Manchin "Praying" for an End to 50-50 Senate Split

Manchin Prays for an End to the 50-50 Split in the Senate 

Well, Joe, so am I.  I'm praying that no Republican running for the senate in 2022 wins a mid-term election.  That's a big request, but it would be the absolute best thing that could happen to the country.  

Next to that, I am hoping that Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida and Iowa Democrats deliver the goods.  A couple of those are long shots, but in five of the six, polling data is showing Democrats running strong and ahead, or neck and neck, or winning in enough of the poll numbers to make it open to the possibility.  

But what direction Joe Manchin may be praying for, and why, well, I'm having a little trouble figuring that out.  If the Senator from West Virginia had put the wishes and needs of his constituency first, instead of worrying about his campaign contributors, business interests and re-election chances, he would have voted with fellow Democrats across the board and given the Vice President the deciding vote on legislation that would have been to the benefit of everyone in America except the whining, lip-flapping corporate elite and one percenters.  He wouldn't have felt so pressured if he'd just voted with his party, following the President's lead and thinking about the people of West Virginia instead of himself and his own political power. 

If that is indeed what Manchin is praying for, then he is praying to make himself and Kirsten Sinema irrelevant, and I must say, I'm praying for the same thing.  And I'm contributing to that end, making phone calls on behalf of the DNC, and planning to vote to help bring that outcome to fuition.  I can't imagine that's really what either of them want, given their rhetoric and their manipulative actions of the past two years, but they're thinking of their own self and their shot at getting re-elected.  I wouldn't bet on the odds of that happening for either one of them at this point.  

I'm Praying for Some Senators With Integrity and Fortitude

When the new senate convenes after the midterms, and it is majority Democrat, along with the House, I'm looking forward to a few things on the legislative agenda that need to happen, realistic or not.  The narratives need to get started and the ball needs to get rolling.  One is to break the filibuster.  Get rid of it and then pour a host of legislation through the hole like the water coming out of a broken dam.  Right at the top should be a bill revising the Judiciary Act, opening up at least four new Supreme Court seats for President Biden to fill.  Where do they go from there?  Well, at that point, I'd suggest they get in touch with Senator Sanders and the progressive caucuses and ask them what they want to see put into legislation. 

I'm praying for senators to be elected who will think about their constituents first, not about themselves or their corporate interests.  Campaign finance reform should be at the top of the list, so that Senators can't sell their support to the highest bidder and have to be more accountable to the voters.  

So yes, Senator Manchin, I'm praying for the Democratic party to over-run Congress and keep control of both houses, not to take the pressure off you, but to do some good for the American people.