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DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 12:33 PM Apr 2014

"Dem" Senator Defends Koch Brothers: 'They're Not Breaking The Law'

CAITLIN MACNEAL – APRIL 10, 2014, 12:25 PM EDT

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Thursday morning defended the Koch brothers, the wealthy conservative donors who have been repeatedly bashed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on the Senate floor.

"People want jobs. You don’t beat up people. I mean, I don’t agree with their politics or philosophically, but, you know, they’re Americans, they’re doing — paying their taxes," Manchin said on "Fox and Friends" when host Brian Kilmeade asked if Reid's speeches criticizing the Koch brothers "helps or hurts the cause for the country and for Congress."

"They’re not breaking the law. They’re providing jobs," Manchin continued.

The senator said that criticizing the Koch brothers is not going to help Democrats with voters.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/manchin-defends-koch-brothers

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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"Dem" Senator Defends Koch Brothers: 'They're Not Breaking The Law' (Original Post) DonViejo Apr 2014 OP
Quisling. riqster Apr 2014 #1
2nd that IADEMO2004 Apr 2014 #2
The extraction industries own all of WV. Including the economy and politicians. Ikonoklast Apr 2014 #7
+1000 Tom Ripley Apr 2014 #9
Joe has taken there money and is just another light Republicant with a D in front of his name ... MindMover Apr 2014 #3
+1,000,000. closeupready Apr 2014 #8
No, they're not breaking the law Prophet 451 Apr 2014 #4
Currently he's as good as it's gonna get out of WV in the U.S. Senate Tom Rinaldo Apr 2014 #5
Not breaking the law but spending millions to lie to the American people. Dawgs Apr 2014 #6
manchin is s democrat? barely spanone Apr 2014 #10
"Why are you spreading fud by disparaging a democrat on a democratic website?" whatchamacallit Apr 2014 #11
Of course they are not breaking the law. justhanginon Apr 2014 #12
He does have a point. Nye Bevan Apr 2014 #13
HE'S NOT A DEMOCRATE....... a kennedy Apr 2014 #14
Joe Manchin Votes to Send Taxpayer Money to Planned Parenthood Nye Bevan Apr 2014 #17
Sorry, possibly on this vote he did a good thing.....but..... a kennedy Apr 2014 #23
He is only helpful to Democrats because his "Democratic" seat helps us with the majority number. AlinPA Apr 2014 #15
Manchin Still Opposes Repealing Obamacare Nye Bevan Apr 2014 #18
That's a surprise to me. AlinPA Apr 2014 #19
That's rich. geardaddy Apr 2014 #16
LOL Manchin. This guy is a joke. nt Cali_Democrat Apr 2014 #20
While technically correct e nadinbrzezinski Apr 2014 #21
I knew it was him before clicking this link. JaneyVee Apr 2014 #22

Ikonoklast

(23,973 posts)
7. The extraction industries own all of WV. Including the economy and politicians.
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 01:58 PM
Apr 2014

But Manchin is doing what the voters of WV asked him to do...represent their interests.

MindMover

(5,016 posts)
3. Joe has taken there money and is just another light Republicant with a D in front of his name ...
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 12:45 PM
Apr 2014

enough already .... the selling out of the USA has to stop ....

Tom Rinaldo

(22,917 posts)
5. Currently he's as good as it's gonna get out of WV in the U.S. Senate
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 12:56 PM
Apr 2014

He votes with Dems far more often than he votes against us, with obvious glaring exceptions. His record is about as good or better on whole as the old school North East moderate Republican Senators when such a beast still roamed Capital Hill. I'm not going to lose sleep over Joe Manchin when he predictably fails to act like a Liberal. I have more tolerance for his sort when they come out of states that are prone to elect reactionary Republicans. However I have no tolerance for that crap when it comes from a Blue State Democrat.

 

Dawgs

(14,755 posts)
6. Not breaking the law but spending millions to lie to the American people.
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 01:00 PM
Apr 2014

Hey, at least they're not breaking the law.

whatchamacallit

(15,558 posts)
11. "Why are you spreading fud by disparaging a democrat on a democratic website?"
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:05 PM
Apr 2014

Or whatever the typical partisan nonsense line is.

justhanginon

(3,290 posts)
12. Of course they are not breaking the law.
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:18 PM
Apr 2014

They don't have to, They wrote the GDamn laws with campaign contributions to appropriate congressmen. Unless and until we change the campaign finance laws there will always be Koch brothers in one form or another. The problem lies with the people charged with changing those laws are the very recipients of the their largess and do not have the moral courage to make those changes.
With the current makeup of the so called Supreme Court today I am not sure that it would get past the fab five since they have abdicated their responsibility to the American people in favor of both the rich and business classes.

Nye Bevan

(25,406 posts)
13. He does have a point.
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:25 PM
Apr 2014

If Harry Reid wants people like the Kochs to pay higher taxes, or to benefit from fewer tax loopholes (and there is certainly a reasonable case for this) then why not spend his time proposing and introducing legislation that would actually achieve this, as opposed to making speeches vilifying the Kochs and calling them unAmerican?

Nye Bevan

(25,406 posts)
17. Joe Manchin Votes to Send Taxpayer Money to Planned Parenthood
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:30 PM
Apr 2014
The Senate vote to defund Planned Parenthood failed 42 to 58 today.

All Democrats voted to keep federally funding Planned Parenthood, including self-proclaimed pro-lifers Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Of course, Casey and Nelson had already voted for Planned Parenthood funding in 2007 and voted for taxpayer-funding of abortion in Obamacare last year. Not so with Manchin. This was the first vote that really pits him against pro-lifers. He was a very popular governor, but this voting to send taxpayer money to a billion-dollar "non-profit" business that performs more than 330,000 abortions per year could come back to haunt him in his conservative state in 2012.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/joe-manchin-votes-send-taxpayer-money-planned-parenthood_557431.html

a kennedy

(29,723 posts)
23. Sorry, possibly on this vote he did a good thing.....but.....
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:40 PM
Apr 2014

let's just check his recored on voting.....http://www.opencongress.org/people/voting_history/412391_Joe_Manchin Votes with party 79% Abstains: 1% Ugh.....not a strong Democrat. Ugh.


AlinPA

(15,071 posts)
15. He is only helpful to Democrats because his "Democratic" seat helps us with the majority number.
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:26 PM
Apr 2014

Otherwise, he acts like a republican. The Fox "news" asshole seems to like him.

Nye Bevan

(25,406 posts)
18. Manchin Still Opposes Repealing Obamacare
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:31 PM
Apr 2014
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III is making clear he would oppose an immediate repeal of Obamacare.

“I have never supported repealing the Affordable Care Act because I came to Washington to find solutions to our country’s problems,” the West Virginia senator said Friday. “We cannot go back to the days when millions of Americans were uninsured and nearly twenty percent of our GDP was spent on healthcare, while only being ranked 43rd in the world in health and wellness outcomes.”

http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/manchin-makes-clear-he-still-opposes-obamacare-repeal/?dcz=

geardaddy

(24,931 posts)
16. That's rich.
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:27 PM
Apr 2014

Look at the caption: "Demonization and Hypocrisy the New Democratic Political Attack Strategy"

What, are they pissed that we're stealing their ideas?

Not that that's what Dems do though.

 

nadinbrzezinski

(154,021 posts)
21. While technically correct e
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 04:36 PM
Apr 2014

That they are not breaking the law, perhaps the Senator has forgotten that the Rockeffelers at the turn of the last century were not breaking the law either

The law had to change and that monopoly was broken perhaps it is time we have the law changed.

Oh and morally they are not quite the most ethically bound people but that is a whole different story.

Now given the reliance of WV on energy..

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