You remember Joe Manchin. He’s the West Virginia Senator who became famous for demonstrating his pro-gun cred back in 2010 by running a campaign spot in which he shot a hole in a cap-and-trade bill that threatened his state’s coal industry.
Ol’ Tailgunner Joe made sure to superimpose an NRA insignia on that video to let all the Mountain State deplorables know their guns would be safe with him.
That all promptly went out the window, though, after Newtown. That’s when good ol’ Joe teamed up with Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey to push a background check bill that would have done precisely nothing to stop the Sandy Hook shooter. Or virtually any mass shooter in the history of mass shootings.
The good news for gun owners was the President Obama appointed Slow Joe Biden to champion the post-Newtown gun control effort. Manchin-Toomey promptly went down to defeat.
But now Manchin’s running for re-election in a state that voted for President Trump by over 40 points. So heeeeeere’s Joe, back again with another campaign commercial and he’s shooting up another proposed piece of legislation, this time with a shotgun.
Manchin’s opponent is West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and according to Real Clear Politics, Joe’s leading the Republican challenger by over eight percentage points in an average of the most recent polls.
Why should an old dog learn a new trick if the old ones seem to be working?