Joe Manchin: 47% of Americans Identify as Independents and Do Not Want to Elect Radicals into Office

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is the seventy seven WABC Mini.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Cast Wednesday Night. Well with Us today is the United
States Senator Joe Manchin from the great state of West Virginia,
a common sense Democrat, and we had a big primary
last night and while Senator Mansion, it looks like some
common sense has finally hit some of our states.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Well, first of all, John, I'm a common sense independent,
like forty seven percent of the largest class of voting
people in America, forty seven percent of us, and they're disenfranchised.
We have no say whatsoever except they all need our
vote to get elected. And finally, the Democrats last night,
the Democrats that we've known before have stood up and

(00:49):
says we're not going that far left. That makes no
sense at all. So hooray for them.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Well, you're absolutely correct. I mean, talk about all the
you know, I had a former Vice President, Mike Penson
in the office last week and we talked, and you
know what he said. He says that some Republicans have
lost their way and a little bit off, but the

(01:16):
Democrats have completely lost their minds.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
And so I mean, here's the problem that both Yes,
go ahead, both have had this, John, here's the problem
both parties have been so successful of being so strong
in capturing the process of how we elect people in America.
There's no competition anymore because they want to close down.
They don't want people to vote in their primaries unless
you Republican or a Democrat. That's what they wished for.

(01:41):
Well guess what they got what they wished for. And
the zealous, the advocates, the people with the enthusiasm, which
we call them the DSA, now the Democrats Socialists of America,
they were able to say, fine, we'll play out of
your paybook. We'll say we're a Democrat, and we will
activate and get more people to come out in the
primary because you all have basically towarded down people even

(02:02):
coming less than twenty percent of the people that are
eligible to vote in primaries or even showing up. So
they were able to control it and take the Democratic
Party to the far left. They took the Republican Party
to the far right, which is the MAGA. So the
two parties or you have the tail of wagon the
dog for MAGA and the DSA. Are they going to

(02:23):
take it back? John, They're going to have to identify
who they are, what they stand for. The Grand old
Party would like to be grand again, and the Democrat
Blue Dog cart Party would like to be responsible and compassionate.
But they've both lost their ways.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
No one speaking up understood, and you're absolutely right that
there's a lot of problems. And I've always said extremism
in any direction in our country is not good for
the country.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
And John, here's what we're trying to do. Now, let
me just explain what we're trying to do. My daughter
and our Heather's the brainchild of this. She's a mover
and shaker, Heather Mansion. And we have the Americans Together
dot org, which teaches people if you go on that website,
Americans Together dot org, point out where you live, your
zip code, whatever, and it'll tell you what kind of
government you have and whether you're happy with it or not,

(03:11):
and what it takes to change it. But now we
have the Independent Leadership Council. We're trying to get proven
true independence elected in the Senate and the House. And
when they get elected, John, they're going to be able
to go to Washington and they are committed not to
caucus with either side, so they won't be able to

(03:32):
say that's a Democrat or a Republican, they're just an
independent until they get here. They're going to remain an
independent and make the parties come to them with reasonable
ideas before they vote.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
Well, that sounds logical. And I hope you replace that
no Labels party that ended up failing. I mean, I
haven't seen them at all, have you? And me? And
you were remembers the one time.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
I think, yeah, there's still a lot of good people
involved in that, and I thank them all and Nancy
and the whole staff there. But the bottom line is
we're taking a direction of action by electing independence. So
our Independent Leadership Counsel is going to elect an independent
who's committed to staying an independent. And John, that's the
only way I know to bring the country back. I

(04:17):
know what it takes. When you're in the middle and
everybody's coming at you, you better have the strength to
be able to say, listen, I'm only going to do
what's good for my country, not what's good for your
party or your party. I want to work with both parties,
but I want to bring them back to the middle.
And unless you have someone willing to stay in that
middle and that independent and John, why is forty seven

(04:39):
percent of the people today in America that basically are
able to vote saying that I'm independent minded, I don't
agree with either party, and the people that still, unless
you have just a hardcore left and right, they still
aren't happy with what's going on. And when someone tells
you all, we're just going to waste our vote if
we vote for an independent, don't you think you've already

(04:59):
wasted when you're voting for Democrats and Republicans that aren't
doing anything because the party prohibits the party demands total loyalty,
total control. That's not our founding fathers. It's not how
this country was basically designed from the beginning, John, do
you know not one word about party was ever spoken

(05:20):
in any of the drafts of the Constitution or any
of our members of our founding fathers even spoke about
parties or political parties. The first time we heard about
a political party being mentioned in history seventeen ninety six
George Washington is his farewell speech as he leaves a
second term as president. He said, beware of the political parties,

(05:42):
or they can become the engines that usurp the power
from the people. And was he ever right? They have
taken all the power away from the people. It's not
of the people, by the people, and for the people.
They think it's of the party, by the party, and
for the party. The redistricting all over the country to
try to get more party strength. Everything they do is

(06:03):
basically for the party. They've stopped independence from even voting,
let alone how hard it is to get on the ballot.
They make it almost impossible to compete with the two
party system, and we have got to break.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
That, John, Senator Joe Manchin, thank you so much for
coming on this Wednesday, and we'll catch up again. Wilson.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Great to be with you, John, Thank you for what
you do.