Joe Manchin is slamming the Democratic Party in a forthcoming book, blasting its embrace of “woke ideology,” diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates, and what he describes as a dangerous pursuit of power.
“I don’t say this lightly, but under the leadership of President Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid, and later President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrats have systematically tried to weaken the very guardrails that have protected our democracy for generations—all in the name of advancing their agenda,” Manchin writes in Dead Center, set to be released Tuesday, according to Punchbowl News.
Manchin, who left the Democratic Party last year after more than four decades to become an independent, argues that Democrats have abandoned the middle ground. “When the party pushes hard on woke ideology, DEI mandates, and other social agendas, it creates unnecessary divisions, alienates everyday citizens, and moves us further away from the commonsense middle ground where most Americans actually live their lives,” he writes.
The former West Virginia senator also targets Schumer over his 2022 attempt to abolish the filibuster. “Schumer wasn’t interested in debate or persuasion. He wanted a spectacle. He wanted a vote he could weaponize, a moment he could broadcast to the radical left to prove his loyalty. This wasn’t about governing or principle. It was about power,” Manchin argues.
In a candid admission, Manchin reflects on the Trump era, saying, “What I failed to recognize at the time is that there were enough reasons to change my political affiliation to Republican right then and there.”
