Writes Ross Douthat in "Should Joe Manchin Run for President?" (NYT).
November 11, 2023
"When elites pine for a third-party candidate, they usually imagine someone like Michael Bloomberg, a fiscal conservative and social liberal."
"But the sweet spot for a third-party candidate has always been slightly left of center on economics and moderate to conservative on cultural issues — and that describes Manchin better than it does most American politicians."
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24 comments:
"But the sweet spot for a third-party candidate has always been …"
From what dataset can he claim that this has "always been"?
He's retiring because he can't win in his own state.
Trump is essentially a third party candidate who instead of running as a third party just co-opted an existing party and made it his own.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein is a progressive loon.
RFK, Jr. is a progressive loon.
Cornell West is a progressive loon.
All progressives are neobarbarians. They can't stand American values and think America must be turned into a socialist hell.
What the elite want isn't what the majority of non elite voters want.
This is the typical Ross Doughnut analysis, out-of-touch and worthless. Leaving aside Manchin's repulsive personality and lack of ethics, he is NOT right of center on social issues. He voted for Biden's crazy leftwing judges, and he didn't vote for Kavanaugh until AFTER his nomination was assued. He voted AGAINST Amy Cony Barrett.
Look at Manchin's record. He's votes with Schumer 95 percent of the time. He voted with Biden 88 percent of the time. He voted to impeach Trump - twice. He's for Amnesty and open borders. He could have used his power in a 50-50 Senate to stop Biden's crazy spending bills - and he didnt'. He didn't even save the WV coal industry, which he promised to do.
He's NOT Moderate. He just talks that way. And he talks that way because he comes from a state that voted for Trump by 30 points.
On foreign aid, free trade, the war in the ukraine, support for Israel, and possible wars against China and Iran, Manchin is a complete neo-con warmonger. Is that why Ross Doughnut likes him so much?
People are touting 3rd parties because they want to defeat Trump. Its not about pushing some 3rd party with a decent message and a chance to win. The No labels party is supported by Millionaires/billionaires who want to make sure Trump loses and Biden wins.
They wanted to run a 3rd Party Romney in 2016, but decided Trump was going to lose anyway. This is no different than GOPe moderates running John Anderson in 1980 to make sure
"rightwing extremist" Ronald Reagan lost.
Manchin has been in WV politics since the 70s serving in every office from the legislature to the governor and hasn't lived there since moving to his Yacht in Washington 13 years ago. He is overestimating his own chances and popularity and underestimating the partisanship of motivated voters. He should set a good example and just retire.
Manchin was once much beloved in West Virginia. When he got snookered by Chuck Schumer it cost him nearly all of his political capital. As it stands now I’m not sure which potential Republican nominee he might be able to beat in his home state running as a third party Presidential candidate. Maybe Chris Christie?
…describing the prefect third party candidate to help close the margin of fraud for Demokrats, so the article is more ohpleaseohpleaseohplease…
Elites imagine third party candidates like they do God - made in their own image. Commenters like Doubt would never admit it, but Trump is in many ways a successful third party candidate - though he managed to capture one of the parties first. He was an outsider who spoke a truth that resonated.
"But the sweet spot for a third-party candidate has always been …"
From what dataset can he claim that this has "always been"?
He pulled it from his a$$.
"When elites pine for a third-party candidate, they usually imagine someone"
. . . who can help defeat the GOP and deliver the presidency to Dems with a minority of the popular vote.
Think Ross Perot.
Who was the last third party candidate to win a presidential election?
Lincoln? There were four candidates in the 1860 election who received at least 10 percent of the vote. Lincoln received 38.9 percent to win.
No one has ever won as a third party candidate. Not even TR.
"Manchin has been in WV politics since the 70s serving in every office from the legislature to the governor and hasn't lived there since moving to his Yacht in Washington 13 years ago. He is overestimating his own chances and popularity and underestimating the partisanship of motivated voters. He should set a good example and just retire."
This is actually an informative comment, though Rich didn't intend it to be. Manchin will suck far too many votes from the Democrat ticket, and that is why he will be encouraged to fully retire by Democrats and the media.
Look at Manchin's record.
How many voters take the time to do that? Manchin has a well presented image as a moderate. He could do well with ill informed Independents that want neither a bozo nor buffoon. Not sure who that would help.
"Trump is essentially a third party candidate who instead of running as a third party just co-opted an existing party and made it his own."
And? He did the same thing in '16 and '20 and won twice.
A third party candidate cannot win but can throw the election to one or the other in an unpredictable way.
So this article is silly.
Howard said...
"Trump is essentially a third party candidate who instead of running as a third party just co-opted an existing party and made it his own."
And that, Howard, is probaly the most intelligent thing you've ever said on this blog. I agree.
You just know that they'll get the artist who did that Tom Brady sketch to do Trump.
Had Manchin held strong as a fiscal moderate in 2021-2022 he would have had a serious chance as an alternative to Biden and Trump. However, he was bullied, abused, lied to, and used by the hard left. This foreshadowed left's internal destruction over Palestine/Israel. He ultimately allowed the lefties to spend $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ on myopic and pyrrhic inflationary nonsense, and thereby lost right-wing support.
So, he's too weak to stick to his positions and was not effective as a moderate. Why bother electing him to anything? It's time to retire.
"When he got snookered by Chuck Schumer"
I noticed centrists and Rightwingers always write this way. Manchin didn't get "Snookered" by anyone. He's not stupid, he didn't make a "Dumb" decision, he wasn't "confused". Unlike the Left, people on the right and centerists are always writing how some Pol (who betrayed a promise or has shown his true colors) made a boo-boo, or is suffereing from some "derangement syndrome". Or is really one of us, but got dazzled or taken advantage of.
The left never imputes good faith, the Centrists and the Right always do.
There's a saying, "Every Senator looks in the mirror and sees a President."
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