Always campaigning …?

West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin Goes Rogue

“”Now, I may be just a freshman senator, but I’ll be blunt — this whole process does not make a lot of sense to me,” he said. “And I’m afraid it doesn’t make sense to a lot of West Virginians, or a lot of our fellow Americans.”

Manchin spoke shortly before the Senate voted on rival bills to keep the government in business. One, passed by House Republicans, chopped $61 billion from federal programs over the next six months, what Democrats called the meat-ax approach to austerity; the Democrats proposed far more modest cuts. Everyone, including Manchin, knew in advance that both measures would be rejected. But Congress, he said, can’t break this stalemate.

“This debate, as important as it is, will not be decided by House Republicans or by Senate Democrats negotiating with each other — or past each other,” Manchin said. “The debate will be decided when the president leads these tough negotiations. And right now, that’s not happening.”

Later, in an interview, Manchin explained his presidential tongue-lashing.

“As the governor, I had to put budgets together,” he said. “You have to basically sit down with the parameters and put your priorities in what we believe. And that’s all I’m asking.”