'Dude, really?': Filibuster champion Joe Manchin slammed for claiming he is 'concerned' about voting rights

'Dude, really?': Filibuster champion Joe Manchin slammed for claiming he is 'concerned' about voting rights
United States Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) (screengrab/@TheRecount/Twitter).
Brandon Gage
April 26, 2022Bank

United States Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) lamented the erosion of voting rights during a hearing on Tuesday and observers on social media immediately tore into him for preventing the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

"So on voting rights. I've always believed that a healthy democracy depends on a voting system as accessible, free, fair, and secure. While history is going to tell us that we have come a long way in ensuring all individuals, regardless of their race, sex, or political affiliation, have the ability to cast their vote. We can all agree that we still have a lot of work to do," said Manchin.

"I'm particularly concerned about the recent opinions and rulings that seem to undercut decades of established legal precedent," Manchin continued, referring to Supreme Court decisions that gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Watch below via The Recount:

Last November, Manchin joined a bipartisan Senate coalition in support of the legislation, which would have nullified efforts to disenfranchise voters by Republicans in dozens of states. But the bill ultimately failed in January because Manchin – along with conservative Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona – refused to agree to amend the Senate filibuster. As a result, GOP lawmakers were able to torpedo the measure before it was debated on the Senate floor.

The impasse has stymied other proposals by Democrats, who hold a one-seat Senate majority due to Vice President Kamala Harris being a member of their party.

Twitter users had no interest in letting Manchin live it down.










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