Why the theory that Manchin’s exit is rooted in ego 'might be the strongest'

13 November 2023

Days after U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced his retirement from senate, MSNBC Daily writer and editor Zeeshan Aleem argues in a Monday, November 13 op-ed that the moderate lawmaker's exit harms Democrats in three ways.

Aleem suggests the "triple blow" to his party might stem from Manchin's sense of self-importance, writing, "there's no way to know how much Manchin was motivated" to exit "by attention-seeking ego," but "the theories that it was ego all along might be the strongest."

According to the MSNBC editor, the first blow is rooted in the fact the senator "represents an exceptional strategic advantage for Democrats that will be difficult for the party to regain once he leaves the Senate," noting that "When he leaves the Senate, he will almost certainly be replaced by a conservative Republican in a state where Donald Trump trounced Hillary Clinton and Biden by around 40 points."

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Second, Aleem writes, is that Manchin "appears" to be "actively considering a third-party presidential bid," from his announcement that instead of running for re-election, he will be "traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together."

Aleem notes:

If Manchin really did pursue such a run, and was able to get on ballots in enough states, he could siphon off potential Democratic voters. While the odds are remote that it would be a substantial number of people, it’s hard to see it as something Democrats would be happy about, given the tight margins that presidential races are always decided by, and especially given the abundance of other independent and third party bids that could eat away at Democratic votes.

Finally, "the third blow" to Democrats, according to Aleem, "is mostly an emotional one — a pang of longing for another world in which Manchin hadn't torpedoed a host of critical policies because he may have known he was exiting mainstream politics and could’ve used the opportunity to do greater good."

Aleem emphasizes, in efforts to "establish himself as a maverick lawmaker," the moderate Democrat "is the main reason that Biden's policy record, while thicker than it would have been without Manchin's vote, is ultimately much thinner than it could've otherwise been."

Aleem's full op-ed is available at this link.

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