Dueling Confusions

Yesterday the buzz was that Senate Republicans were making a play to liberate Senator-elect Joe Manchin (D-WV) from the Dark Side.  Evidently the story was fueled by hemming and hawing from Team Chin, for which they overcompensated today, leading to this whiplash-inducing pirhouette:

Despite his repeated campaign rhetoric of putting West Virginia ahead of his party leaders’ narrow partisan agenda in Washington, liberal Governor Joe Manchin (D-WV) is already signaling that he plans to side with his anti-coal, pro-stimulus Democrat party bosses over the best interests of his constituents.

As Roll Call noted, Manchin “campaigned on his opposition to President Barack Obama’s signature legislative policies and a pledge to challenge the liberal Democratic agenda and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)” while pursuing his personal ambitions.

But today, amid rumors that the Democrats’ reckless spending, tax hikes and job-killing anti-coal policies might drive him to break with his party, Manchin promised to be a “lifelong Democrat” in Washington, doubling down on his commitment to anti-coal U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who spearheaded the failed $787 billion stimulus debacle and strongly supports a job-killing cap-and-trade energy tax.

Notably, Manchin disregarded Reid’s anti-coal rhetoric, including his assertion that “coal makes us sick” and is “ruining our country… ruining our world.” Manchin also accepted $10,000 in campaign cash from Reid’s political action committee during his Senate bid.

“Joe Manchin promised to put his state first while hunting for votes in West Virginia, but just a week after the election, it’s clear that he’ll do the exact opposite in Washington,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Communications Director Brian Walsh.

“After lining his campaign war chest with his party bosses’ cash, Manchin is now doubling down on his commitment to join them in rubberstamping President Obama’s liberal, job-killing agenda in the Senate,” Walsh continued. “We look forward to hearing Joe Manchin explain how backing an anti-coal, pro-stimulus, and pro-ObamaCare liberal like Harry Reid is ‘putting West Virginia first.’”

"Liberal" governor?  Didn't The Chin get an "A" on fiscal policy from the Cato Institute?  That's not to say that he'll keep that up once Dirty Harry starts greasing him for his vote on The One's transformational agenda items, but come on, the rhetorical overkill is a bit much, guys.

Especially since his Liebermaneque "lifelong Democrat" declaration was far more in response to our wooing him publicly via the media.  Wouldn't discretion have been the better part of valor in this effort?  Keeping such negotiations behind the scenes would have, I think, been more respectful of the governor and his unique circumstances, whereas trying to manipulate him like this simply embarrassed him into having to offer up a loyalty oath.  Now we've almost certainly pissed away the possibility of a party-switch down the line

In the mean time, how does whipping around and sliming The Chin as another of Pencilneck's pets make him more amenable to voting with the GOP on fiscal and energy issues?  And why is it deemed necessary to launch into the campaign to unseat Manchin two years from now already?  Or is the idea to drive him into the waiting arms of Harry Reid, and by extension Barack Obama, in order to maximally discredit him with the Messiah-detesting West Virginia homefolks?  A pro-Obama Senate voting record would be a lot harder to offset by one cap & tax-shooting campaign commercial.

Of course, all of the above presumes that The Chin is dumber than rock salt.  If "persuing his personal ambitions" is as important to him as rumors suggest, I'd expect him to be on his best behavior in the 112th Senate, the better to ensure his 2012 re-election despite Red Barry topping the ticket.  Thereafter he can throw off all that "hillbilly fascism" and openly take his place in the extreme left elite.

Unless....he doesn't fancy starting out a full term of his own in the minority.  Which makes 2013 the optimal time to have heavily recruited him, given the virtual certainty of a GOP takeover in the '12 cycle.  Do these crass, amateurish machinations put the kibosh on that?  Let's just say I doubt The Chin will forget the past couple of days anytime soon.