In an effort to promote bipartisan collaboration, Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has incited the ire of many in his own party, including New York Rep. Mondaire Jones.
Manchin, the West Virginia senator, wrote a piece for The Charleston Gazette-Mail in which he said he would not vote in favor of the For the People Act, which would expand voting rights, make changes to campaign funding laws, limit gerrymandering and improve political ethics overall.
“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,” Manchin wrote.
Manchin also said that if only one party decides how voting is conducted in the country, it would destroy the “binds of our democracy.”
Congressman Jones replied to a quote from Manchin’s article on Twitter and said: “Manchin’s op-ed might as well be titled, ‘Why I’ll vote to preserve Jim Crow.'” He went on to unpack Manchin’s stance with a long thread.
“Actually, we’re arguing that we should pass necessary civil rights legislation that is bipartisan *among the people*. Just not with GOP politicians and the billionaires who bankroll them. By dooming our democracy in the name of bipartisanship, Senator Manchin is betraying both,” one of Jones’ tweets read.
Multiple users claimed one explanation for Manchin’s stance is that major companies or influential people are paying him to block the bill. “Someone is paying him. There’s no other explanation,” said one tweeter.
“How’s does what Manchin said even make sense? If you have the majority of voters supporting you, how can you say that it weakens our democracy to act in a partisan way?” said another Twitter user.
After the 2020 presidential election, voter restriction bills have been popping up in state governments across the country, and their implementation has largely been a partisan effort by Republicans.
Former President Donald Trump and his cronies have maintained falsely that there was widespread voter fraud, which they say played a hand in him losing the election in November.
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