Coburn endorses Manchin (and donates $250 to his campaign)

[Mr. Morden]

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/239323-coburn-donates-to-manchin-says-fellow-senator-not-beholden-to-special-interests

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[Incipimus iterum]

interesting

[xavier110]

and so begins a public but quiet GOP campaign to get Manchin to caucus with the GOP if they need him in their flanks for the majority after Nov. 6

[tmthforu94]

Here's a prediction:
If Obama wins reelection and Democrats keep the Senate, if the GOP took the Senate in 2014, which is probable, Manchin switches over if Obama's approvals are under 50%.

He may switch if we take the Senate in 2013, though I think its highly doubtful hed do that right after winning reelection.

[greenforest32]

I wonder if the West Virginia legislature would flip to Republicans in the next election if Manchin switched parties?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

and so begins a public but quiet GOP campaign to get Manchin to caucus with the GOP if they need him in their flanks for the majority after Nov. 6

The DSCC needs to pull out of this race between two far right-wing Republicans.

[mondale84]

If I were Patty Murray, I would spend money on ads attacking Manchin just for sheer spite of that "man".

[CatoMinor]

If I were Patty Murray, I would spend money on ads attacking Manchin just for sheer spite of that "man".

You see him as less of a man because he is actually representing the views of most his constituents?

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

and so begins a public but quiet GOP campaign to get Manchin to caucus with the GOP if they need him in their flanks for the majority after Nov. 6

The DSCC needs to pull out of this race between two far right-wing Republicans.

Manchin may act like a Republican but hardly like a far-right one, by contemporary standards.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

and so begins a public but quiet GOP campaign to get Manchin to caucus with the GOP if they need him in their flanks for the majority after Nov. 6

The DSCC needs to pull out of this race between two far right-wing Republicans.

Manchin may act like a Republican but hardly like a far-right one, by contemporary standards.

Well, whatever, Manchin doesn't deserve any help from them. I wouldn't mind if they helped Sanders in Vermont or King in Maine, but they probably will do fine on their own.

[DrScholl]

I don't think the DSCC will be putting in much money in West Virginia, it's not really necessary against an also ran. Anyway, I'm tired of extremists on both sides ranting about members that don't exactly vote the party line, it's part of the reason why politics is such a mess.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I don't think the DSCC will be putting in much money in West Virginia, it's not really necessary against an also ran. Anyway, I'm tired of extremists on both sides ranting about members that don't exactly vote the party line, it's part of the reason why politics is such a mess.

The Democrats already have plenty of Senators who don't exactly vote the party line. Pryor, Landreiu, Carper, Baucus, and so on. But Manchin is way past that.

[Negusa Nagast 🚀]

I don't think the DSCC will be putting in much money in West Virginia, it's not really necessary against an also ran. Anyway, I'm tired of extremists on both sides ranting about members that don't exactly vote the party line, it's part of the reason why politics is such a mess.

I agree; it's part of the reason the Republicans have shifted to far right over the past 6 years. We defeated a lot of their moderates in 2006/2008 only to have those seats refilled with more far-right types and moderate incumbents expunged via primary in 2010. Extremists and party purists need to realize that a Democrat that votes with us 45% of the time in a deeply Republican state is far better than a Republican who would vote with us 5% of the time, and the same holds true for Republicans in reverse.

However, Manchin is a disappointment compared to former Senator Byrd. Byrd came up to the party line much more frequently than Manchin has and was not afraid to stand with the President or other Democratic colleagues. It's possible that Byrd was only able to do so because he was such a monolith in West Virginia politics and that Manchin reflects the new reality of WV Dems on the Senate level, but he also enjoys widespread popularity across the state.

[mondale84]

I don't think the DSCC will be putting in much money in West Virginia, it's not really necessary against an also ran. Anyway, I'm tired of extremists on both sides ranting about members that don't exactly vote the party line, it's part of the reason why politics is such a mess.

The Democrats already have plenty of Senators who don't exactly vote the party line. Pryor, Landreiu, Carper, Baucus, and so on. But Manchin is way past that.

Manchin is the new Evan Bayh on steroids: continually criticizing fellow Democrats and contributing NOTHING to the caucus. He should just run as a Republican and be done with it. He isn't a moderate, he's an a**hole.

[Incipimus iterum]

well Manchin also opposes the Ryan plan i don't think he will change parties based on the evidence here
http://manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2012/3/manchin-statement-on-ryan-budget
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/09/joe-manchins-spokesman-democrat-is-not-switching-parties/

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

If Lieberman didn't switch after endorsing McCain and giving the keynote at the 2008 RNC, I don't see Manchin jumping ship either.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If Lieberman didn't switch after endorsing McCain and giving the keynote at the 2008 RNC, I don't see Manchin jumping ship either.

Well at least Connecticut Democrats were smart enough to dump Lieberman. West Virginia Democrats  primaried a long term member of Congress with Mike Oliverio, who might even be worse than Manchin, so I wouldn't expect too much from them.

Can you imagine the Republican party doing the equivalent? Like having Maine Republicans primary Olympia Snowe and replace her with Jacob Javitts? Hahaha, of course not.

[Meeker]

Guys, Manchin is a conservative Democrat but he's not switching parties. He chaired the DGA for goodness sakes.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

What's funny about this is that Coburn's not even going to have to face consequences from the OK GOP next election, because he promised to retire after 2016.

I think there lingers a strong possibility of Manchin switching parties, or becoming an Independent caucusing with the GOP.  Sadly, I don't think doing either would hurt his career in the long run.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Guys, Manchin is a conservative Democrat but he's not switching parties. He chaired the DGA for goodness sakes.

And Lieberman was our VP candidate in 2000.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

West Virginia Democrats  primaried a long term member of Congress with Mike Oliverio, who might even be worse than Manchin, so I wouldn't expect too much from them.

A sack of potatoes could have primared Mollohan in 2010...

[Meeker]

Guys, Manchin is a conservative Democrat but he's not switching parties. He chaired the DGA for goodness sakes.

And Lieberman was our VP candidate in 2000.

And he never became a Republican.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

And he never became a Republican.

Fair enough

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Guys, Manchin is a conservative Democrat but he's not switching parties. He chaired the DGA for goodness sakes.

And Zell Miller gave the keynote at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. People change, and so do state demographics. Manchin damn well knows that path to victory no longer includes associating with his fellow Democrats on any level.

[Meeker]

Guys, Manchin is a conservative Democrat but he's not switching parties. He chaired the DGA for goodness sakes.

And Zell Miller gave the keynote at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. People change, and so do state demographics. Manchin damn well knows that path to victory no longer includes associating with his fellow Democrats on any level.

On any level? So then why isn't he running as a Republican right now?

For every conservative Democrat in Congress that has switched parties in the past 20 years there are at least three or four that have not. Switching parties is a very rare phenomena even for members out of the mainstream of their parties. Manchin's entire social circle of friends in WV is built around the Democratic Party; it's very unlikely he's going to publicly abandon them like that.

Also, Zell Miller still self-identifies as a Democrat.