West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin delivered bad news to his fellow Democrats in a ‘Sunday surprise’ that he will vote against the For the People Act. It is a sweeping election reform bill being pushed by Democratic that Manchin says is ‘too broad and partisan.” He believes that forcing it through via the reconciliation process will further deepen divisions in the Senate.

Senator Manchin wrote an op-ed for the local Charleston Gazette-Mail to announce that he’s a “no” on the For the People Act:

“Today’s debate about how to best protect our right to vote and to hold elections, however, is not about finding common ground, but seeking partisan advantage. … I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act.”

 “I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.”

Ouch! That’s some Sunday surprise.

 

Manchin concluded his op-ed with a call for unity:

American democracy is something special; it is bigger than one party, or the tweet-filled partisan attack politics of the moment. It is my sincere hope that all of us, especially those who are privileged to serve, remember our responsibility to do more to unite this country before it is too late. 

Could it be that Manchin is sending a message to his fellow Democrats that they’ve gone too far?

Manchin spoke to political hack Chris Wallace of FOX News this morning:

“Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. Open, fair, secured voting. We used to go around the world and explain and show and observe voting procedures in a democracy. And now if we can’t practice what we preach, we are going to basically do an overhaul, an 800-page overhaul of the voting rights.”