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Giving Two Weeks Notice to Joe Manchin

by: Clem Guttata

Sun Oct 17, 2010 at 09:39:01 AM EDT


By Clem Guttata

I write this with a heavy heart.

I would rather extol the many virtues of the Democratic party and advocate for straight party voting. Instead, in good conscience I must share how Joe Manchin has lost my support.

Joe Manchin, Democrat

Joe Manchin more often supports policies more in line with national Republicans than fellow Democrats. Still, in the past I've pointed to Joe's strong support of Obama's WV Campaign for Change and his leadership of the Democratic Governor's Association as evidence that Joe values his party membership.

I'm not so sure any more.
Clem Guttata :: Giving Two Weeks Notice to Joe Manchin
Dead Aim at Who?

I am deeply troubled by Manchin's campaign ad "Dead Aim."

Two things stand out as really wrong with this ad:

(1) An embrace of eliminationist symbolism.

This ad is violent, hateful, and should never have been made.

Joe is not out hunting for game, he's not shown getting target practice at a shooting range, he's firing a high powered rifle to make a political point. His chosen target is legislation strongly associated with Nancy Pelosi. While he's aiming the gun he says the President of the United States' name.

The strong subtext of this ad is violence--and physical elimination of opponents, if necessary--is somehow acceptable. It is not.

Physical violence has no place in politics. I would call out any WV Republican who made an ad like this and I think it's despicable that someone calling themselves a Democrat has done it.

Joe Manchin should be ashamed of himself.

(2) Trashing the Democratic brand and undermining fellow Democrats.

Even beyond the violent nature of this ad, the target of the ad is the Democratic brand. Joe is dissing policies supported by large number of Democrats in this state.

These are also policies voted for by a majority of Democrats in Congress. I've heard this ad is showing up in at least one district with an overlapping media market where a Congressperson up for re-election voted for the climate change bill (perhaps Boucher in Va.?).

Joe is pissing in his own soup. He's undermining his own ability to be an effective Senator for WV if he does get elected.

Burning down a city to become its mayor shows great disrespect for any who helped build it. It's not so great for the city's citizens, either.

Building coalitions

After seeing this ad, I don't think Joe wants my vote.

I don't think he wants the votes of West Virginia citizens who think seeking common ground, not violence, is the way to resolving disagreements.

I don't think he wants the votes of West Virginia citizens who support universal healthcare as the right thing to for our friends, families and neighbors.

I don't think he wants the votes of West Virginia citizens who want to take action to clean up the atmosphere before it is too late for our children.

If Joe wants my vote, he needs to give me a reason to vote for him and not just against that crazy guy running as a Republican.

Two Week Notice

There's just over two weeks left until election day. If I had to cast a vote today, I would write-in Robert C. Byrd.

Joe Manchin has lost my support. Unless I see some major shifts in how he campaigns, Joe Manchin is also going to lose my vote.

Update: The winning strategy that Jeremiah posted in his diary would be a good start.
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Giving Two Weeks Notice to Joe Manchin | 28 comments
For all of our sakes (4.00 / 2)
Let's hope Manchin heeds the call...
Not the first time (0.00 / 0)
Clem writes
"The strong subtext of this ad is violence--and physical elimination of opponents, if necessary--is somehow acceptable".
 

In a Newsweek article from Feb. 27, 2009, "Hillbilly No More" Manchin is quoted and the byline identifies the author as Tony Dokoupil. the full article can be found here: http://www.newsweek.com/2009/0...

There's also a certain lack of cohesion between officials and locals when it comes to promoting the state's big makeover. While the governor is pushing a forward-thinking "New West Virginia" campaign, tourist-conscious businesses in some parts of the state are proudly serving up less refined fare. The annual Road Kill Cook-Off in Pocahontas, for instance, features dishes you're unlikely to see at your local restaurant, including intestine-challenging "flat cat," "bumper bruised bear" and "deer schmear fajitas." The mere mention of it puts a hard edge in the governor's voice. "Are they still running that s--- down south?" he asks an aide in disbelief, before adding: "Well, I tell you what, if you see [the organizer], kill the son of a bitch."

Nice words coming from a governor allegedly trying to improve the State's image, and to a national magazine no less.

The article ends with a correction.

Correction (published Feb. 27): Gov. Manchin is a Democrat, not a Republican, as previously reported.

Well said (0.00 / 0)
I've tried to warn the campaign that Manchin needed to give people a reason not to just vote against Raese but for Manchin. I hope people are listening.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
Who's doing Manchin's campaign? (0.00 / 0)

manchin campaign (0.00 / 0)
good question
still holding my nose and voting for Manchin (4.00 / 3)
because the fallout from a Raese victory, and the resulting lazy media narrative claiming the state went to the right, would do more damage to progressive causes and the Democratic brand in the long run than anything the governor could dream of.

Democrats won't court liberals for future races, thinking they're key for elections. They'll just buy the idea that Raese's "rubber stamp" pitch worked and go further to the right.

The last thing anyone liberal wants is for the W.Va. GOP, with its current leadership and Massey piggybank, to get any traction and gain more investment in W.Va. from the rightwing at the national level.

One can pure in art, activism and writing, but with voting, the fact is, we don't have runoff elections or proportional representation. We'll get one of two outcomes. And the reality is, sometimes you don't vote for someone to make things better, but against the person who will make things worse.

Not every election is a step forward, and sometimes you're just minimizing damage. It may not be the most passionate way to approach it, but it is the way things work.

So I'm voting in the only way one can against Raese and the GOP spending groups - by reluctantly supporting Manchin this time, and hoping progressives start organizing for a 2012 Democratic primary challenge the day after the election.

Mountain Party (0.00 / 0)
If you're not going to vote for Joe Manchin - PLEASE vote for the Mountain Party's Jesse Johnson
DannyWV (0.00 / 0)
This is a blog for Democrats. I wouldn't let Republicans come over here and tout their candidates, so kindly keep your support for the 9/11 conspiracy theorist Jesse Johnson to the Mountain Party blog.


When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
Hey Danny (4.00 / 1)
Did you ever consider that Democrats might vote for the Mountain Party because it best represents their values and interests?

Or is your thought process as confined as your voting pattern?

[ Parent ]
Brad (0.00 / 0)
Sure, I considered it. Then I thought of how I do not like the idea of hrowing my vote away on a candidate who does little to build the Mountain Party up between election cycles, only polls in the low single digits when he runs and does nothing but siphon off progressives from the Democratic Party. And that was even before I found out he is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.  

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
Mountain Party (0.00 / 0)
 Carnaki is right about the viability of the Mountain Party and her perpetual candidate Jesse Johnson.  I may not vote for Manchin, but I definitely will not vote for Jesse Johnson.  Doing so would only further the noble but unrealistic goals of the Mountain Party activists.

I admire the passion and resolve that Mountain Party activists have on a number of issues.  I share that passion and wish you all would reassess your approach.  Your support combined with that of moderate/progressive Dems, if coordinated, would result in a coup d'etat in the WV Democratic Party.  While your numbers are too small for electoral victory in a winner take all system, your zeal would be perfect for taking over Democratic County Chairs, sending delegates to the state Democratic Party convention, taking control of the Party platform, and ultimately taking over the state Party leadership.

I really think we need to figure out a way to bring the Mountain Party folks into the fold- perhaps we could develop a Mountain Democrats Caucus to fight for our shared goals.  I honestly believe that this is the best approach to fight for our shared goals, not throwing your support behind a perpetual failed candidacy and allowing ourselves to be divided and conquered by the status quo.

[ Parent ]
Jeremiah (0.00 / 0)
Well said.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
Coup d'etat (0.00 / 0)
Several groups in the 1st Congressional District have been hard at work on these stated goals for over 6 years. There is a 3/4 progressive majority on the Harrison Co. Dem. Executive Committee and also 2 officers in Taylor county. There are other groups with members in the Northern Panhandle and over to Wood Co.(an unlikely place.) Expect to hear more about this soon.

There is also the matter of asking the Mt. Party members why they reject the Democratic Party or maybe it is the other way around. Continually ridiculing their Party and candidate with terms I've heard tossed around like "Jesse Party", "perpetual loser", "unrealistic goals", is not the answer. You can't treat them like they are Republicans and then expect them to join forces. These people have the same goals we have: good government, good economic growth and a sustainable environment to mention just a few. They are not enemies, they are allies. Just some food for thought.

About the divide and conquer thing - what we have seen from the state party is a fear mongering tactic that was successfully used by Republicans on the entire country during the Bush administration. Scare the hell out of them and they'll fall in line. The problem with that strategy is that some of us refuse to be run off the cliff with the rest of the sheeple.

[ Parent ]
wv voice of reason (0.00 / 0)
Terms like "Jesse Party" did not get thrown around until Mountain Party people began to act like asses on West Virginia Blue. Quite frankly I had no problem with them posting here and left them alone for numerous diaries since NONE of them had bothered to create a Mountain Party blog. Y On the one hand they want to be treated as a viable progressive entity. On the other hand they had to come here to find an audience since the Mountain Party only gets involved around election time and hadn't done anything to build a viable online presence to do outreach or coalition building. Only after several of the Mountain Party supporters began to act disruptive and rude in post after post and comment after comment were they shown the door. If you were interested in reaching out to them why didn't you point out to them that their behavior wasn't conducive to coalition building? While some of them might share the same goals, they do not behave as allies. If the site is important enough to show up to post at election time, why haven't they been here pushing progressive policies before? They didn't behave as allies. They behaved as parasitic opportunists.

And while you complain about them being dismissed as the "Jesse Party" you have no trouble being rude and dismissive when you call Democrats "sheeple" for supporting the party's nominee. It's not fear mongering to point out the obvious that Raese as a senator, especially if Republicans take over the majority, would be a disaster for the state and the country. I was for Ken Hechler before he even announced. Heck, I posted the rumor about him running hoping he'd run. That was the time to support a progressive candidate and I felt like a lonely voice here.

The election comes down to this: the Democrat Joe Manchin, the batshit crazy John Raese or the environmental friendly but 9/11 conspiracy theorist Jesse Johnson, who so far has never drawn above 5 percent at best in a poll.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.

[ Parent ]
Coalition building (0.00 / 0)
For example, have any organizations of note -- environmental, progressive, labor, women's or gay rights -- backed Jesse?

I know Mountain Party people and some Democrats have criticized us as "sheeple" for not joining with the Mountain Party, but no one else has either.


When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.

[ Parent ]
organizations of note (0.00 / 0)
The Sierra Club is a credible organization, they have endorsed Johnson in this race and also in the 2008 governor's race. He was also endorsed by Ken Hechler.

 

[ Parent ]
wv voice of reason (0.00 / 0)
No Sierra Club endorsement for this race is listed either on Jesse's web site or his wikipedia page though that site does list his 2008 endorsement.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
In lieu of full endorsement (4.00 / 1)
This is on the West Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club's web site:

Endorsements will appear in our Chapter Newsletter and on our Chapter website. Click HERE  for the 2010 Election Endorsements.  In leui of full endorsement, the West Virginia Sierra Club supports the campaigns of Virginia Graf and Jesse Johnson.


When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
Really? Write In Candidate rather than an Actual Vote? (4.00 / 1)
I haven't made up my mind and I'm an active Democrat - but, I'm just saying that if you're not going to vote for Manchin because of his campaign, it doesn't make any sense to me to write in a candidate & makes a lot more sense to me that folks who aren't voting for Manchin because he's not reflecting our values should vote for Jesse Johnson who's solidly progressive.  Whether or not we like how the Mountain Party has run itself as an organization or that Jesse Johnson is perpetually running - it seems spiteful to me to avoid voting for the Mountain Party because of these minor things.

I do agree that we should focus on the Democratic Party rather than a Third Party and I live that out - but I don't think it does any good to withhold our vote if people decide not to vote for Manchin.  That just seems petty.  I didn't say don't vote Manchin - I said "if people aren't going to vote for Manchin" -- I mean, I just think it still makes sense to vote.

[ Parent ]
lots of way to make a statement (0.00 / 0)
As I wrote in my post, if I had to cast a ballot right now I would write in Robert C. Byrd. A write-in vote is just as effective at registering a protest vote as a 3rd or 4th party candidate vote.

I will not vote for Jesse Johnson for US Senate. If I lived in the 1st district I would have voted for him for State Senate until I heard he was a 9/11 truther. That was one piece of craziness too much from him for me. That's not my district anyway, so it's a moot point now.

I believe that the most effective way to politically promote progressive values is by electing better Democrats. Conservative Dems like the Mountain Party because it draws liberals away from the party. I think keeping a wholly ineffective 3rd party on life support just draws away energy that would be better used to help "crash the gates" of the WV Dem. party.

[ Parent ]
Debate (4.00 / 2)
I wonder if the candidates come on stage tonight with a revolver harnessed to their blue jean's belt?  

I am going to stay optimistic- I think Manchin will win back the base tonight (at least to the point where many of us can take the clothespin approach).  If this turns into a contest of who can bash moderate, progressive policies then I will early vote for Charlotte Pritt by the end of the week.

The Onion reacts (4.00 / 1)
The Onion riffs off of Manchin's ad: Democratic Candidate Shoots Bill In New Ad
Hoppy mentioned this post on his show Monday (4.00 / 2)
Clem,

Thought you'd want to know that Hoppy Kerchival mentioned this post and read part of it on the air Monday.  He was even-handed and wondered if it showed that Manchin had tilted too far to the right so that progressives might not support him.

Hearing Manchin defend parts of health care reform and programs like social security, medicare and the minimum wage at the debate last night, was a good start to securing my vote that was wavering after the rifle ad.

Perhaps the Governor was reading this or at least listening to Hoppy.

Thanks for posting it!

In a good conversation everyone speaks.  In a great conversation some even listen.

Wabi (0.00 / 0)
Thanks for pointing that out.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
thanks (4.00 / 1)
Thanks for letting me know.

It gave me no joy to write it, but having done so I'm really glad to hear of that reaction.

[ Parent ]
Daily Mail, NPR and Hoppy (4.00 / 1)
I do find it interesting that the local media suddenly loves to cite WVaBlue when Democratic candidates are the ones being criticized.

[ Parent ]
Spike (0.00 / 0)
When are they going to cite West Virginia Blue about the Spike/Cross scandal?

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.
[ Parent ]
Don't hold your breath (4.00 / 1)
I'm still waiting on AP and state media to give wvablue credit for the gay sniper story.
[ Parent ]
Giving Two Weeks Notice to Joe Manchin | 28 comments
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