Manchin Manifesto

Sen. Joe Manchin – You are hereby advised that your Democratic, liberal, and progressive constituents in the State of West Virginia find your voting record in the U.S. Senate to be intolerable. Today, we demand that you recommit to the values of the Democratic Party if you wish to continue to represent us.

We have formed the #NoMoreJoe campaign, a grassroots activist group, with the purpose of exposing your poor voting history, which voting history lacks Democratic ideology. We encourage you to change your voting practices. The campaign characterizes you, Sen. Manchin, as a Democratic senator who is known to reject his party’s values in favor of pandering to a pro-Trump radically conservative base. We are devastated and demoralized by your continued support of Trump in the wake of his hateful rhetoric, unconstitutional edicts, and questionable international ties. We expect more from you, Joe; why do you continue to disappoint us?

We expect our WV Senators to be leaders. You could have been our champion and made history had you reached across the aisle and persuaded GOP senators to oppose Kavanaugh in light of his increasingly worrisome and disqualifying temperament. Instead, you caved to a nationalist Trump regime. Ironic, since he and Trump, Jr., come to WV regularly to stump for your opponent. Why side with Trump, someone who continuously kicks you in the teeth on your home turf, and promotes policies that could harm West Virginians?

It is unfortunate that your vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court will likely have far reaching consequences, many of which are contrary to the very principles you claim to defend, such as accessible health care, women’s rights, and equal rights for all Americans. There is little you can do now to prevent disastrous rulings by our judiciary, now deeply stacked with Trump’s far right-conservative, anti-democratic appointees. These effects will be felt for a generation that includes our children and yours.

Nevertheless, we now require that you return to the ideals of the Democratic Party and our nation, and that you alter your voting practices to ensure liberty and justice for all. We demand support for:

- Women’s Reproductive Rights and Funding for Planned Parenthood Services

- Affordable and Accessible Health Care and Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions
- Protections for Senior Citizens’ Investments in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
- Respect and Support for our Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Humanitarian Efforts for Americans, Refugees, and those Lawfully Seeking Asylum
- Civil Rights and Marriage Equality
- Environmental Protections for Clean Air, Water, and Land
- Fair Labor Rights and a $15.00 per Hour Minimum Wage
- Gun Control Laws that will Safeguard all Americans, including School Children
- Voting Equality for all United States Citizens
- Clean Energy Alternatives
- Tax Reform that will Strengthen the Middle Class
- Support of the Mueller Investigation into Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections.

Manchin Meets with Handmaid Activists

Representatives of the #NoMoreJoe activist group met with Sen. Joe Manchin on Friday afternoon, October 26, 2018, to address issues raised in their Manchin Manifesto. Earlier that day, eight of the activists in handmaids’ attire delivered the Manifesto to the senator’s Martinsburg office. Manchin’s campaign manager, Mara Boggs, arranged for the senator to spend the better part of an hour discussing the concerns raised.

“We appreciate the time that the senator gave to us,” said Layne Diehl, spokesperson for the #NoMoreJoe campaign. “It is promising that he was willing to listen and we were encouraged to learn more about his reasoning in the Kavanaugh vote, which the senator explained to include consideration of possible alternative appointees whose judicial record may have proved more menacing than Kavanaugh’s. Yet when asked whether he would make a commitment to the values described in the Manifesto, the senator was reluctant to make any promises.”

The group also expressed appreciation for the senator’s commitment to give voice to his more progressive and liberal constituents and to encourage outreach activities by the West Virginia Democratic Party with the goal of attracting more young people with diverse and progressive viewpoints into the fold. The meeting included state party leadership, Belinda Biafore, Chair of the West Virginia State Democratic Executive Committee, and the Rev. Matthew J. Watts, state party activist.

Whether Manchin will return more fully to the principles of the national democratic party through his voting record remains to be seen, though recent reports indicate that the senator may be taking notice of his progressive constituents’ call to action. “We find the senator’s statements in Morgantown earlier this week to show progress,” said Diehl, in reference to the senator’s calling out President Trump for his divisive rhetoric prior to a UMWA rally on Monday, October 29. The senator was quoted as calling on Trump to “[c]alm down the rhetoric,” and advising the President that, “[p]eople need to know we’re not going to tolerate this divisiveness, this hatred.” “That’s progress,” said Diehl, “and we hope to see more of it from our senator in the days ahead.”

The handmaid’s garments worn by the group early in the day are symbolic of a dystopian society wherein women are treated as instruments for procreation and where rape and sexual assault are to be disregarded if not outright condoned for the purpose of preserving a patriarchal elite. Handmaid demonstrations have become popular throughout the United States as the television series on Hulu, the Handmaid’s Tale, has gained in popularity. The series is adapted from the book of the same title authored by Margaret Atwood.