BREAKING: Former Most Powerful Man in Government Calls it Quits

As chairman of the Senate Energy Committee and the swing vote in a 50/50 senate, West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin spent 20 months as without question the single most powerful figure in Washington, DC. That was before he decided to throw it all away by becoming the deciding vote that saddled the country with the Orwellian-named Inflation Reduction Act in August of last year.

Manchin could have been remembered as an American hero who saved the country from runaway inflation. Instead, he got suckered by a Chuck Schumer promise to move permitting reform legislation that was not kept.

Never has one political figure surrendered so much power and gotten nothing in return than Sen. Manchin did that day. Since that time, Manchin has become increasingly diminished as a public figure, at one point seeing his public approval rating among West Virginia voters dropping as low as 19%.

Facing an almost certain defeat should he seek re-election again next year, Manchin today announced that his decision to call it quits, claiming he will join the likes of Mitt Romney, who also will not seek re-election in 2024, to “unite the political middle.”

Sure.

Here’s an excerpt from a story at the Washington Examiner:

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he will not be seeking reelection to his coveted Senate seat in 2024, ending months of speculation about the political future of the Senate's leading swing vote.

Manchin, who was widely viewed as the most vulnerable incumbent heading into the 2024 Senate elections, announced he would not run for another term in a lengthy statement on Thursday. The West Virginia Democrat said he instead plans to travel the country in hopes of trying to unify the divided political wings.

"After months of deliberation and long conversations with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia," Manchin said in a statement. "I have made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate, but what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together."

"To the West Virginians who have put their trust in me and fought side by side to make our state better – it has been an honor of my life to serve you.

Thank you."

[End]

Good riddance.

That is all.