Democratic congressman accuses Manchin of voting to 'preserve Jim Crow'
Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), a progressive Democrat, had some harsh words for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) on Sunday after the latter made it clear he won't support Democrats' sweeping H.R. 1 voting rights bill.
Manchin wrote an op-ed explaining his decision, which stemmed from his belief that such a bill needs bipartisan support in combination with the fact that the For the People Act has no Republican backers. Jones was not impressed, tweeting that The Charleston Gazette-Mail, which ran the piece, should've titled it "Why I'll vote to preserve Jim Crow."
Jones later appeared on MSNBC and elaborated on what he thinks of Manchin's reasoning. "I don't know where to begin," he said, adding that "it is ... intellectually unserious" and "outdated." "This idea of bipartisanship is not something that should have inherent value when the other side is actively working to dismantle our democracy," Jones argued.
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Jones' criticism may not be the only backlash Manchin receives from within his own party — Axios' Jonathan Swan reports that House progressives are becoming "fed up with efforts to accommodate Republican senators — and Joe Manchin," though it seems unlikely that the senator will be influenced by the reactions. Read more at Axios.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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