Joe Manchin, an independent senator from West Virginia, holds an indispensable position in American politics most importantly because that is how he balances his path across a handful of complexities regarding party affiliation and also legislative priorities. More recently during the election, he labored to get the headlines in an effort to withhold his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris after she came out in support of eliminating the Senate filibuster in order to protect abortion rights. It further depicts not only Manchin’s political ideologies but also his view on the legislative process and the future of American democracy.
Background and political career
Joseph Manchin was born on August 24, 1947, in Farmington, West Virginia. He started his political career in 1982 when he entered the West Virginia House of Delegates and later served as governor of his state from 2005 until 2010. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and has since been reported as a centrist Democrat who often breaks from party lines. During his time in the office, he has made bipartisanship a point of emphasis and commitment to what he calls “common-sense” policies.
Manchin’s general political philosophy is usually characterized as conservative, most especially with regard to such issues as gun control and energy policy. He has emerged as one of the leading proponents of coal and natural gas interests, which are quite influential in West Virginia’s economy. Over time, however, Manchin expressed growing disillusionment with the Democratic Party’s direction, particularly as it has shifted leftward.
The filibuster controversy
It is a Senate procedural rule that automatically requires most legislation first to attain a supermajority of 60 votes before proceeding to a vote. It has been the more contentious mechanism in recent times, especially with Democrats trying to pass progressive legislation regardless of Republican support. Comments by Harris before the elections, to abolish the practice in order to protect abortion rights have incensed moderates like Manchin.
In an interview, Manchin laid into Harris’s position: “The filibuster is the holy grail of democracy.” He sees retention of this rule as important in ensuring debate and compromise continue to take place in the Senate. By trying to axe it for abortion rights legislation, Harris would take the Senate closer to acting like the House of Representatives, where the will of the majority can simply steamroll controversial measures into law.
It was an indication that Manchin was opposing Harris because he felt that the destruction of the filibuster would harm American democracy at its very core. He said, “My country is more important for me than any one person or any one person’s ideology,” in a surefire way of believing he would want to protect the democratic processes he considers basically sacrosanct.
Consequences of Manchin’s decision
The fact that Manchin did not endorse Harris would dramatically upend her efforts to coalesce support among more moderate voters. The earlier hints, of course, seemed to show a certain cohesion of views; however, his heavy resistance to her stance on the filibuster seemed to be a rift so profound that it alienated other centrist voters from her as well.
But Manchin’s posture also frames the developing fault lines within a Democratic Party that is struggling to find its identity. As Democrats push progressive policies, moderates like Manchin feel increasingly pushed to the sidelines. His comments reached across the aisle to other nervous senators who see the flexing of legislative muscle now setting the stage for instability when power is expected to revert back to Republicans.
