For reasons unknown to man, I actually watched a lot of CSPAN during its very long coverage of the Senate “Vote-a-rama.” Unlike their coverage of the House when there are votes, there was not onscreen “scoreboard” for the Senate, so that made it near-impossible to keep track of where things stood. But it was interesting seeing senators wander up to the front desk and give “thumbs up” or “thumbs down,” and try to recognize them. I put it on late Saturday night (like in the 11-12:30 range, Los Angeles time) and then Sunday throughout the more. To be clear, no, I didn’t have it on all that time, but would switch to it periodically – usually after the Republican speeches were over, having spoken on behalf of their amendments and slamming Democrats. Mainly, I watched the voting – even without knowing exactly what was going on. But I liked it because it meant that each vote made it closer to final passage of the bill. And yes, I did make sure I watched that. “The bill, as amended, is passed" was a glorious moment. Not just for what it signified when Vice President Harris said that – but it also meant that I didn’t have to keep watching. Not shockingly, I had a lot of thoughts about the passage of the Inflation Reduction Bill. But the one that predominated was very different from what I heard commentators saying. It related to something I’ve written here, and have written a great deal over the past couple of years on social media. It’s that I hope now everyone who has written “Joe Manchin is a Republican” understands now that he isn’t. It’s fair to criticize many of his earlier votes and positions, some of which were very hurtful, teeth-gnashing. But they never made him a Republican, they confirmed what he was – a conservative Democrat from an incredibly conservative state that voted for Trump in 2020 by 40 points. But it was Joe Manchin who brought up revisiting this bill to Chuck Schumer. And Manchin who negotiated an agreement with, became one of the leading voice on TV pushing its passage, and sat down with Kyrsten Sinema to convince her to vote for it. No Republican today would ever have done any of that. Or considered it. And it’s not just this bill. For all his galling refusal to agree to fixing the Voting Rights Act and changing the filibuster, and doing a turnaround on the Build Back Better Bill – all of which were critical matters – Manchin voted for the American Rescue Plan and the COVID Relief Bill, which zero Republicans did. And the Infrastructure Bill, which most Republicans did not. And other bills that only had Democratic support. And it wasn’t just that Joe Manchin was and is a lifelong Democrat – regardless of how many problematic votes he cast along with Republicans – it was that so many Democrats were SO angry at him that they’d cry out that he should just switch parties already and join the Republican Party. It was a comment so utterly infuriating – and “dangerous” (in case the anger and pressure did push him away from the Democratic Party) that I was always stunned by its pure stupidity. There are only so many leaks one can try and plug on social media, but I did try – and each time I wrote basically – “Do you not understand that if Joe Manchin voted with Republicans on every single issue, you should still give thanks he’s a Democrat – because Joe Manchin being a Democrat, however he votes, is what keeps Mitch McConnell from being Senate Majority Leader and allows Democrats to control every Senate committee.” The fact that he did vote with Democrats on most issues, including many major ones, is just icing on the cake. Yes, it is fair and understandable to be furious at some of his actions and to criticize him. But as I watched this wonderful Inflation Reduction Act pass, my first thought went to hoping that most of Joe Manchin’s biggest critics finally grasp that, for all their justified outrage at him at times, he is not a Republican. And they should be grateful for that. Man, sometimes the gods of Theater Arts really do shine their light down on us and make things perfect. By the way, politics aside, there are a lot of interesting tidbits about the above song, from the film Cabin in the Sky. It's sung here by Ethel Waters, re-creatiing her Broadway role. Further, the song was not in the stage show, but written for the film, and ended up being was nominated for a Best Song Oscar. Also, the actor who plays the "Little Joe" she's singing about is Eddie Anderson, best known from The Jack Benny Program as 'Rochester.' And even the original Broadway production had a nice, popular culture connection -- the role on stage was played by Dooley Wilson...who played 'Sam' in Casablanca. And it's worth noting that it was written by Harold Arlen and "Yip" Harburg -- who wrote "Over the Rainbow." So...there's a whole bunch of happiness about a thing called Joe.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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