Don’t accuse West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin of voting on principle.
Today, Manchin broke ranks with his fellow Democrats and voted to advance Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination to a final vote on Saturday. But not before waiting until every other swing senator had voted and knowing the vote had been decided in Kavanaugh’s favor.
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As reporters noted on Twitter:
Manchin btw was in his seat, left when the roll call started, then came back after Collins/Murkowski/Flake had voted.
— Jim Newell (@jim_newell) October 5, 2018
Joe Manchin waited to vote yes on Kavanaugh until after the other swing voters. After the outcome was pretty much certain.
— Arthur Delaney (@ArthurDelaneyHP) October 5, 2018
At the last minute Manchin votes “aye” on cloture joining Sens. Collins and Flake.
— Francesca Chambers (@fran_chambers) October 5, 2018
If Murkowski ultimately votes no and Collins votes yes — it’s going to all come down to Jeff Flake. Manchin will seemingly vote for whichever side is going to win
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) October 5, 2018
Joe Manchin plays both sides of the abortion debate and has voted to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business, so his Kavanaugh vote machinations are not surprising.
And he’s already indicated he will vote for or against Kavanaugh on Saturday in a way that benefits him politically.
Manchin has kept his “powder dry” for months, giving Schumer and Senate Democrats room to orchestrate their resist and obstruct circus of President Trump’s nominee. But now with a confirmation vote just days away, Manchin is caving to pressure from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and a majority of West Virginia voters.
“Joe Manchin is waiting until the outcome is decided before he reveals his vote,” Morrisey said. “It’s gutless. Joe is capable of leading, and he’s simply giving Chuck Schumer and the radical liberals more time to obstruct and go after Kavanaugh.”
“The Kavanaugh confirmation process revealed Manchin to be nothing more than a dishonest Washington liberal who gave the resist and obstruct circus room to attempt to destroy President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee,” said Morrisey for Senate spokesperson Nathan Brand in an email to LifeNews. “West Virginians see Joe Manchin for the gutless, calculating politician he is and will see his vote as a craven political calculation in an effort to save his re-election.”
