'A label I can’t mention': Columnist blasts Manchin’s No Labels appearance

19 July 2023

United States Senator Joe Manchin's (D-West Virginia) appearance at Monday's No Labels event alongside ex-Utah governor at US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman (R) in New Hampshire ignited additional concerns on Tuesday that the non-partisan third-party coalition could spoil President Joe Biden's reelection chances and land former President Donald Trump back in the White House.

Manchin, whose frequent caucusing with Republicans has chipped away at Biden's progressive policy agenda, has teased his own 2024 run as a moderate alternative to incumbent Biden and indicted Trump.

On Wednesday, Washington Post opinion columnist Gail Collins tore into Manchin for "playing into the hands of the No Labels crowd" even though there is nearly no chance that its nominee could win the presidency.

"Even if the whole effort was hopeless, as a third-party candidate Manchin would get a heck of a lot of attention. And running a losing campaign for president would certainly be a lot more exciting than running a losing campaign for re-election to the Senate," Collins wrote. "According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 47 percent of registered voters would consider voting for a third-party candidate. That's a huge number, although most of them would presumably change their minds when it actually came time to make a choice. They're just expressing their dissatisfaction. Still, given the nutty way our electoral system is set up, a well-publicized third option might affect the results just enough in a few crucial states to change the outcome. The winner of a presidential race, remember, does not have to be the person who got the most votes. Just ask Hillary Clinton."

Collins noted that this "spoiler scenario is what's driving Democrats crazy," despite the fact that it's "not gonna work."

Collins encouraged her readers to "stop here for a second and contemplate whether one particular party is actually responsible for this toxicity explosion" and offered three potential remedies:

A. Choose a party and work within it to nominate good candidates.

B. Refuse to vote while whining about how terrible the choices are.

C. Rally around a third party and feel quite principled, while helping to draw votes away from the candidate who’s the best real option.

Regarding Manchin, Collins concluded that he "seems to be flirting with C, which could lead to Donald Trump's return to the White House. And give the senator from West Virginia a label I can't mention in a family newspaper."

Collins' editorial continues at this link (subscription required).

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