bill, resumed donations to Manchin's campaign for the first time since 2012. Reuters described this flow of corporate dollars as a "reward" for Manchin's opposition to numerous Biden administration's initiatives, as well as his stalwart support for the filibuster, which has almost certainly doomed the For the People Act.
"The timing of Sen. Manchin's announcement is highly suspicious," Kyle Herrig, president of the progressive government watchdog group Accountable.US, said in a statement to Salon. "Not long after the Chamber reopened their corporate checkbook for him, he made his opposition to voting rights known. Now millions of Americans may face significant roadblocks when they try to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Once again the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has found a way to stop any progress on voting rights from progressing on Capitol Hill."
The Chamber is one of the most powerful trade groups in the country, spending more than $80 million on lobbying last year, second only to the National Association of Realtors. It is the single largest lobbying spender this year, dropping over $17 million to influence policy, nearly twice as much as the pharmaceutical trade group PhRMA. The group has been aggressively lobbying against the For the People Act since 2019, spending more than $129 million on opposing the bill and related issues since it was first introduced in the House, according to lobbying disclosures."
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 11, 2021 11:42:17 GMT -8
It is worth remembering that the US Chamber of Commerce isn't really connected to the thousands of local chambers of commerce that work to promote their community. The US Chamber is strictly a big, big business lobbying group with the friendly-sounding name.
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