Profile of an Egomaniacal Swing Senator
What type of Personality enjoys the attention, and leverage of being the swing vote?
Do swing senators like John McCain, Joe Manchin, Kristin Sinema, and Susan Collins, and Jon Fetterman have big egos that are fed by their swing voter position?
Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema act out of ego, not principle
But I do know from 50 years’ experience in and around Washington that most of the people who serve in our nation’s capital have very, very large – shall we say? – egos. Robert Reich
Where egos dare: Manchin and Sinema show how Senate spotlight corrupts
In this opinion piece for The Guardian, Robert Reich argues that the primary motivation behind Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema’s 2022 decision to block voting rights legislation and maintain the filibuster was narcissism and a craving for the national spotlight.
Key Points of the Article:
The Contradiction: Reich points out the hypocrisy in their stances, noting that both senators had previously supported filibuster exceptions (such as for the debt ceiling) and had even co-sponsored the very voting rights bills they ultimately helped kill.
Money vs. Ego: While Reich acknowledges that corporate campaign donations play a role in their decision-making, he argues that “ego” is the more powerful factor. He claims that before this controversy, neither senator had much of a national profile; the deadlock turned them into “Washington celebrities.”
The “Addiction” to Attention: Reich describes the national spotlight as “addictive” for politicians. He suggests that Manchin and Sinema became intoxicated by their roles as “spoilers,” enjoying the power of being the sole gatekeepers of the Democratic agenda.
Senate Culture: The article describes the U.S. Senate as a “stew of egos” where senators often prioritize personal recognition and “the spotlight” over legislative progress. Reich cites Sinema’s “theatrical” thumbs-down vote against the minimum wage as an example of relishing the role of a contrarian.
Conclusion: Reich concludes that by prioritizing their own sense of importance and “shafting American democracy,” Manchin and Sinema demonstrated how the pursuit of individual notoriety can corrupt the political process and stall essential protections for the right to vote.
This article is more than 4 years old
‘The Democratic version of John McCain’, Politico
The Politico article from February 7, 2021, titled “The center of the universe: Joe Manchin’s big moment,” explores the unprecedented leverage Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) gained following the 2020 elections, which resulted in a 50-50 split in the U.S. Senate.
Key Themes and Insights:
The Ultimate Power Broker: With the Senate evenly divided, the article describes Manchin as the most influential person in Washington. Because his vote was required for any Democratic priority to pass via reconciliation (or to reach the 50-vote threshold for nominations), he effectively held “veto power” over President Biden’s entire legislative agenda.
The “Manchin Cycle”: Politico details the repetitive pattern that came to define this period: Democrats would propose a bold policy, Manchin would express public skepticism or concerns about the cost and “bipartisanship,” and the entire party would be forced to negotiate down to his specific requirements.
A “West Virginia Democrat”: The piece highlights Manchin’s unique political survival. Representing a state that voted for Donald Trump by nearly 40 points, Manchin’s “conservative Democrat” brand was a necessity for his political life. He used his position to protect West Virginia’s energy interests (particularly coal and gas) and to demand fiscal restraint.
The Personal Spotlight: The article notes that Manchin seemed to relish the attention, often holding informal press conferences in the Capitol hallways (known as “stakeouts”). This mirrors the “ego” theme found in other critiques, suggesting that the media’s obsession with his every move only increased his resolve to remain a centrist outlier.
Frustration Among Progressives: Politico describes the growing resentment from the progressive wing of the party, who felt that one man from a small state was blocking the will of the national Democratic majority on issues like the minimum wage, climate change, and social spending.
This article serves as a snapshot of the moment Manchin moved from being a relatively obscure centrist to the central figure of American governance, a role he maintained throughout the first half of the Biden administration.
Transcript
6:46 Isn’t it crazy? You know, soccer, I was thinking back when we interviewed him and it was in the middle of like all the stop the steel nonsense. 6:51 This was also pre-stroke and he was Yeah. But I was just thinking back on that and how different he I mean, he really was like a different person. He’s like a blueon liberal. 7:00 Yeah. I mean, we interviewed him because he was the most aggressive Democrat practically in the country going after Trump for all his stop the steel delusions and Trump was going after him. 7:10 They were waring on Twitter. I mean, 7:12 that’s what his brand was, and that’s obviously not his brand anymore. Um, so anyway, I don’t know. He seems to relish 7:19 the possibility of very likely if even if he doesn’t flip parties, he is going 7:26 to be in a position to play the Joe Mansion or Kirstston Cinema role where if Democrats want to get something passed, they’re going to have to go to 7:34 John Federman and they’re going to have to give him what he wants and cater to his ego, blah blah blah. What’s that? 7:40 This makes me think he won’t switch because cuz you think he’ll like that role too much. 7:44 Those people the the McCain’s, the mansions, the swing vote, they are the biggest egoomaniacal 7:52 most like they relish when all the reporters camp out and they go, “Oh, 7:58 this one’s not acceptable to me.” And everyone has to, you know, you do like Kremlin on Joe Mansion. Remember when I remember he lived on that boat and 8:06 they’re like, “Who was on the boat last night?” Susan Collins spotted on in the housebo or something like that. So I mean cinema she was very much the same. 8:15 The the level of egoomaniacal narcissism that those swing vote people have like the centrist corporate swing vote. Also they love they get dined out all over 8:23 town. They’re they could go to any restaurant in the country that they want to. The ultra rich will all flock to them. This I’m talking myself into it. 8:32 He’s not going to switch. He he will love that position. 8:35 Yeah, I think he I think you’re probably right. He will relish. I mean, think about it. I mean, otherwise you work for John Thoon. Like, who wants to do that or for Trump? Like, 8:43 that. You know, 8:45 that is part of what he told Jart in this piece is he’s like, they didn’t even let like Tom Tillis stay in the party. He’s like, you think that I’m 8:54 going to that it’s going to work out for me as a Republican? I mean, the other possibility is that he just completely changes more of his positions, which is also not something I would put off the 9:02 table. But, uh, I think you’re right that he’s looking forward to being playing that role of the the rotating villain, you know, the one that everybody has to cowtow to and everybody 9:10 has to like find out what you want and massage your ego and all that sort of stuff because if Democrats take the Senate, which is still a tall order by 9:19 the way, but they have I mean now they have they really have a fighting chance at it. um between I saw polling for in Alaska where me Mary Pelola who is the 9:28 Democrat running there is up um shared Brown is up in Ohio you know then you’ve got North Carolina I think is pretty much a lock for Roy Cooper frankly 9:36 you’ve got Maine with Graham Platner looking very good that Susan Collins won’t be able to hang on this time Texas the polling has been pretty good for Taler Rico there as well so in any case 9:44 they have a path but even if they win it’s going to be narrow you know the most you could see is they have a two seat margin and that would be 9:52 extraordinary if they were able to get that that would be like biggest landslide that we’ve had going back to the Tea Party era. Um but you know this 10:01 time for Democrats that would be those sorts of numbers. So even in that situation you know and Fedterman teams up with whoever the next most conservative Democratic senator is to 10:10 cause problems you could easily see it and yeah he would relish that role.