Dem Senator Says He Won’t Put Up With His Party’s 'Bulls**t' If they Try to Do This to GOP

Even though Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is no longer part of the majority in the Senate, he believes there are several issues Democrats and Republicans can come together on.

As far as the prospect of Democrats simply obstructing the GOP, essentially ensuring nothing gets done for the next two years — that’s something Manchin says he won’t go along with.

“That’s bulls**t,” he told Politico. “I’m not going to put up with that.”

Manchin, a red-state Democrat who has never been shy about battling members of the his own party, famously shot a cap and trade bill with a rifle and touted his NRA endorsement in a 2010 campaign ad.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner)

In a lengthy Politico profile, several red-state Democrats expressed their willingness to work the new GOP majority to pass bipartisan legislation, including approving the Keystone XL pipeline, repealing Obamacare’s medical device tax and restoring the full-time 40-hour workweek. These are all things currently on the Republican wish list.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said the Democratic caucus “needs to take a hard look at the way we do things and make sure we are putting the policy issues first before politics.”

“The habit we got into in doing nothing, no one was happy with that. I hope that we never go back to that,” she added.

While Republicans could enjoy a 54-46 majority in the Senate, they would still need six Democrats to overcome a filibuster, Politico notes.

Read the full profile here.