By Paul Bradford
Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is now an enemy of democracy. The moderate Democrat earned this dubious title after he announced he would not support his party’s radical “voter rights” bill. The “For the People Act” would place state and local elections under the effective control of liberal bureaucrats, draw districts according to the dictates of said liberal bureaucrats, ban voter ID, expand mail-in voting, make it easier to ballot harvest, allow violent felons to vote, and much more. Legal scholar Walter Olson found at least seven provisions in the bill that violate the Constitution.
Manchin decided the bill would be a massive disservice to American democracy. “Voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen,” he wrote in an op-ed published last weekend. He also reiterated his opposition to eliminating the filibuster.
For holding these positions, he was branded a threat to democracy by his fellow Democrats and liberal commentators.
“We can’t stand by and accept that Manchin, along with nearly every Republican, is going to hold hostage the legislation our country needs to address the big crises we face. Our democracy is falling apart—we can’t just let that happen,” Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) wrote in a CNN op-ed.
“[Manchin] should not want to be known as the senator who blocked voting rights and undermined American democracy,” said Representative Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.).
“The GOP is fighting to preserve white power in America. Joe Manchin just joined their side,” tweeted radio host Thom Hartmann.
“Democracy is going to die for Joe Manchin and [Kyrsten] Sinema’s ego and greed. Whiteness will remain undefeated,” tweeted Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali.
Even supposedly objective news reporters challenged Manchin for his “anti-democratic” stance. CNN’s Manu Raju tweeted: “Joe Manchin had little interest in speaking to reporters, speeding into the chamber during votes. I asked him about the criticism from progressives that he’s subverting democracy over his position on voting rights. ‘They’re all my friends,’ he told me as he went to floor.” Raju, an allegedly objective news reporter, has also grilled Manchin about why he won’t kill the filibuster. So have many other journalists who’ve interviewed the senator.
Democrats have made it appear that our democracy is on the edge of destruction. Pretty much everything they don’t like threatens it.
Conservative election reforms apparently will mean the end of voting, according to liberals. Georgia incurred the wrath of the national news media, sports leagues, and corporations when it merely strengthened voter ID rules and requirements for mail-in voting. President Biden famously described it as “Jim Crow on steroids.” Texas and other states are considering similar measures, which draw cries that this signals the “end of democracy.”
Another threat to democracy is free speech. Yes, allowing people in a democracy to share their views regardless of whether those views offend people in power is a major danger.
The New York Times published a lengthy essay before the 2020 election calling for a reassessment of free speech. The essay’s author, Emily Bazelon, argued that unrestricted free speech—with all its hate speech, “troll armies,” and “Russian disinformation”—is bad for democracy. She suggested lawmakers do things, such as demand tech censorship, to protect our sacred system from the danger of free expression. Even the American Civil Liberties Union now argues free speech is bad for their kind of democracy. The national organization has demoted its importance in favor of “racial justice” and some of its chapters openly support restrictions on free speech. This from a group that made its name defending the First Amendment.
Even personal opinions pose a threat to democracy. Judges have cited the beliefs of January 6 protesters to deny them bail. These officers of the court argue that “our democracy” can’t risk these “extremist” views getting out of a jail cell.