The Democrats’ efforts to intimidate Sen. Joe Manchin into toeing the party line not only haven’t worked, they seem to have made him even more independent, maybe because polls show that he’s by far the most popular Democrat in West Virginia. Now, it’s as if he’s just deliberately rubbing their noses in it for fun by endorsing the reelection of a Republican colleague.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2022/02/06/manchin-is-going-to-tick-off-more-dems-big-time-with-his-latest-remarks-n518288

Manchin said it doesn’t matter if he’s a Democrat and they’re Republicans, they’re “good people,” “they’ve been my dear friends, we get a lot accomplished and I think the country has fared better with us working together than not.” So “why in the world wouldn’t I want to work with them and continue to work with them?”

Sure, it’s Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whom even a lot of Republicans would like to replace, hence all her conservative primary challengers. Still, when you’re trying to ram a leftist agenda down America’s throats with a 50-50 tie, having a fellow Democrat act like a bipartisan statesman and endorse any Republican’s reelection has got to feel like your party’s symbol the donkey just kicked you in a sensitive area.