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| Associated Press |
Within hours of the Georgia Senate election, all eyes were on Sen. Joe Manchin.
The West Virginian who calls himself a “moderate conservative Democrat” is poised to become the crucial swing vote in the evenly split Senate, and the last line of defense against a progressive leftist agenda, thanks to the apparent double-Democratic victory in the Georgia Senate runoff.
Mr. Manchin, no doubt mindful of his newly minted status, issued a statement Wednesday calling for Democratic and Republican lawmakers to work together in a “new era of bipartisanship.”
“Now, more than ever, we must enter a new era of bipartisanship in Washington,” he said. “With tight margins in the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans are faced with a decision to either work together to put the priorities of our nation before partisan politics or double down on the dysfunctional tribalism.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| Toni Sandys/Pool via Reuters |
If Jon Ossoff has indeed defeated Republican senator David Perdue in Georgia, which seems likely as of this writing, the incoming Senate will be split exactly in half between Republicans and Democrats, with Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote.
This state of affairs will make moderate senators in both parties — West Virginia senator Joe Manchin on the left and Senators Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) on the right — more powerful than they’ve ever been.
As an increasing number of politicians in his party advocate radical changes such as abolishing the legislative filibuster, expanding Supreme Court, and adding new states to the union, Manchin will serve as a crucial, balancing swing vote in the Senate. The incoming House of Representatives is more closely divided than was expected, which might moderate the legislation coming out of the lower chamber, but with two Democratic wins in Georgia, Democratic control of the Senate puts a whole new range of issues within reach for the left this Congress.
One area where Manchin has long thwarted his party’s reigning ideology is on abortion. Manchin calls himself pro-life, which tracks well with his state’s brand of Democratic voters; it’s hard to imagine he’d remain popular among West Virginia’s socially conservative Democrats if he ran to the left along with his colleagues. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to related stories:
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