President Joe Biden faces opposition not only from Republicans but Right-wing Democrats as well.
One of these is West Virginia United States Senator Joe Manchin.
On June 7, 2021, The PBS Newshour examined perhaps the foremost issue of our democracy: The For the People Act.
Since November 3, 2020, when former President Donald Trump lost the Presidential election, he has spread The Big Lie: That the election was “stolen” from him.
On the basis of that lie, Republicans in 47 states have introduced 361 bills to make it harder to vote.
As of June 21, 2021, 17 states enacted 28 new laws that restrict access to the vote.
Among those states affected: Georgia, Iowa, Arkansas and Utah.
Georgia:
- Bans giving food and water to voters in line;
- Severely restricts mail ballot drop boxes;
- Allows Right-wing groups to challenge the eligibility of an unlimited number of voters; and
- Gives the GOP-controlled legislature sweeping powers over election administration.
Arizona:
- Wants to add new requirements for casting a mail-in ballot and make it harder to receive one.
Florida:
- Intends to ban mail ballot drop boxes.
Michigan:
- Republicans introduced eight bills adding new voter ID requirements for mail voting and forbidding election officials to send out absentee ballot request forms to voters.
Congressional Democrats have countered with the For the People Act. Among its provisions:
- Expand early voting and registration across the country in federal elections;
- Block states from purging their rolls of voters;
- End partisan gerrymandering;
- Force large donors to disclose themselves publicly.
“It is something that is obviously very critical right now,” said PBS Newshour Correspondent Lisa Desjardins. “We see rising in this country both sides talking about democracy and voting rights and what’s happening at this moment.
“[West Virginia United States Senator] Joe Manchin…would be the 50th vote that Democrats would have for this in the Senate. They have 49.
Joe Manchin
“And here’s what he said [on] why he opposed it: ‘I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy. And for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act.’
“Notable, he did not have any substantive problems with the bill that he raised. Instead, he said, the issue is there are no Republicans on board.”
Manchin thus ignores the reality that Republicans will never be on board.
“This Manchin decision is a body blow to this legislation. It is not dead yet, but it is in real trouble. It’s unclear if, when [New York Senator] Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader [in the Senate] will bring it back up,” said Desjardins.
Many Democrats and political correspondents have speculated about Manchin’s motives for opposing this legislation.
Some believe he’s a Right-winger in Democrats’ clothing. Others think he wants to increase his clout on behalf of his state, West Virginia.
Manchin’s motives, however, are not important. Eliminating his opposition is.
And the man who has the power to do this is President Joe Biden.
All that he needs to do is invite Manchin into the Oval Office for an off-the-record talk, which could open like this:
“Your state has two Coast Guard military bases. By this time next week, it will have only one—because I’m going to close down the other. You can also forget about those highway-repair projects you’re expecting to start. And I’ve been informed we have far too many post offices in West Virginia, considering its small population….”
Suddenly, Manchin would get the clear message: “Biden is the big dog on this block, not me.”
He would also grasp that his constituents would blame him, not Biden, for the resulting chaos and hardships they face from the upcoming closures.
This is precisely how President Lyndon B. Johnson dealt with Congressional members who dared oppose his prized legislation. And it worked.
Joe Biden has spent 44 years in Washington, D.C.—as a United States Senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009; and then as Vice President from 2009 to 2017.
But he seems to have never read Niccolo Machiavelli’s famous warning in The Prince:
Niccolo Machiavelli
For how we live is so far removed from how we ought to live, that he who abandons what is done for what ought to be done, will rather learn to bring about his own ruin rather than his preservation. A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must inevitably come to grief among so many who are not good.
And therefore it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.
Whatever his motives, Manchin is clearly willing to allow Republicans to suppress the voting rights of millions of non-Fascist Americans.
President Joe Biden now faces a moment of crisis: He can fight his enemies with the same ruthless tactics they routinely use–or face disaster.
Republicans are working to corrupt the democratic process to reinstall a proven criminal and traitor in the Oval Office.
This is no time to “fight” a party of Adolf Hitlers with the appeasement tactics of a Neville Chamberlain.
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NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI TO JOE BIDEN: “NICE GUYS FINISH LAST”: PART TWO (END)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on January 18, 2022 at 12:08 amPresident Joe Biden faces opposition not only from Republicans but Right-wing Democrats as well.
One of these is West Virginia United States Senator Joe Manchin.
On June 7, 2021, The PBS Newshour examined perhaps the foremost issue of our democracy: The For the People Act.
Since November 3, 2020, when former President Donald Trump lost the Presidential election, he has spread The Big Lie: That the election was “stolen” from him.
On the basis of that lie, Republicans in 47 states have introduced 361 bills to make it harder to vote.
As of June 21, 2021, 17 states enacted 28 new laws that restrict access to the vote.
Among those states affected: Georgia, Iowa, Arkansas and Utah.
Georgia:
Arizona:
Florida:
Michigan:
Congressional Democrats have countered with the For the People Act. Among its provisions:
“It is something that is obviously very critical right now,” said PBS Newshour Correspondent Lisa Desjardins. “We see rising in this country both sides talking about democracy and voting rights and what’s happening at this moment.
“[West Virginia United States Senator] Joe Manchin…would be the 50th vote that Democrats would have for this in the Senate. They have 49.
Joe Manchin
“And here’s what he said [on] why he opposed it: ‘I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy. And for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act.’
“Notable, he did not have any substantive problems with the bill that he raised. Instead, he said, the issue is there are no Republicans on board.”
Manchin thus ignores the reality that Republicans will never be on board.
“This Manchin decision is a body blow to this legislation. It is not dead yet, but it is in real trouble. It’s unclear if, when [New York Senator] Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader [in the Senate] will bring it back up,” said Desjardins.
Many Democrats and political correspondents have speculated about Manchin’s motives for opposing this legislation.
Some believe he’s a Right-winger in Democrats’ clothing. Others think he wants to increase his clout on behalf of his state, West Virginia.
Manchin’s motives, however, are not important. Eliminating his opposition is.
And the man who has the power to do this is President Joe Biden.
All that he needs to do is invite Manchin into the Oval Office for an off-the-record talk, which could open like this:
“Your state has two Coast Guard military bases. By this time next week, it will have only one—because I’m going to close down the other. You can also forget about those highway-repair projects you’re expecting to start. And I’ve been informed we have far too many post offices in West Virginia, considering its small population….”
Suddenly, Manchin would get the clear message: “Biden is the big dog on this block, not me.”
He would also grasp that his constituents would blame him, not Biden, for the resulting chaos and hardships they face from the upcoming closures.
This is precisely how President Lyndon B. Johnson dealt with Congressional members who dared oppose his prized legislation. And it worked.
Joe Biden has spent 44 years in Washington, D.C.—as a United States Senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009; and then as Vice President from 2009 to 2017.
But he seems to have never read Niccolo Machiavelli’s famous warning in The Prince:
Niccolo Machiavelli
For how we live is so far removed from how we ought to live, that he who abandons what is done for what ought to be done, will rather learn to bring about his own ruin rather than his preservation. A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must inevitably come to grief among so many who are not good.
And therefore it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.
Whatever his motives, Manchin is clearly willing to allow Republicans to suppress the voting rights of millions of non-Fascist Americans.
President Joe Biden now faces a moment of crisis: He can fight his enemies with the same ruthless tactics they routinely use–or face disaster.
Republicans are working to corrupt the democratic process to reinstall a proven criminal and traitor in the Oval Office.
This is no time to “fight” a party of Adolf Hitlers with the appeasement tactics of a Neville Chamberlain.
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