 So last week when we talked about Joe Manchin He claimed that he's against the for the people act because it's to partisan. That's his rationale It's to partisan so I can't support it It doesn't matter that in 2019 he co-sponsored the for the people act when no Republican supported it then as well I don't know if it was zero Republicans at most. It was probably like one or two But I think it was probably like supported along party lines, but It's to partisan So I know that he doesn't actually care about this He's being lobbied by the Koch brothers and they're encouraging people from West Virginia lawmakers Policy makers to reject the partisan agenda in DC. He's like literally using the same rhetoric as The Americans for prosperity, which is the Koch back for him So he came up with this plan so he doesn't want to be demonized by the party So he came up with this compromise like a watered-down version of the for the people act which basically strips away all of the Anti-corruption provisions, which is really what's driving a lot of the alarm among the donor class and he thought that this would get support from Republicans and Mitch McConnell basically came out and said hey Joe Manchin Fuck off. He had to expect this right like So let's read the story because Jake Johnson of common dreams breaks it down here So the title is McConnell makes clear all Republicans will oppose Manchin voting rights compromise all Republicans Doesn't matter how much you compromise it or water it down. There was no compromise We're not going to support you because we're going to obstruct everything 100% of the agenda So Manchin looks like an absolute dolt right now and he should feel very very stupid Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell unequivocally declared Thursday that Republicans will support neither the original for the people act Nor a watered-down version offered by Senator Joe Manchin who has continued to insist that bipartisan compromise on voting rights Is achievable despite mounting evidence to the contrary during a press conference flanked by fellow Senate Republicans? McConnell said that the for the people act and Manchin's proposed alternative are equally unacceptable and totally inappropriate and We know why this is the case because even if you know Manchin made it a little bit softer around the edges removed some of the more egregious egregious elements that got rid of the The regulations on campaign finance and dark money. I mean Mitch McConnell wants there to be voter suppression because Mitch McConnell wants power So he's not gonna support any element of this like to even think that you get a single Republican vote Delusional all Republicans will oppose that McConnell added referring to redistricting reforms and campaign finance disclosure rules that Manchin endorsed in a memo Outlining provisions of the for the people act that he is willing to support ahead of an expected vote on the bill later this month The West Virginia Democrats memo which drew criticism from progressive lawmakers also calls for the inclusion of voter ID requirements with allowable alternatives such as a utility bill a proposed view a proposal viewed as a Soap to Republican lawmakers. They're not gonna support anything The goal is voter suppression. So even if you take out the campaign finance reform provisions That like like Manchin knows this Manchin knows this and in my opinion, this is all damage control He doesn't want to look like the bad guy. He says look it's partisan I want to make it not partisan So I'm trying to do this and so this is like his plausible deniability, right? So he seems more reasonable so he can argue look I tried right. I I Really tried I tried to compromise. I crafted a more watered-down version of the bill and you know Republicans still wouldn't support it and you know, I can't support something this partisan So I mean look don't don't look at me look at Mitch McConnell here. Give him all the heat He he's the one who should face the the pressure and the backlash It's just it's embarrassing Joe Manchin is Very stupid Establishment Democrats have made him the public's black sheep. I 100% agree with that. Mr. Anderson says like even Joe Biden He loves that he has Kirsten Sinema and Joe Manchin out in front taking all of the heat So he can say look I really tried like I wanted a $15 an hour minimum wage folks I really wanted to do voting rights, but you know my party was against it So blame them like everybody wants to play the blame game when I think that there's there's a lot of culpability to to go around