By Ray Cardello for July 18, 2023, Season 20 / Post 45

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is one of the most interesting members of the Senate. A veteran Democrat Senator representing a predominantly Republican state, Manchin has been in office since 2010. Manchin is possibly the last of a dying breed. He is a true moderate in a government that is more polarized than ever. With the super slim majority in the Senate, the passage of a Bill usually comes down to how Joe Manchin and his colleague from Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema, vote. They are so entrenched in the ideological middle you can never predict which way they will vote. Manchin is down 25 points to his Republican opponent and is possibly looking at the end of his career coming soon. He may have one chance left to make an impact and a splash.

Joe Manchin was in New Hampshire on Monday with the first public appearance of the political group “No Labels.” This group is raising money and investigating the possibility of presenting a third-party presidential candidate in 2024. Joe Manchin is hinting at the possibility that he would be the Common Sense candidate of the No Label Party. Unlike third-party bids of the past that were nothing more than protest campaigns, the No Label Party says they would be in the race to win the race.

Biden deceived Manchin and has given the Senator a personal reason to run against Biden and probably Trump. Manchin was promised programs to bring a boom to the West Virginia Mining Industry. These promises were traded for Manchin’s vote on the Inflation Reduction Act. Biden reneged on those promises, which has given Manchin the impetus to run as a third-party candidate. Biden played Manchin, embarrassed him with his colleagues, and jeopardized his future in the Senate. Manchin deserves to be angry and vengeful.

Manchin was correct when discussing both parties going too far to their respective fringe. He pointed out that most Americans live in the moderate middle and are not served by either party. This polarization leaves a pathway for a moderate third-party candidate to make a legitimate presidential run.

The threat of a Third-Party candidate is making the Democrats apoplectic. They know it would hurt Biden more than the Republican candidate, and could tilt the election away from Biden. There are some Democrats that are forming PACs and raising money to combat the efforts of the No Label group. The Democrats created the problem, and they should own it, but accountability is not a strong suit for Democrats.

This election cycle is morphing to be an embarrassment. There are far too many candidates on the Right. The Left will only acknowledge one of their three candidates. It seems to be the same issue as Joe accounting for his seven grandchildren. And the third rail may not commit until late 2023 or early 2024. In the meantime, Biden will be looking to squash the No Label candidate. Maybe he can come up with some bogus crimes like he is doing with Trump. It will work until you sacrifice Hunter to stay in the race.