reporters questions about issues facing the biden administration. you can watch that live on c-span starting at 1:00 eastern. >> secretary of state antony blinken testified before the senate foreign relations committee. watch live at 2:15 p.m. eastern, online at c-span.org or the free c-span radio app. >> you can go ahead and start calling in now. the op-ed sparked the latest focus on joe manchin. the voting rights bill and the filibuster in that op-ed. "some in my party have argued now is the time to embrace election reforms and policies fully supported by one party. respectfully, i do not agree. i believe partisan voting legislation will destroy the

already weakening pines of our democracy and for that reason i will vote against the act. i will not vote to weaken or limit the filibuster as long as i've the privilege of being your u.s. senator. i will continue to seek bipartisan compromise to matter how difficult to develop -- " part of his op-ed in the charleston gazette. a renewed focus amid the latest push for joe biden's legislative agenda and it led to questions yesterday in the white house briefing room. this is white house press secretary jen psaki on joe biden's relationship to joe manchin. >> i can tell you the president and senior members of the administration are enclosed cut -- are in close touch with joe manchin and his team about issues where there is an opportunity to work forward.

i am pretty sure joe manchin is proud of his independent streak and he made clear he took no offense to the president's comments and he also noted that west virginia is not usually get this much attention. maybe that is something he does not seem to mind. >> does the presidency joe manchin as an obstacle to his agenda, if he follows through on not changing the filibuster, not infrastructure through reconciliation, that pre-much grounds the president's domestic agenda. >> we are certainly not ready to accept that i'll assess. i will say the president -- that analysis. i will say the president considers joe manchin of rent. -- considers joe manchin a friend. he will continue to reach out to him directly. host: jen psaki in the white house briefing room yesterday. you heard him say joe manchin did not take any offense to joe biden's comments, referring to

joe biden's comments in tulsa. he did not mention joe manchin or kyrsten sinema by name but made reference to them in comments about his legislative agenda. this was president biden last week. >> i hear all of the folks on tv say why doesn't biden get this done? biden only has a majority of four votes in the house and a tie in the senate, with two members of the senate who vote more with my republican friends. we are not giving up. early this year the house of representatives passed the for the people act to protect our democracy. the senate will take it up later this month. i will fight with every tool at my disposal for its passage. the house is also working on the john lewis voting rights act, which is critical to provide legal tools to combat the new assault on the right to vote. host: president biden come you

heard him saying more with his republican friends in the senate. in ap fact-check finding that not to be true. according to roll call joe manchin voted with his party 38.5, kyrsten sinema did so 33.1% of the time. doug jones of alabama who lost his election race in november was third on that list at 32.2%. this morning we are focusing on joe manchin, the senior senator from west virginia. with the amount of attention he is getting on capitol hill at the beginning of this legislative week come asking you if you think he has too much influence. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats.

independents, (202) 748-8002. and a special line if you're from west virginia, (202) 748-8003. mark from new york, republican, you are up first. caller: i do not think joe manchin has too much influence because there are many moderate senators. susan collins, mitt romney. they are moderates and they could vote for a democrat. the point is that biden's legislation is so bad you cannot even get one republican vote. they are say going out joe manchin because he is a democrat and because he is part of their side, and you see how bad bided's legislation -- biden's legislation is that they cannot get him or any other moderate. host: in a 50-50 senate any senator can be the most influential senator, any moderate senator?

caller: correct. host: sandy from columbus, democrat. you are next. caller: i would like to answer the last caller. my concern is joe manchin is not going along with the group knowing that mitch mcconnell has whatever it is they vote against. he has made a statement he will not allow any of biden's programs to go through forced up my question is -- i live in ohio. joe manchin's state is sliding into ohio. they do not have medicare, they do not have welfare, they do not have jobs. i think his time would be more to push the agenda for the biden administration as opposed to lobbying companies to stop telling them coal is coming back

and do what he needs to do. it is very frustrating when you have a group of people that are not negotiating in good faith. they have never done that under mitch mcconnell. host: mentioned mitch mcconnell. he is mentioned in this headline on the front page of the washington times. democrats woo and boo joe manchin, dubbed the new mcconnell for blocking the democratic agenda. mitch mcconnell was on the senate floor to note the discord on the democratic agenda. this was mitch mcconnell from yesterday. >> after a spring in which the senate has repeatedly passed mainstream legislation by wide margins, democrats have decided that now is the time to argue

the legislative process is somehow broken. let's not forget the democrats poster child to allow the senate to change its rule is a bill that would change the rules for elections in every state in america. let me say that again. the democrats poster child to allow the senate to change its rule is a bill that would forcibly change the rules for elections in every state in america. the question is not whether it could earn bipartisan support, the question is how wide the bipartisan opposition will be. this is the bill the democratic leader has placed at the vanguard of this campaign to destroy the filibuster, even though multiple members of his own majority are now on the record objecting to it. make no mistake, failing to sell

reckless wholesale changes to our democracy is not proof the guard rail should be removed. it is a reminder that they are there for a reason. the american people rightly expect a 50-50 senate to spend its time finding common ground, but our democratic colleagues seem to believe the most important expectations are those of their far-left branch. they put forward an agenda that is designed to fail, and fail it will. host: senator mitch mcconnell not mentioning joe manchin by name but referring to what he calls the bipartisan opposition to the democratic agenda in the senate. we are focusing on joe manchin today in light of the attention he got yesterday in the wake of that op-ed that was published in the charleston gazette on sunday, noting his opposition to the for the people act and ending the filibuster.

joe manchin's agenda, today he is said to meet with the naacp to discuss voting rights, along with a host of other civil rights groups. the national urban league, the national council of niekro women, the leadership conference on civil rights and human rights, that is the headline from the hill newspaper. one of cnn's capitol hill reporters noted in the names of people who will be in that meeting to talk about the for the people act. al sharpton, cheryl ifill, the naacp legal defense fund, others are some of the specific names of those who joe manchin is set to meet with. we are asking you about his influence on capitol hill. what you think about it, whether you are democrat, republican, independent? especially want to hear from folks in west virginia. a democrat in west virginia, you

are up next. caller: good morning. joe manchin is acting like he is, he is not my senator anymore. i am 74 years old. i have lived in west virginia. he is making things so discouraging for us democrats. i do not know how we can put him in office again. he is not worth it. this country -- host: have you voted for him in the past? caller: yes. hello? one time. i'm not voting for him forever now because i know what kind of person he is. when i was governor i would not vote for him. host: what didn't you like about him when he was governor? caller: you can see the way he does things.

he sits on the fence. he goes with the wind. mostly it is the republican wind. now he thinks he has to be republican because our state did a thing after 84 years went republican and now we are positively dark red. it is a shame that that is where our state is. i am so discouraged that i cannot put up with it anymore. i've just about quit trying. i call his number tried to leave a comment. he will not even answer the phone anymore, his staffer him, either one. host: that is milton in west virginia noting the state is a deep red shade, went for president trump in 2020, 68.6%, joe biden getting 29.7%.

joe manchin has been elected three times in west virginia to the u.s. senate. also the former governor. not up again until 2024 for his next reelection if he chooses to run for reelection. no reason to think he will not. voters will not get a chance to vote on him in 2022. dan is next out of washington. what you think of joe manchin? caller: i am 74 as well. i am relieved joe manchin is exercising his rights to follow his conscience. i do not understand the question of whether or not he is too influential. use doing his job. he is supposed to vote his conscience, not go along with the herd just because he is a democrat. i used to be a democrat but i

left the democratic party because they left me as a workingman. i am totally against the democrats now. i vote republican. i am an independent because there is no other option for me. i thank god for joe manchin and i hope and pray united states of america gets back to its founding principles and honors. host: that is dan in washington. here is joe manchin in his own words defending his op-ed and his reasoning for writing that and releasing on sunday with fox news sunday, joe manchin in his interview. >> voting is the bedrock of our democracy. secure voting. we used to go around the world and explain and observe voting procedures in a democracy. now we cannot practice what we preach and we will basically do an overhaul, and 800 page

overhaul of the voting rights, or the for the people act? there are a lot of great things i agree that piece of legislation. there is a lot of things that do not pertain directly to voting. >> just to put a button on this, you will vote against the bill if it gets to the senate floor. >> i think it is the wrong piece of legislation and i'm not supporting that because i think it will divide us further. i do not want to be in a country divided any further than right now. i love my country and i think my colleagues feel the same. if we continue to divide it will separate us more. it will not be the country we know and love. it will be hard because it will be a back-and-forth depending on who is in power. host: joe manchin on fox news sunday. alex bolton at the hill newspaper, the headline,

"democrats wonder when schumer will get tough with manchin." noting schumer has many -- schumer does not have a reputation of getting tough with his colleagues. he hardly ever criticizes democratic senators. schumer up for election next year with speculation he could be challenged in a primary. if you want to read more from that story from the hill newspaper, thehill.com. here are some democratic members of congress's tweets about joe manchin. "joe manchin, you support republican gerrymandering and filibuster bills that have a roaming bipartisan public support. you don't support what you call parson bill to make it easier for everyone regardless of already to vote. i call bs."

senator jeff merkley, "i'm disappointed by joe manchin's position on the for the people act, it is hugely popular among democrats, republicans come and independents across the country because it depends the vision of government by the people and ends the attack on a right to vote." the democrats saying "we do not need an op-ed to know you are unwilling to protect our democracy." this from congressman jimmy gomez, " if joe manchin is concerned about legislation, gop state legislators have given him plenty to worry about. if he refuses to end the filibuster, that he is complicit in the downfall of our democracy." we are asking for your views in the first hour of the washington journal. this is maureen from redwood city, california. a democrat. good morning.

caller: thanks for taking my call. i am calling with two data points i would like to point out to joe manchin, to everyone regarding joe manchin and how he is so wrong. number one, alg research did a poll in april 14th through the 18th. 79% of west virginians a proof of the for the people act. almost eight in 10 people want the for the people act. i would also like to point out the heritage foundation and their americans for prosperity pack has been lobbying joe manchin all the first quarter of 2021, and they joked in elite tape -- in elite -- in a leaked tape that they had a little fun pressuring joe manchin. joe manchin is taking heritage

foundation money and that is why he is not voting for this. he is bought and paid, and he is going against what the people of west virginia want. eight in 10 want before the people act and he is dead wrong. host: you want him to leave the democratic party? caller: p is not going to leave the democratic party. that is a false narrative. he is not going to leave the democratic party. host: what you think will happen? caller: i think chuck schumer needs to start twisting some arms and it is a shame chuck schumer -- i would prefer to see chuck schumer leave then joe manchin, frankly. chuck schumer needs to start pressuring people. chuck schumer is a weak leader. host: that is marine in redwood city, california. the for the people at, -- the for the people act, a bill to

address voter access and election integrity, this is a wrap up from the congressional research, it expands voter registration, voter access, limits to removing voters from voter rolls, establishes safe to establish independent redistricting commissions, sets forth provisions on election security, direct campaign-finance issues, including expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals. a lot in that bill so named because it was the first piece of legislation that democrats tried to move at the beginning of the 117th congress. now it is unclear what the fate of the bill will be now that joe manchin has said he will not support it. surely out of christian burke virginia, republican, good morning. caller: how are you today? host: i'm doing all right. what you think about joe manchin? caller: i think he is a true american.

i was a democrat but i have been a republican for many years. i truly admire him for the way he stands up for what he believes in. i'm thankful there are still people in the world that do not stand with the party but stand for america and our rights. host: frank in clarksburg from independent. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: doing all right. caller: i will tell you, i supported joe manchin. i helped joe manchin. i have literally worked for him. host: doorknocking? caller: yes. this is west virginia. i know his family. my dad used to go to his house. he is wrong.

there is right and there is wrong. this does not have anything to do with anything. he represents the people of the state of west virginia. when he has an issue i feel is republican, bipartisan, democratic issue, the party has nothing to do with this. this is for the people of this country so we can have a republic democracy. this is wrong. i do not know what he is doing. host: has there been a time in the past where he is made about you disagree with? caller: absolutely. host: what specifically? caller: let me think. i just got up and have not had my coffee. one, i'm trying to think, this was when they were in the minority, i cannot remember the

vote specifically. usually i keep track of that. host: a few high-profile ones from the profile of joe manchin that has been coming out in the past when he for hours since he has been in the spotlight, breaking with democrats in the midst of the supreme court confirmation fight over brett kavanaugh to vote with republicans, he also supported trump's first supreme court nominee neil gorsuch, he opposed the rest confirmation of amy coney barrett -- the rushed confirmation of amy coney barrett. he stood with president trump in a gop effort to push through the republican tax bill. those are some of his most high-profile votes. caller: with that issue, the supreme court, those people are there for life. they make their decisions. this is about the people of the

country, this is a voting issue. if you cannot vote, it is crazy. i tell you something. this country cannot keep going like this. host: this is the straw that breaks the camels back for you with him? or no? caller: if he votes against this, yes. this is the straw that breaks the camels back. i love him, but i will go against him. that is how i feel. they come from a big family and this is set. -- this is sad. where you get this? this is not a democrat, independent, republican issue, this is about democracy. caller: that is frank -- host: that is frank in clarksburg, west virginia, talking about joe

manchin, former governor and three term senator from west virginia. this is randy in michigan, your thoughts on joe manchin? caller: good morning. i would like to start by thanking you and all of the other men and women it takes to bring us this great program. doing the nation a world of good. as far as senator manchin goes, we have to be patient. that is how this democracy works. do i always agree with him? no. i do think he is bringing out, showing just how important getting out and voting at the state level is where we would not have this complaining if people would been voting in their states and putting people in that looked out for all of us, we would not be at this point. that is how democracy. our democracy is slow.

i know in this age of everything being instant, it bothers everybody. that is how things work in this country. do i agree with joe manchin on all of the stuff? no. he does have the vote for his people and he does have to vote what he feels is right and wrong. if we had people that would do that -- looks at what happened when we don't. mitch mcconnell and the supreme court. he threw everything out the window and did not get us anywhere but more divided. that is my opinion. it might not amount to more than rubbing two wet sticks together for most people, but thanks for letting me say that. host: randy in michigan. this is the editorial board of the washington journal, joe manchin plays political chest. as progressives rage against him he is helping the democratic party.

especially of twos are the democrat tweeting -- as a majority maker mr. manchin could change his party and have his pick of a seat in the gop majority. our guest is mr. manchin has already signaled privately he will support a large spending bill under the false flag of infrastructure. opposing this gives him more running room to do that. unless the left is dumb enough to drive mr. manchin to the gop, and they may be, they write, he is still a loyal democrat. this is brett in nevada. independent. you are next. caller: good morning. i believe in joe manchin. i wish our senators would have the nerve to do what he is doing. he is there to represent everyone in the united states. not just west virginia.

we have two coward senators here. they jump to whatever schumer says. i respect joe manchin. i think he's doing a great job. the federal government has no say in how states run their elections. look what harry reid did with the nuclear vote, look how that backfired on the democrats. go ahead and get rid of it. when the democrats run of power and it comes back and bites them, don't do the complaining. i don't vote republican, i don't vote democrat, i'm independent. i vote for an independent or third-party candidate. that is what a true independent does. joe manchin is a true senator who loves his country.

i cannot say anymore about the man. a great man. host: that is brett in searchlight, nevada. 7:30 on the east coast. another half-hour to talk you about joe manchin. call on phone lines, for republicans, (202) 748-8001, democrats, (202) 748-8000, independents, (202) 748-8002, and residents of west virginia, (202) 748-8003. other headlines, vice president harris's trip to central america, the headline in the washington times, calling for more spending in central america in her trip to guatemala. if you want to read the story, more in the washington times. the story breaking late yesterday afternoon.

federal officials recovering $2.3 million in cryptocurrency paid to the hacker who attacked the colonial pipeline. the justice department says the company paid nearly $5 billion -- $5 million and difficult to trace cryptocurrency. prompting the company to shut down its operations. the story noted in the amount of times people actually pay the ransom in ransomware attack's, interesting number there from a report by the institute for security and technology ransomware task force. the report saying the amount paid by ransomware victims increased by 311% in 2020 and reached nearly 350 million in cryptocurrency. the average ransomware payment last year was in the area of $312,500 according to that report cited in the washington times story as well. on the colonial pipeline, the

ceo of colonial pipeline will talk about the company's recent ransomware attack and discuss the threat to u.s. infrastructure before the senate homeland security and government affairs committee. you can watch live at 10:00 eastern on c-span. that is where we will go after our program today, online at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. elsewhere on capitol hill, you see antony blinken testified before the senate appropriations committee on the 2022 budget request at 10:00 eastern on c-span3. later today, a hearing on the sackler family, the owners of purdue pharma, the role they played in the opioid epidemic, we will join that hearing starting at noon, we are expected to join about 12:30. that hearing in progress, also on c-span3 and online at c-span.org and on the free c-span radio app.

plenty to watch this morning. other news this morning. the bipartisan senate report is out this morning on the january 6 insurrection. this reporting from zack owens, capitol hill reporter that senate report urging congress to adequately fund the capitol police staffing, training, and equipment. senators proposed legislation empowering the police chief to unilaterally request backup from the national guard. that report will be examining the u.s. capital report and security response failures on january 6. that senate report now available on our website at c-span.org. more from fox producer on capitol hill, the senate report, neither the capitol police nor the fbi, the secret service, or other law enforcement partners new thousands of writers were

planning to attack the -- thousands of rioters were planning to attack the u.s. capital. the known intelligence did not support that conclusion. we are expecting more reporters to dig into that report. we will update you on it. if you want to read it yourself, c-span.org. back to your phone calls about senator joe manchin, his role on capitol hill, do you think he has too much influence? that is the question we are asking in the first hour of our programs. a democrat out of orange park, florida. how are you? go ahead. caller: i blame chuck schumer. he is a week majority leader. i also blame manchin because what he is saying does not make any sense. if he looks at all the republican run states they are doing everything partisan, trying to block people from

voting, americans from voting, and he does not know the history of the filibuster. he needs to look at the filibuster, starting back in 1806. i blame both of them. he does have too much influence. if he is trying to do the right thing he should put his personal feelings, because the west virginians did not put him there for personal feelings, they put him there to represent them. he needs to take a look at that because he is it for personal reasons, not for his constituents. that is all i have to say. thank you for allowing me to say that. host: you mentioned s1, the sweeping voting rights bill that you wanted to go through, the white house wanting it to go through. yesterday in the white house briefing room national security advisor jake sullivan said the passage of s1 is a national

security issue. this is more. >> i would say the basic notion of democratic reform and voting rights in the united states is a national security issue. we are in a competition of models with autocracies and we are trying to show the world american democracy and democracy at large can work, can effectively deliver the will of the people come into the extent we are not updating and revamping our own democratic processes and procedures to meet the needs of the modern moment, then we are not going to be successful at making that case to the rest of the world, to china or russia or anyone else. there is a national security dimension to this today just as there was through the decades of the cold war. host: the national security advisor in the house briefing room yesterday. there'll be another briefing today. we will see if there is more about joe manchin. a second day of questions. we are taking your phone calls.

this is richard out of clarksville, tennessee. how did he feel about the senator from west virginia? caller: i am a libertarian conservative. i do a lot of good things around. my dad was a republican, the chief or an vietnam. his two sons were army discharged. this is a wake-up call for both joes. we live in the 21st century, they say. i would suggest they turn around and take time and think. i vote all three tickets. i believe in christ, i'm a christian soldier. my dad was born on election day 1930. my mom was rebecca. we must go back to the first

implement, the declaration of independence. all men, women too, equally on the decoration of independence. host: that is richard in tennessee. this is bob in texas. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to affirm what the gentleman from nevada, who was an independent said. he was very accurate on joe manchin. joe manchin is doing for the whole of the united states and voting for his state of west virginia which voted 70% conservative republican. some of these numbers by rachel maddow and nbc have to be suspect. joe manchin realizes as a federal employee come as a senator for the whole united states, this is nothing more than the democrats taking charge to try to extend their power for

decades. that is all it is. they want to make the whole united states california or new york or whatever. they want power. that is the way they are trying to get it. if the government takes over and denies the states rights to require voter id and clear the voting rolls of voters no longer eligible to vote, that just allows problems in the voting. that is what this bill does not do. it takes the rights of the states away, which is wrong. host: that is bob in texas. do not want to forget about viewers watching and tweeting or sending us text messages were coming on facebook. a few social media comments. this is eric saying thank you joe, at least there is still one democrat with sound reason and who can see things in the long-term.

vicki saying maybe he is just representing his constituents and knows the for the people act relies on a bad piece of legislation. this is tony from california, one man, one vote, how much influence does that imply? this is from new hampshire. if there were more moderate democratic senators we would hear less about joe manchin. i am glad the brakes have been put on the aoc wing of the democratic party. this is carolyn, who called in from mount vernon, new york. the democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to say that i think joe manchin is the obstructionist and the democratic party. he reminds me of joe lieberman, who did the same thing. they never side with their own party, they always side with the

republicans. i think democrats should get a backbone and booed him out o

he's not helping them at all. so they are not getting anything done. host: this is frank in new york as well. good morning. caller: i am just wearing -- waiting for this to collapse. we are waiting is a country. -- we are failing as a country.

he's part of the problem, too. when the democracy collapses, they will point fingers. host: that is frank poughkeepsie, new york. the congressman from the 16th congressional district of new york was on cnn yesterday. this is what he had to say about joe manchin. >> he is a no on doing anything. he put it in writing. >> mansion has become the new mitch mcconnell. during obama's presidency, mitch mcconnell said he would do everything in his power to stop obama. he's also repeated that now during the biden presidency by saying he will do everything in his power to stop president biden. now joe manchin is doing

everything in his power to stop democracy and to stop our work for the people. the work the people sent us here today. hr one is not only a huge bill when it comes to voting rights, it is a huge bill in terms of getting big money out of politics, protecting our elections against fraud, ending gerrymandering. big money in politics is what is destroying our democracy. and the republican party is aiding and abetting that and donald obviously doing that as well -- donald trump is doing that as well. he is doing the work of the republican party by being an obstructionist. just like they have been since the beginning of biden's presidency. host: back to phone calls,

asking you for your thoughts on joe manchin. we want to hear from west virginia residents. bill is one of those. a republican. caller: joe manchin is one of the few people with a backbone. doesn't matter if you you're a democrat or republican, if you have a thought on what's right and do what's right. that's what he's doing. thank you very much. host: have you voted for him in the past? whether it was his governor's race or one of his three senate campaigns? caller: i didn't vote for him the last election. i had before then and will vote for him again. host: because of this? caller: because of this.

host: this is gloria. democrat. good morning. caller: thank you for c-span. mr. manchin has too much hypocrisy in his version of democracy. whether he's democrat or republican, he's not out to set the -- serve the people. he deserves a front rosita in the hall of shame -- front row seat in the hall of shame. host: this is what stephen in lexington, kentucky called mansion, a dino. a democrat in name only. he's thinking for himself and

he's not a group thinker. joe manchin not working for our country, working for reelection to keep his power. that's the problem with our elected officials, they forgot to read the constitution. folks, getting touch with us -- in touch with us via social media. apps around the world, going dark trying to find out more about it. here's the story. countless websites and apps around the world went down this morning after widespread failures.

that happening this morning around the world. time for a couple of calls. again, we still have the phone line for west virginia residents. this is scott and sherwood, arkansas. -- in sherwood, arkansas. -- caller: i'm very much impressed with senator manchin. bob from texas said everything i was going to say except for one thing. democrats are calling in, understand, into thousand 20, 327 filibusters were done by the democrats. so talk about hypocrites, there you go. thank you.

caller: thank you for taking my calls. i just wanted to say mr. manchin assembly doing -- is simply being a moderate democrat. the previous caller said something about eight out of 10 people support hr one, i don't believe that. you have polls skewed anyway. and i support him and what he is doing. he is an independent. think you -- what he is doing as an independent. thank you. host: jesse from rosedale, maryland. you are next. caller: it might be a wolf in sheep's clothing. have a nice day. host: cassandra in fort, -- fort washington, maryland. independent. caller: i do not think joe

manchin is democrat. he acts like an undercover republican. i don't know why west virginia keeps putting him in there. i hope he loses in 2024. host: would you prefer he leave the party before hand, even if it meant losing the democratic majority in the senate? caller: no, not right, now -- caller: no, not right now, because we are 50-50. if we had more democrats like 53 or 54, i would say yes. host: you want him to stick around long enough to get beat in a primary in 2024? caller: yes i am. he is not a democrat. you can see he is undercover. he is just there for himself. i will say this, the republicans

do stick together. it seems like the democrats do not. host: cassandra in fort washington, maryland. we have a special line for west virginia residents. this all started from an op-ed joe manchin wrote and released in the charleston gazette. it came out on sunday. the conversation about that op-ed continues in the charleston gazette. here is an opinion piece from david l., saying as senator joe manchin started in the op-ed on sunday, the right to vote is fundamental to the american democracy. frustratingly, joe manchin ending the filibuster, the first shared belief in the sacredness of that right, if you want to read more of the column, the column in today's charleston gazette. plenty of conversation in the national papers as well, including greg sargent in the washington post yesterday, a columnist for the washington post, this is what he writes. if rewriting voting rules on a partisan basis will destroy your

democratic bonds, we already live in that world. gop state legislatures are passing such changes on party lines across the country, including voter suppression to potentially overturn outcomes at the potential for extreme gerrymander's. joe manchin does not explain why democrats acting on partisan lines to blunt those changes as the people act would will destroy our democracy and await allowing republican changes to proceed on a similarly party lines would not. a few more minutes for this conversation this morning. clay out of louisiana, a republican. what you think of joe manchin? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. yes, i am all for senator manchin. in fact, i think he should run for president. he is the only one that seems to take a stance on everything and is firm in his stance.

west virginia is primarily a republican state. -- by probably 60% or 70%. as far as this little canard about his house, he actually paid $200,000 for it. i am firmly in support of senator manchin. host: before you go, when was the last time joe manchin was brought to your attention as somebody in louisiana? has he come up before? i think we lost clay. we'll go back to the mountain state to charleston. this is rhonda. good morning, democrat. go ahead. caller: i am a lifelong west virginian. i see the problem in west virginia as being an education problem. i don't like what joe manchin is doing. i agree it is a deep red state, but education and people understand the issues seems to be a problem.

host: what do you think happens to joe manchin in 2024? caller: either he will go all republican, or he will continue to be a blue dog democrat. host: the caller before rhonda mentioning the houseboat issue. just for those who haven't been following, this is apparently where it came from. the wall street journal editorial board giving some background on that, saying it was aid to democratic senator dick durbin, who went to twitter saying i do not think our founding fathers anticipated the survival of this democratic experiment to rest in the hand of a man who lives in a houseboat. as joe manchin apparently does. the editorial board asking what is wrong with houseboats, noting the tweet was deleted. this is joanne out of mississippi, a republican. good morning. caller: i understand mississippi

is a smaller state that i would not want to stand in a long line. there is a simple solution to this. the states need to put in more voting places closer to people to vote. it is simple. they don't need to make a big mess out of this. the problem is, the people have to wait so long line, that started all of this. just have more precincts for people to vote. other people should be speaking up. -- other people like him should be speaking up. i don't understand why they stay silent. whether they are democrat or republican. host: how do you feel about vote by mail? should it be easier to vote by mail? caller: no. no. if you are an american, and you are patriotic, you want to go vote. we just have to have more

precincts. because when you have a precinct, like in mississippi, you know who is dead, who has died. they will say they passed away on such and such a date. the precinct workers turn that in, and they take them off the roles. so there are not dead people voting. but it is done because we have more precincts easy to get to. we have organizations that will drive someone to the polls. just be a neighbor instead of all of this frightening -- >> happy tuesday. we have two very special guests with us again today. as you know, the biden-harris administration -- i will let you all settle in.