About Sens. Manchin and Sinema
Orange County Register Jan. 16, 2022
Biden’s voting bills
Re “Biden to huddle with Senate Democrats on voting bills” (Jan. 13):
I am a lifelong Democrat who has worked on Capitol Hill. Frankly, I’m fed up with Senators Joe Manchin (W. Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Az).
Given the unwillingness of these two obstructionist lawmakers to support President Biden’s latest push to reform the filibuster, it’s time for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to play hard ball.
Schumer needs to strip them of their various committee assignments, including Veterans’ Affairs where they serve together, and isolate them from their 48 Democratic colleagues.
He also needs to go one step further: Introduce legislation that reduces federal aid to West Virginia and Arizona.
— Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach
At what point does ostracizing Manchin cause him to declare himself a Republican and give the Speakership back to McConnell? Do you know what the rules are? Can he simply defect at will, or does ha have to wait to be re-elected as a Republican? I think that's why Biden & Schumer are treating him (& Sinema) with kid gloves rather than a velvet fist.