Two anti-choice 76 year old wealthy white guys. https://t.co/9J4CoBYw7s
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 9, 2023
The Blogfather just beat me to this ‘scoop’: Joe Manchin is officially not running to hold his Senate seat, which he was widely predicted to lose to Jim Justice. Per the Associated Press:
… But his statement also fuels growing speculation that Manchin harbors national political ambitions. In recent months, he has teased a 2024 presidential campaign, possibly as an independent candidate, although it’s unclear what his voter base would be. Along those lines, a group pushing for Manchin to partner with retiring Utah Sen. Mitt Romney to seek a third-party presidential bid filed paperwork to form a formal draft committee with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday…
Up pops ‘No Labels’!
The committee's backers, described as "a group of longtime Romney and Manchin supporters," are "invigorated by the possibility of the draft going well." But a 2nd adviser says they "expect them not to be on board with this immediately."
— Molly Ball (@mollyesque) November 9, 2023
The WSJ article is behind a paywall, but the headline reads “Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin Won’t Run for Re-Election in West Virginia – Decision likely boosts Republicans’ efforts to take back Senate“. (Not that the WSJ isn’t wishcasting for just such an outcome.)
More from the Associated Press:
… The draft committee pushing a Manchin-Romney ticket is planning to launch publicly next week along with a new website titled “America Back on Track,” according to a person with direct knowledge of the committee who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal planning ahead of the launch.
Initially, the draft effort plans to raise $1 million for a budget to commission polling to show that there is a path to victory for a Romney-Manchin ticket as part of the No Labels movement, according to the person.
Romney and Manchin have not signed onto this effort, the person said. But the group expects to build out presidential campaign infrastructure for Romney and Manchin and ultimately court No Labels delegates to win the nomination at its March 2024 convention in Dallas.
“We will make a decision by early 2024 about whether we will nominate a Unity presidential ticket, and who will be on it,” the organization said…
We’ll flog this spavined old equine for as long as we can keep extracting donations from the rubes, which will probably dry up once the actual GOP ticket (TFG + ???) is announced…
Do Manchin and Romney have much of a relationship? I can’t see Romney approving Manchin’s party-boat shenanigans… and I can’t imagine either of those two being willing to accept the undercard slot. So: Manchin / Scotty Brown? Manchin / Joe Lieberman? Red meat for the snarksters, but I don’t see either of those pairings setting ‘independent’ voters’ hearts aflutter…
I think Mark Penn & Nancy Jacobson had a much bigger influence https://t.co/juqHHE7OQW
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 9, 2023
Not being glib. Unless/until he says otherwise I’m assuming Manchin is the No Labels candidate. He has the perfect combination of grandiosity, ignorance, & stupidity to fall for the Penn/Jacobson pitch that he could actually become president https://t.co/DRVeY1wh1X
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 9, 2023
Q is, would a Manchin candidacy hurt Biden, hurt Trump, or be a wash. As of a few weeks ago No Labels had secured a spot on the ballot in only 10-15 states, most of them uncompetitive. And I doubt an anti-choice 77 year old coal peddler from WV pulls many Latinos or suburbanites
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 9, 2023
To quote a wise elder:
No Labels is perilous to our democracy. I hesitate to say “No Labels” because they do have labels. They’re called “No Taxes For The Rich.” “No Child Tax Credit For Children.” “No Affordable Care Act For Families.” -NP https://t.co/Ym51atyurq pic.twitter.com/fzXeZcW9SU
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) November 2, 2023
bbleh
Somewhat repeating from earlier thread but (1) notwithstanding all the breathless punditry, Manchin’s inevitable withdrawal does NOT change Democrats’ or Republicans’ chances of holding/taking the Senate because there was absolutely NO way the seat was not going to go Republican, and (2) ditto regarding punditry, “No Labels” is as important outside the Beltway as, I dunno, Punchbowl, except as a machine for grifting donors (which might have a material effect) and flattering the egos of aging C-level politicians (which will not).
mrmoshpotato
What about Pirate Romney approving of Manchin screwing over the Democratic party?
Almost Retired
Love the title of the post. So very accurate.
Just Some Fuckhead
If only we could figure out how to get reliable Republican rule without all the crazy, god-bothering nonsense.
Cameron
Romney-Manchin/Manchin-Romney! All the excitement of white bread dipped in milk.
Scout211
That Nancy Pelosi is so shrill.
I ❤️ Nancy Pelosi!
Baud
@Just Some Fuckhead:
We could vote for them.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Baud: At the moment, that seems to be their chief strategy.
NotMax
Also no candidate. It’s a grift, folks, pure and simple.
//
mrmoshpotato
@Just Some Fuckhead:
How far we going back for “reliable?”
We digging up Ike, or Abe?
NotMax
Romney and Manchin are both (wait for it) 76.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax:
They’re so OOOOOLLLLLDDDDDDD!!!!!
Oh wait, it’s more important that they both suck.
wjca
He might be willing to. Except for one thing: he probably detests TIFG far more than he opposes Democrats.
The chance to give Trump a kick in the balls, by him losing yet another election and by a bigger margin, is something Romney might well find irresistible. So, the No Labels folks hoping to recruit him only have a shot if TIFG implodes (or kicks off) in a timely manner.
SpaceUnit
A Romney / Manchin ticket has all the aerodynamic properties of an anvil. Go for it No Labels, and thanks for the laughs.
Just Some Fuckhead
@mrmoshpotato: lol, Lincoln was a bit too black-adjacent for today’s Republican party.
mrmoshpotato
@Just Some Fuckhead:
True.
Adam L Silverman
Here’s the math:
Adam L Silverman
A bit more:
Kent
Manchin and Romney are both veteran politicians who are most definitely NOT stupid.
I see zero chance either of them would want to engage in a pointless Don Quixotesque 3rd party campaign that will only waste everyone’s time and money and sully their reputations at this point late in life. Plus I suspect both of them like and respect Biden and dislike Trump.
No Labels is entirely a grift for consultants who want to make money. That doesn’t mean legit politicians have to play their game.
Gvg
Kent
God-bothering doesn’t bother me so much as the anti-Democratic election-denying insurrectionist wing.
SiubhanDuinne
@Gvg:
Well…when he was in prep school, he tackled another student and cut the kid’s hair. That should count for something.
hrprogressive
“No Labels” is just “Kinder, Gentler, Corprofascism”. It’s the party for all the oligarchs and vulture capitalists who salivate at the idea of greater EPS on their next earnings call, but find the Trumpists’ Open White Nationalist Christofascism to be just a little too sour-tasting for their liking.
So, in other words, it wouldn’t surprise me to see your MSNBC Republicans or Tom Nichols or whoever do some Freidmanesque both-sidsing in favor of the Old White Rich Guys Who Were Targets of Jan 6th, not Perpetrators vis-a-vis Biden.
In short, an utter shitpile all around.
Geminid
@hrprogressive: Please let us know when you see Tim Nichols do this.
Cameron
@SiubhanDuinne: Varsity bully squad
kindness
With all due respect, there are zero Democratic voters who will vote for Manchin for President or Vice President. This is not going to hurt President Biden’s re-election
I’ll miss Manchin’s vote for Schumer for Senate Leader but I won’t miss his Senatoring at all.
piratedan
No Labels… the epitome of the political “No One Wants To Work Anymore”.
okay, fine, lets say that they win… then what, how are you going to govern?
bunch of lazy ass rich people that want Nice Polite Racism to be their standard.
wjca
And Teddy was a (whisper it!) Progressive! Oh, the horror!
Jackie
@NotMax: And Lieberman is 81, turning 82 in Feb.
BUT only J Biden is too OLLLDDD!
Another Scott
It’s time for me to complain about the cited quotes. Sorry.
Raise $1M, Ok.
for a budget? What? They need to raise money to have a budget??
to commission polling to show… What?? They’re telling us they need to spend $1M on push polling??
Bah.
Eh? How many states is it? Why not tell us the actual number??
Bah.
It’s good to remember that No Labels is a conservative plutocrat GOP-leaning front group. Corn at MotherJones:
Grr…,
Scott.
Geminid
@kindness: Yeah, I’ve never seen evidence that Joe Manchin has a following among Democrats. He might pick up a few Independents but I don’t think these would be gettable by Biden anyway. But I do not expect Manchin to run for No Labels.
I think Kyrsten Sinema might. She will have to make a decision soon as to whether to defend her Senate seat, and likely come in third. A run for President on the projected No Labels ticket would be a way to save face and get attention. She’d lose, but she might see that as a better path than being rejected by Arizona voters.
kindness
@Geminid: From what I’ve read Kyrsten wants to cash in. She doesn’t want to have to work, just sit on boards and get fat checks.
Rebel’s Dad
@Cameron: White bread dipped in milk has more of a backbone than either Romney or Manchin.
smith
Pretty much every presidential election year No Labels or its equivalent pops up with the genius idea that what the American electorate hungers for is a wishy-washy has-been or never-was with no real policies except to support whatever the rich corporate types desire. Has it ever made any difference in any election? We keep asking who the base for this candidate is, and no one has a cogent answer that makes political sense.
The real answer, I suspect, is that the No Labels base consists entirely of media pundits whose job it is to represent the interests of those exact same rich corporate types. That’s the only reason we have to watch this same dumb kabuki every four years.
Geminid
@kindness: Running for President on the No Labels ticket would delay cashing in by only a few months. It actually would not delay it at all since Sinema will be Senatpr until January, 2025 anyway.
Jackie
FYI Another GQPer is going to spend more time with his family:
kalakal
It’s a pure grift , 99% of normies when presented with the name ‘Joe Manchin’ will reply “Who He?”.* This will get the Village all hot and sweaty, raise lots of sweet $$$ for assorted pond life, and go nowhere.
*Lucky bastards, how I envy them this
Captain C
“America Back on Track” should really be pronounced “A Bot,” as in “those Russian bots are really infesting my xitter mentions!”
Also, it’s the kind of thing I could see Dark Brandon appropriating and making his own, as after all America is back on track (to the extent it can be with the current GQP led by the SFBFG* as one of its main political parties).
*Shit For Brains Former/Fucking Guy
SFAW
You libtards are neglecting the most importantest news: apparently Jill Stein is launching a bid to run as the Green Party candidate.
[I imagine this is covered in some other post, but I’m just too damn lazy to look for it.]
BellyCat
This is crypto-candidacy, right?
Jay
@Captain C:
Dark Brandon, “America back on AMTRACK”,……
like a metaphor
as long as Nancy calls the No Labels out as the republicans that they are, and makes it clear that she hates their guts, it will divide the Turnip vote.
(when i first typed No Labels, it read No Labias. Which is also true)
unctuous
fuckin boomers, quelle surprise
unctuous
@Just Some Fuckhead: You?
Wait. I thought you were dead.
How long have you been here? After you were gone.
Welcome back.
Misterpuff
@BellyCat: Block Chain Voting.