Took him a while, and he had to be dragged to it, but he did the right thing:
“As a member of the Intelligence and former member of the Armed Services Committees, I know firsthand the threats facing our country, and my top priority is always the safety of my fellow West Virginians. This is why I supported extreme vetting in the past for anyone seeking to come to our country. Unfortunately, after taking time to review the new executive order and discuss its impacts, I believe the scope and execution of the President’s action are not a common sense approach. We should focus all of our efforts on identifying potential terrorists, but commonsense would tell you that a 5 year old trying to join their family does not present a threat to our country. I am also concerned that the order was rushed through before being properly vetted by senior security advisers and members in the Administration. I stand ready to work with Democrats and Republicans who share my concerns.”
-Senator Joe Manchin
Also, here is a job opening for an IT manager for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (.docx file).IT Manager Job Description (1)
Smiling Mortician
Here’s hoping Joe keeps the majority of his conscience in the right place going forward.
Mike in NC
A real Profile in Courage
Mike J
People who post docx files are looking for it staff?
No thanks.
jl
Hope he keeps it up.
” commonsense would tell you that a 5 year old trying to join their family does not present a threat to our country. ”
A large proportion of Trump administration feels otherwise. Some of them are modern day proponents of the ‘nits make lice’ line of thinking.
So, Manchin is being excessively diplomatic there.
Carolina Dave
@Mike in NC: yeah, that guy!
pacem appellant
I’m an atheist, but if I were a god-fearing man, I’d try to get on the right side of history real quick. Jesus specifically warned his followers about wolf in sheep’s clothing (something something Pharisees something). And xtian who thinks Trump is the next coming of Cyrus the Great need to spend their 30 shekels before the devil takes his due.
Point is, I think Manchin might actually be worried about his eternal soul. I guess there’s a first time for everything.
XTPD
I really hope he stands firm in opposing Sessions.
amk
The last line is a spoiler.
Yarrow
Nice use of the Trumpian “extreme vetting.” But good for him for doing the right thing.
@pacem appellant:
I think he’s more worried about his reelection.
pharniel
@Mike J: It means they’ve at least got enough pull with HR that they’re not forced to use .doc.
Wag
Now is the time to reach out to the moderate members of the GOP in an attempt to reframe the current chaos and turn the tide against the Trumpists. I am encouraged by the bold statement yesterday from Senators McCain and Graham. Senator Gardner has voiced opposition to Trump, a surprise that should be encouraged. Senator Flake has also spoken out. Bringing them, along with Collins of ME into the fold would be an excellent start on returning to sanity.
I never dreamed that I’d write those words about McCain, Graham, Gardner, and Flake, but there you go.
PeakVT
Nice, but it’s just one issue so far. Also, he’s probably still doomed the next time he’s up for re-election – though that might free him to do the right thing more often if he accepts it (unlikely).
Tripod
Eastern coal is fucking dead and the vultures are swooping in to cash out the stranded assets. Bill Ackman’s right hand men are drooling over the prospect of liquidating CSXT’s Appalachian coal rail network.
The Grogs are getting busted out and are too dumb to realize it.
Buskertype
every once in a while Manchin makes me proud.
I called his office this morning so I’m taking partial credit here :)
Starfish
@Wag: I met with a friend this morning, and she said that one of the most effective local actions was a protest at Gardner’s local office. Whoever had scheduled the protest had also scheduled appointments with both Gardner and Bennett and had them meet with refugees who live in their state.
I also listened to the Indivisible Guide conference call with the ACLU, the Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the International Refugee Assistance Project and one other organization. They were having a hard time starting on time because they were trying to get 25,000 people connected to listen to their conference call. I believe that the ACLU people said that one 70-year-old couple was held for 30 hours in SFO before they managed to get them out.
NotMax
Weak tea is better than no tea, I suppose.
The rest of youse, not so much.
Lyrebird
@Buskertype: Yay John and Yay you!
I actually think this statement is awesome, given source & circumstances. My senators? well one’s beyond shame (Toomey) and one was at the airport in a flash. And in tails. (Casey)
Would’ve been glad to also see a mention of the STOOPID side of the policy endangering our troops in the field (by messing with a translator right off the bat, for one), which I figure might matter to folks who genuinely don’t care about the rights of people from some other place.
Turgidson
@Wag:
Gardner is a teabagger loon who is able to play an affable good ol boy for cameras. But fortunately for us, he lives in what is now a purplish blue state and his next election will be a presidential year. We will have to see whether his instinct for self preservation leads him to throwing red meat to his Colorado Springs wackjob base or keeping the statewide electorate fooled into thinking he’s sufficiently moderate.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax:
We aren’t his voters.
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
Unless am sadly misinformed, he did not swear an oath to the constitution of West Virginia.
MobiusKlein
Can somebody here from Alabama call their Senators, ask them to vote against the AG pick? Just to see what they say back.
Emerald
It’s possible that Manchin sees the shitgibbon collapsing at some point in the future and wants to be on the smart side. And I’d bet that the spontaneous demonstrations over the weekend might contribute to that perception.
Ruckus
@Lyrebird:
Most of them don’t actually give a shit about vets, what the do give a shit about is looking strong, so they say they support the troops. Most of them really don’t.
gene108
I give Manchin credit for sticking with Democrats. He could easily have switched parties for the sake of political expediency, but he did not.
He may not be the most liberal Senator, but he is better than any Republican.
Betty
@Lyrebird: Senator Casey has been a pleasant surprise in this nightmare. Toomey may get pulled along in spite of himself.
Lee
FYI that word doc you attached opens blank unless you ‘Enable Editing Mode’ which I’m not going to do because I’m not an internet n00b.
If you could link to the actual page on the website for the listing that would be much appreciated.
thanks!
Lee
I opened it with a locked down version of WordPad (doesn’t run any scripts & doesn’t load unknown fonts).
I hope they are paying that person a lot of money for what they want (the offer letter doesn’t even mention a range). A one person IT Dept with deep technical knowledge of those systems and having to do hands-on support to their laptops/desktops.
I’m qualified to do it but there ain’t no way I’m taking on that job.
Buskertype
@Lyrebird: thanks, and yeah, totally agree.
It actually took a while for the stupidity of this to sink in with me… at first I was just pissed cuz fuck Trump, and cause I care about human rights…
but beyond that, we have thousands of troops in Iraq RIGHT NOW, and they need to work with local allies, translators, and the Iraqi army. How are they supposed to do that when the President’s posture to the Iraqi people is a big middle finger?
dogwood
@Ruckus:
Manchin’s statement is true to form. After Sandy Hook he jumped on the need for stricter gun safety laws. Here he speaks of children being detained. He may not be a progressive, but he is a decent human being. And the struggle against Trump is bigger than policy and politics.
J R in WV
@pharniel:
I wonder if any applicants will tell them straight up that it isn’t possible to secure MS computers with any connection to the Internet, ever, no how. I really need some tools that only run on Windows, but won’t install Windows on any computer I own.
Some might think that’s cutting off my nose to spite my face. I have a degree and 25 years of experience building software systems calling you out. Another piece of critical information missing from the job posting – how many staff to be supported by the Lone Ranger IT “manager”? Where is the work place?
Calling a solo practitioner the “IT Manager” is another huge error, completely inaccurate description of the job’s duties in one word and two initials.
How many think I should write a letter informing them why they won’t get very many competent people applying? Maybe I’m over-cynical, it could well be that politically involved open-source staff might apply, but they won’t hire them because their experience isn’t all MS experience.