On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “MTP Daily,” Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) stated that “Democrats in Washington don’t really speak for” rural Americans, and that the party needs a chair from a rural coal state.
Manchin criticized President Obama’s coal policy as overreach and “nuisance.” He added, “don’t tell me you’re for the working person when you really are basically stopping the working person from working.”
Manchin later said, “I am not a Washington Democrat. … West Virginia Democrats different. And with that being said, we still believe in hard work. We believe in helping everybody that needs help, but get off your butt and do something. Don’t wait for a handout.
When asked about the DNC Chair race between Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN), Manchin responded the party should get a chairman from rural America or coal country, and that he would like “another choice.”
Manchin continued that rural Democrats are “getting our brains beat in because Washington doesn’t listen to us. The Democrats in Washington don’t really speak for us. It’s hard for them now to represent us, and that’s hard. So, you’ve got to fight to be a democrat in West Virginia today.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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