This isn’t a full-blown post–although one is coming–I just wanted to loop back to something I wrote last month, because I have since received information that supports my assertion, and as a historian, that’s always a good thing.
I wrote this about Joe Manchin:
–He’s not going to become a Republican, not now and not ever. For one thing, he’s consistently opposed the vast majority of GOP policy initiatives. For another, why would he hitch his wagon to a party that is about to be severely damaged by the pent-up fallout of the Trump administration?
Yesterday, for some reason, Jim Justice, the governor of West By God Virginia, did a slew of interviews and this exchange happened:
MR. DUFFY: Thank you for that. You’ve answered about the next three of my questions there. Since you have been both a Democrat and a Republican–briefly a Democrat–I have to ask you this. There’s a lot of talk that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin might be either thinking about or in some way be considering a possible change in party. On the other hand, now that he’s a Democrat, he retains a very influential role in a 50-50 Senate. If he came to you and asked you for your advice about what he should do, what would you tell him?
GOV. JUSTICE: Well, I’ll tell you this. There’s not a God’s chance on the planet that Joe Manchin is going to switch to being a Republican. You can forget that. And the next thing is, is really, you know, I would–I would say that Joe plays an incredibly influential role, and I welcome that from the standpoint of West Virginia. Wish him the very, very best in every way. I think Joe will use good judgement–at least I hope and pray that he will, and everything. But at the end of the day, you know, it is absolutely just frivolous talk to think that Joe Manchin is going to switch parties.
That’s it for now.
Why would Manchin switch? He already has everything he wants (as a Senator).
Reminds me of the plight of Judge John Wilson, delegate from Pennsylvania at the Second Continental Congress, the one where they voted on the Declaration of Independence. All other states (colonies) had voted for independence and were waiting on Pennsylvania to make it’s decision as the vote had to be unanimous. Benjamin Franklin was for independence, John Dickinson was against. It came down to Wilson. Vote against it he goes down in history as the man who prevented American independence. For for it and he’s just another one of many. That’s Manchin’s position. Stay a Democrat and he has power and clout. Become a Republican and he’s just another face in the crowd. Whereas Wilson faded so much into the historical mist I had to look up his exact name for this reply, Manchin will be wielding an awful lot of weight, at least for the next two years.