On Wednesday, according to CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) talked about his respect for the Senate and his opinion that its current rules can be used to forge a settlement. But it causes dishonesty and resistance when Cuomo warned him the GOP’s stated position is to block the Biden administration from doing anything.
“Robert C. Byrd used to explain to me. he said Joe, the best way for me to explain it is why does every state can you imagine the little state of Rhode Island, the little state of Delaware, having the same representation in the great body of the Senate as California or New York, all these larger, much larger states, in landmass and population,” stated Manchin.
“There’s a reason for that. How these rules have evolved, the intent why they would have done why they’ve done Jim Crow isn’t acceptable. It wasn’t acceptable then, is not acceptable now at all. I think we have to have a process but, also, you have to have a minority. If not, what we have is basically chaos. What goes around comes around here.
I’ve been in the minority here.” Argued Cuomo. “I don’t think you play power politics as well as the other side,” Then he transcribed to Manchin that this week McConnell said just that he is sharpened “100 percent” on stopping the Biden administration, which would leave little room for give-and-take with the minority.
Manchin responded that “I still have confidence” in the Senate, and that “I can assure you there are Republicans working with Democrats,” regardless of McConnell’s words. And then Cuomo started to fact-check him on Republicans resisting to work in a bipartisan way, Manchin went down in flames.