Joe Manchin: ‘I Never Felt Comfortable Being a Washington Democrat’

Reporter: “Why did you leave that D label?”

Manchin: “I never — I never felt comfortable being a Dem- — a Washington Democrat, and you couldn’t shake the D. The brand from Washington is so bad. So, if you’re in a blue state, the — our brand is bad, I guess. But if you’re in a red state, the D brand is just so bad because they’re the overreach, the over-indulgences as far as in people’s lives, intrusion, taking. I said, every human being in America, 346 million people, absolutely should have the opportunity to the pursuit of happiness to live a quality life in this country, and we should protect you to have that. Just don’t mainstream some of the things that are out of the mainstream. Don’t try to make everyone believe this is normal. This is how your family, this is how your children should be taught or what you should learn. Don’t do that. We can do pretty good on our own and that’s why I’ve tried to get across to people and they don’t seem to understand.”