Oct. 5, 2010
CNN Interviews Crystallizes Manchin's Problem This Year
Campaign 2010: The U.S. Senate Race
By Huntingtonnews.net Staff
CNN sent a reporter to cover the Raese/Manchin U.S. Senate race for its national audience earlier this week. Both men vying for the top ballot prize this year in West Virginia acquitted themselves well in general. No doubt many Mountain State residents breathed a sigh of relief after watching the lengthy segments that both Raese and Manchin spoke with eloquence.
But many have commented on how "Republican" Joe Manchin sounded. A lifelong Democrat, proud of his ties to organized labor, Manchin appeared to be trying to outdo Raese as a conservative. That may be difficult to do against Raese, who said in his CNN interview that he likes to tease his Tea Party friends that they are to the left of him.
"What you've got here is a Democratic Governor running very
scared," said Jack Ellis, Senior Political Analyst for
Huntingtonnews.net. "You could tell that Manchin is
buffaloed by the situation. The CNN reporter picked up
on this and asked Manchin flat out if President Obama's
negative poll ratings in West Virginia were dragging
him down. In a telling moment, Manchin said yes.
"Obama's not on the ballot this year," Manchin said. "I'm on
the ballot."
"That's the main issue, of course," said Ellis. "But the truth is, we're going through a realignment in West Virginia, and this kind of year has been building for a long time. We've already seen Republicans winning other races, like Shelley Moore Capito doing well in the 2nd Congressional District and Brent Benjamin winning for State Supreme Court."
"As a result, many Democrats like Manchin who playact now and then like they're conservative but who have been all over the map just aren't the sure thing like a conservative Republican like Raese is this year," said Ellis. "People are upset this year, and they don't want to take any chances on sending a tax and spender to D.C. They know with certainty that Raese will tow the line on the federal budget, but they can't be sure about Manchin, given his allegiance to Obama."
Will other Democratic officials see what is happening to Joe Manchin and start to reconsider their party affiliation?
"If they're young enough to make a change, sure, that might start to happen," said Ellis. "This is a red state now for all intents and purposes. It just has to come down to the local level more after three Republican victories for President in the past three election cycles. Who would have thought a few years ago that Justice Spike Maynard could switch parties at his age and be competitive against Congressman Rahall? But that's the new reality we live in now."
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CNN Interviews Crystallizes Manchin's Problem This Year
Campaign 2010: The U.S. Senate Race
By Huntingtonnews.net Staff
CNN sent a reporter to cover the Raese/Manchin U.S. Senate race for its national audience earlier this week. Both men vying for the top ballot prize this year in West Virginia acquitted themselves well in general. No doubt many Mountain State residents breathed a sigh of relief after watching the lengthy segments that both Raese and Manchin spoke with eloquence.
But many have commented on how "Republican" Joe Manchin sounded. A lifelong Democrat, proud of his ties to organized labor, Manchin appeared to be trying to outdo Raese as a conservative. That may be difficult to do against Raese, who said in his CNN interview that he likes to tease his Tea Party friends that they are to the left of him.
"What you've got here is a Democratic Governor running very
scared," said Jack Ellis, Senior Political Analyst for
Huntingtonnews.net. "You could tell that Manchin is
buffaloed by the situation. The CNN reporter picked up
on this and asked Manchin flat out if President Obama's
negative poll ratings in West Virginia were dragging
him down. In a telling moment, Manchin said yes.
"Obama's not on the ballot this year," Manchin said. "I'm on
the ballot."
"That's the main issue, of course," said Ellis. "But the truth is, we're going through a realignment in West Virginia, and this kind of year has been building for a long time. We've already seen Republicans winning other races, like Shelley Moore Capito doing well in the 2nd Congressional District and Brent Benjamin winning for State Supreme Court."
"As a result, many Democrats like Manchin who playact now and then like they're conservative but who have been all over the map just aren't the sure thing like a conservative Republican like Raese is this year," said Ellis. "People are upset this year, and they don't want to take any chances on sending a tax and spender to D.C. They know with certainty that Raese will tow the line on the federal budget, but they can't be sure about Manchin, given his allegiance to Obama."
Will other Democratic officials see what is happening to Joe Manchin and start to reconsider their party affiliation?
"If they're young enough to make a change, sure, that might start to happen," said Ellis. "This is a red state now for all intents and purposes. It just has to come down to the local level more after three Republican victories for President in the past three election cycles. Who would have thought a few years ago that Justice Spike Maynard could switch parties at his age and be competitive against Congressman Rahall? But that's the new reality we live in now."
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