Liberals have the majority in both Houses and Biden in the White House. So they thought the sky was going to be the limit when it comes to passing progressive legislation. But they never factored in Senator Joe Manchin and his scruples. Manchin doesn’t want further division in our country, so he refuses to pass partisan legislation that furthers the divide. He is also far more consistent with the way he votes. Manchin refuses to vote to kill the filibuster. So of course progressive squad member AOC is up in arms claiming Manchin is on the take and out of touch.
AOC went after the Senator during an appearance “State of the Union” with Dana Bash.
They started the anti-Manchin segment by running a clip where AOC comes down on the Senator for going against H.R.1.
“H.R. 1 stands up against lobbyists and dark money, and I would reckon to think that this is probably just as much a part of Joe Manchin’s calculus as anything else because when it comes to this bipartisan argument, I gotta tell you, I don’t buy it.”
“What exactly did you mean by that, are you saying Jow Manchin’s opposition is because he wants to keep the political donations flowing?” Host Bash asked.
“Well, you know, I think that when we talk opposition to H.R. being just about voting rights we aren’t telling the entire story. H.R. 1 has sweeping lobbying reforms and I believe that we have the influence of big money that impacts not just one party, but both parties in the United States Congress, and I do believe that that old way of politics has absolutely an influence in Joe Manchin’s thinking and the way he navigates the body. I mean The things that he cites like I think this romanticism about bipartisanship, is about an era of Republicans that simply do not exist anymore,” AOC claimed.
“I also believe that the opposition to big money, and dark money, You know you have the Koch brothers and associated organizations from the Koch Brothers really doing victory laps about Joe Manchin’s opposition to the filibuster. I think that it’s pretty open that these groups exert a lot of influence and as much influence as they can on members of Congress and I think that you know, the older-school way of accepting the role of lobbyists in Washington absolutely has a role in Joe Manchin’s thinking,” AOC concluded.
Watch The Clip Below.
Manchin explained why he voted against H.R. 1 in an op-ed.
“The right to vote is fundamental to our American democracy and protecting that right should not be about party or politics. Least of all, protecting this right, which is a value I share, should never be done in a partisan manner.”