The Patriot Post® · Memo to Trump: Call Joe Manchin

Apparently, President Post Turtle, his heir-apparent puppeteer Kamala Harris, and their cadre of Democrat Party leftists now think it would be a good idea to “end the filibuster”! That is the only obstacle to their establishment of complete autocratic control of the nation.

You may recall, as political analyst Rich Lowry reminds us, “Back in 2017, more than 30 Senate Democrats, including Kamala Harris, signed a letter urging the tactic be preserved.” But I can assure you that Harris, as the Senate’s 50/50 tiebreaker, would punch that “yes” button in a microsecond!

The number two Demo in the Senate, Dick Durbin, now protests: “The filibuster is still making a mockery of American democracy. … It’s not the guarantor of democracy. It has become the death grip of democracy.” First, we are not a “democracy.” Second, the Durbin Demos make a mockery of our Republic when they abjectly violate their solemn oaths to “to support and defend” our Constitution every day.

Now, ostensibly, the only person standing in the gauntlet between Harris and ending the filibuster is Demo Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, with Arizona’s Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in his shadow.

A few days after the November election, but long before the upset Republican loss of both Senate seats in Georgia, Manchin promised, “I will not be the 50th Democrat voting to end that filibuster or to basically stack the court, and in all the other things you’re hearing about.” Asked about DC statehood, Manchin said, “I don’t know enough about that yet. I want to see the pros and cons. So, I’m waiting to see all the facts. I’m open up to see everything.”

So, will he now stand in the gauntlet? When it came to Manchin’s promise that he would only support a “bipartisan” pandemic “relief” bill — which the larded $1.9 billion blue-state bailout was not — Manchin folded.

In addition to DC statehood, Manchin has already demonstrated his weakness, and may well fold on other Harris/Biden/Schumer/Pelosi measures, like their HR 1 bulk-mail balloting legislation to establish a perpetual Democrat majority in the future. That legislation is now before the Senate.

I can assure you that when the filibuster comes up, Biden, Durbin and Chuck Schumer will make Manchin and Sinema, in the inimitable words of Don Vito Corleone, “an offer [they] can’t refuse.” In fact, as a gesture of dissuasion to discourage Manchin for voting against dispensing with the filibuster, Biden just nominated Manchin’s wife Gayle for a $160,000 job as co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

If the filibuster falls, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says that all Republicans would withdraw from the Senate, preventing a physical quorum for controversial votes, which require the presence of at least 51 senators. And Harris doesn’t count, as she is not a senator. Such action would essentially shut down the Senate. As The Wall Street Journal editorial board observed, “A quorum without unanimous consent is 51 Senators, and there are only 50 Democrats. If Republicans kept their nerve in opposition, Democrats couldn’t confirm nominees or vote on legislation. The Nancy Pelosi-Joe Biden agenda couldn’t move any more than if there were a filibuster.”

But there is an immediate path to protect the filibuster, and in fact the entire nation, from the frontal leftist assault now underway.

Recall that in 2017, West Virginia’s Gov. Jim Justice, who had been a Republican but ran as a Democrat after winning a three-way Democrat primary and election in 2016, declared he was changing to the Republican Party. Justice, the wealthiest individual in the state with a net worth of $1.2 billion, then won re-election in 2020 in a landslide, defeating his Democrat opponent by more than 30 points.

Manchin responded to the party switch saying, “I have been and always will be a proud West Virginia Democrat. I am disappointed by Governor Justice’s decision to switch parties. While I do not agree with his decision, I have always said that I will work with anyone, no matter their political affiliation, to do what is best for the people of West Virginia.”

A year later in 2018, Manchin was reelected to the Senate by a narrow three-point margin, winning a plurality of the vote by 49.57% because of a Libertarian spoiler who received 4.17%. Notably that year, no other West Virginia Demo congressional candidate came within 10 points of winning, and Democrats running for state seats were defeated by even larger margins.

Given that backdrop, recall that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential contest in West Virginia by a whopping 39 points. Yes, 39 points. And Republican Senator Shelly Moore Capito beat down leftist Democrat Paula Jean Swearengin by 43 points.

If former President Trump really wants to take a HUGE step to ensure the future of American Liberty today, he should fly Joe Manchin down to Mar-a-Lago and make him an offer he can’t refuse: Trump should tell Manchin that his is prepared to immediately launch a recall vote in West Virginia, unless Manchin switches parties, thus representing the political views of his constituents – and restoring Republican control of the Senate.

That being said, if Manchin waits to switch parties until after the 2022 midterm election — which will be an uphill slog for Republicans because there are more GOP seats being challenged — that may indicate Manchin and McConnell have a strategy in place for his party change. If Manchin switches parties now, that would strengthen the Demos’ ability to campaign on the need to regain control of the Senate. But if Manchin stays in the (D) box, that strengthens the GOP’s ability to campaign on the urgency of electing more Senate Republicans in 2022. As always, McConnell’s strategy is akin to three-dimensional chess, not one-dimensional checkers.

(Updated)