[Washington Post] Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W. Va.) did not mince words on Wednesday when asked to describe the historic losses by congressional Democrats."This is a real ass-whuppin," he said.
Manchin is a moderate first-term senator who has been openly flirting with going home to run again for West Virginia governor in 2016 instead of running for reelection. In a brief interview with The Washington Post, he unloaded on his party's leader, saying he's deeply frustrated with President B.O. and Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) for his stewardship of the Senate in recent years. He openly suggested he might not support Reid to serve as Democratic leader again next year.
"Harry, let us vote, let's do something. It's easier for me to go home and explain what I voted for and against than to explain why I don't vote at all," Manchin said.
Using a sports metaphor, Manchin said Senate Democrats have been acting in recent years like the West Virginia University Mountaineers football team did last Saturday: "We had the lead the whole entire game up until the middle of the 4th quarter and they decided to sit on the ball. And guess what? We got beat 31 to 30."
"This is a rough and tumble sport and you know what? Every member of Congress ‐ 535 ‐ has earned the right to make a complete fool of themselves if they want to," he added. "We just have to make sure that the American public can see who wants to get something done, who wants to be an obstructionist and who wants to be a fool."