Manchin, Tomblin, Rahall to skip DNC

[Lasher]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Nick Rahall plan to skip the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., this summer.

The trio of West Virginia Democrats will not be part of the state delegation that will formally vote to renominate President Obama, according to a convention delegation list released Monday afternoon.

The decision to stay home comes amid pressure from state GOP leaders who have called on the Democratic incumbents to declare whether they support Obama. All three Democrats face re-election battles.

Manchin and Tomblin in particular have sought to distance themselves from the president, who is highly unpopular in West Virginia. In the state's May 8 Democratic presidential primary, federal inmate Keith Judd won more than 40 percent of the vote against Obama.

http://wvgazette.com/News/201206180097

[Woody Woodpecker]

1. All of them are useless

These people do not show respect for the President, and needs to be removed from position of power and replaced with true and progressive Democrats who can talk to the WV folks and relate to them, not just give them lip service. The WV folks may be conservative now, but they are still progressive in their hearts.

[Lasher]

3. They need to distance themselves from Obama to win the election.

Last edited Tue Jun 19, 2012, 01:58 PM - Edit history (1)

And their only prospective replacements are not true and progressive Democrats. They are three Republican opponents who would make GWB look like FDR.

You need to understand more about demographics. Fact is that West Virginia is an overwhelmingly white state, so those votes cannot be offset by black and Hispanic votes like in other southern and border states. Obama got 41% of the West Virginia white vote in 2008 (only 2% lower than his national average with white voters), but there is little else to offset that there.

Now look at North Carolina, which Obama won. He got 35% of the white vote, but there were enough blacks and Hispanics to offset that.

In Virginia, also a blue state, Obama won 39% of the white vote. Same phenomenon at work here.

West Virginia

North Carolina

Virginia

Thanks and a hat tip to bluestateguy for having conducted this demographics research

[MadAnne]

4. No they don't.

This is a blog post someone wrote. It sums things up nicely.

Manchin changes his tune ...
as soon as someone calls him out on it.
What this shows is a man lacking in any leadership ability whatsoever. He strong arms and panders his way through life thinking only about what is best for Joe Manchin. He uses the fear, ignorance and racism of his constituents to promote an agenda that is all about Joe Manchin. His real base is the extraction industries and other corporate entities that have sucked the life out of WV for over 100 years. He has done absolutely nothing as governor or senator to dispel the fear and ignorance that keeps WV last in just about everything that matters, but instead keeps it stirred up and panders to it. This guy is a disgrace to the Democratic Party, the State of WV and the late Senator Byrd.
After his "Democrats for Underwood" campaign he should have been run out of the Democratic Party and never permitted to show his face again.
We, as WV Democrats, have done a piss-poor job of dispeling the misconceptions, half-truths and outright lies that Manchin has promoted about the health care bill, contraception and environmental protections? Why are we allowing Joe Manchin to continue to divide this state on life and death issues that should be important to ALL of us. Every time we take this clown at his word and allow him to lie to us some more we are enabling his behavior. Have you forgotten that Manchin is the ONLY Democratic Senator who is an ALEC member and that he has taken campaign cash from the Koch brothers. We rail against others for doing this, but somehow find it acceptable from Joe Manchin. We should be ashamed.

[Lasher]

6. So, who are you voting for in the WV US Senate race this November?

[MadAnne]

7. I'm not.

I'm skipping that category. I think Joe Manchin is the worst kind of low life.

[Lasher]

8. Worse even than his Republican opponent, John Raese?

Manchin is not my favorite Democrat but the WV Primary election is over. We need to get behind our nominee now.

[MadAnne]

9. Yep

The Dems are supposed to be the good guys. Manchin voted against repealing DADT, is against the health care plan, is anti choice, in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy.

[feilm95262se]

12. +1000

[rurallib]

2. invertibrates - no fucking spine.

[Kteachums]

5. Democratic Pretenders hiding behind "Big Money" contributions!

WV Dems are continuing to vote off party lines and with Republicans. In the House tomorrow it is rumored Rahall will be voting to hold contempt charges against Eric Holder. This is a conspiracy theory that the Republicans are using to make the President look bad. It is politics at it's finest and the NRA is holding everyone hostage including our representatives in WV.

Senator Byrd would be turning over in his grave to see the Dems without guts giving in to big money. It is sad.

I am ashamed of my WV Representation in the Senate and House.

I'm voting for Obama and the heck with the Democratic pretenders!

[Staph]

10. Welcome to DU, Kteachums!

There aren't many of us West Virginians here, but we're a proud bunch. We slash and hack at our representatives when they aren't liberal enough or Democratic (or democratic) enough, but woe to the outsiders that dare to pick on us or put us down!

(I was born and raised in Morgantown, graduated from WVU. It's good to see another hometown face here!)

[Kteachums]

14. It's nice to see you here Staph!

I know they are trying to save their buttes but, I would rather see a Dem than a make-believe one. I think very little of the three of them. I live right behind the Mountaineer Field. I will vote for Obama and the heck with the rest of them. I'm ashamed I live here sometimes.

[Hubert Flottz]

11. They might as well...

They are Joe LIEberman type "Democrats" anyway. Maybe the can go on the the Repub pig-dig like brother Joey LIEberman.

[feilm95262se]

13. kick