Bernie never ran against Manchin. Both won their primary races there, Bernie in 2016 and Manchin 2 years later. The state has 55 counties. Manchin turned out more voters than Bernie did in just 13 of them. Bernie beat Manchin in 42 West Virginia counties. Bernie turned out more voters in small rural counties like Wirt and Grant and in big urban and suburban counties like Monongalia and Harrison. Before Manchin berates Bernie as an outsider who doesn't know anything about West Virginia, he should look at these numbers and think about what they might portend for his own future:
Barbour Co.- Bernie- 994, Manchin- 878
Berkeley Co.- Bernie- 4,020, Manchin- 2,997
Boone Co.- Bernie- 2,410, Manchin- 2,332
Braxton Co.- Bernie- 1,321, Manchin- 1,153
Brooke Co.- Bernie- 1,966, Manchin- 1,762
Cabel Co,- Bernie- 5,361, Manchin- 5,379
Calhoun Co,- Bernie- 803, Manchin- 375
Clay Co,- Bernie- 754, Manchin- 633
Doddridge Co,- Bernie- 235, Manchin- 178
Fayette Co,- Bernie- 3,585, Manchin- 3,011
Gilmer Co,- Bernie- 643, Manchin- 678
Grant Co,- Bernie- 185, Manchin- 182
Greenbrier Co,- Bernie- 2,864, Manchin- 2,952
Hampshire Co,- Bernie- 1,101, Manchin- 915
Hancock Co,- Bernie- 2,275, Manchin- 1,854
Hardy Co,- Bernie- 883, Manchin- 1,061
Harrison Co,- Bernie- 5,370, Manchin- 4,873
Jackson Co,- Bernie- 1,799, Manchin- 1,217
Jefferson Co,- Bernie- 3,241, Manchin- 2,427
Kanawha Co,- Bernie- 13,480, Manchin- 14,472
Lewis Co,- Bernie- 1,229, Manchin- 981
Lincoln Co,- Bernie- 1,510, Manchin- 1,407
Logan Co,- Bernie- 3,201, Manchin- 2,772
Marion Co,- Bernie- 5,324, Manchin- 4,830
Marshall Co,- Bernie- 2,599, Manchin- 2,411
Mason Co,- Bernie- 1,769, Manchin- 1,723
McDowell Co,- Bernie- 1,453, Manchin- 1,307
Mercer Co,- Bernie- 3,233, Manchin- 2,752
Mineral Co,- Bernie- 1,110, Manchin- 1,017
Mingo Co,- Bernie- 2,425, Manchin- 1,846
Monongalia Co,- Bernie- 8,096, Manchin- 4,418
Monroe Co,- Bernie- 817, Manchin- 1,051
Morgan Co,- Bernie- 682, Manchin- 620
Nicholas Co,- Bernie- 1,944, Manchin- 2,424
Ohio Co,- Bernie- 3,363, Manchin- 3,072
Pendleton Co,- Bernie- 484, Manchin- 576
Pleasants Co,- Bernie- 545, Manchin- 441
Pocahontas Co,- Bernie- 826, Manchin- 598
Preston Co,- Bernie- 1,719, Manchin- 1,566
Putnam Co,- Bernie- 3,251, Manchin- 2,806
Raleigh Co,- Bernie- 4,888, Manchin- 4,193
Randolph Co,- Bernie- 2,492, Manchin- 2,589
Ritchie Co,- Bernie- 351, Manchin- 389
Roane Co,- Bernie- 1,002, Manchin- 837
Summers Co,- Bernie- 1,060, Manchin- 1,440
Taylor Co,- Bernie- 1,106, Manchin- 1,044
Tucker Co,- Bernie- 770, Manchin- 816
Tyler Co,- Bernie- 428, Manchin- 328
Upshur Co,- Bernie- 1,071, Manchin- 851
Wayne Co,- Bernie- 2,898, Manchin- 3,244
Webster Co,- Bernie- 837, Manchin- 678
Wetzel Co,- Bernie- 1,744, Manchin- 1,369
Wirt Co,- Bernie- 326, Manchin- 259
Wood Co,- Bernie- 4,519, Manchin- 4,118
Wyoming Co,- Bernie- 1,498, Manchin- 1,487
In all, Bernie won the Democratic primary in West Virginia with 123,860 votes. Manchin-- previously a state legislator, a governor and a senator-- won his last renomination bid with 111,589. It was different years and, obviously not a head-to-head battle, but it was the same voter pool-- registered Democrats in a primary election-- and Manchin can denounce Bernie as an outsider or a socialist all he wants; his own base feels warmer towards him than their corrupt, bribe-taking senator does.
This morning, HuffPo reported that publicly, Manchin's "biggest gripes are about the cost of the bill. But privately, Manchin has told his colleagues that he essentially doesn’t trust low-income people to spend government money wisely. In recent months, Manchin has told several of his fellow Democrats that he thought parents would waste monthly child tax credit payments on drugs instead of providing for their children, according to two sources familiar with the senator’s comments... Manchin’s private comments shocked several senators, who saw it as an unfair assault on his own constituents and those struggling to raise children in poverty. Manchin has also told colleagues he believes that Americans would fraudulently use the proposed paid sick leave policy, specifically saying people would feign being sick and go on hunting trips."
Pramila Jayapal noted in a statement to her constituents that "Manchin made a promise to President Biden to support a framework that would help lower health care costs, cap the price of insulin and other prescription drugs, lower child care costs for Americans, address the climate crisis, and give working people and poor people a shot in America. Today, Senator Manchin has betrayed his commitment not only to the President and Democrats in Congress but most importantly, to the American people. He routinely touts that he is a man of his word, but he can no longer say that. West Virginians, and the country, see clearly who he is."
it's called method acting. look it up.
man$ion is employing decades-old tripe about the poor that the nazis have always used. maybe he believes. maybe he's just taking the fascism bullet for this $enate the way evan bayh, ben nelson, max baucus and a host of others did in 2009. And if so, he's taking a lot of heat off of $inema, because if he acted true to his "word" (word to whom, one might ask. surely he's already vowed to his big money donors that BBB, specifically the green and tax stuff, will not pass), $inema would be the next one up to fire the torpedo.
believe me... if both caved to the progressives... there would be others. th…