DNC Chair ‘Disappointed’ by Manchin Opposing Election Reform Bill: We Can’t Leave This ‘To the Whims of Mitch McConnell’

DNC chair Jaime Harrison said Sunday he’s “disappointed” by Senator Joe Manchin (D- WV) coming out against an election reform bill.

Manchin made it clear in a new op-ed he is going to vote against the For the People Act, voting rights legislation Democrats have been trying to pass. He said that he wants any such law to have bipartisan support.

Harrison told MSNBC’s Alex Witt he’s “very disappointed in Senator Manchin’s decision.”

“I know he wants to protect democracy, but there will be no democracy if we don’t protect the rights to vote of all Americans,” he said, adding that voting rights “is not a both sides issue.”

Witt noted that Manchin does support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and asked if the DNC would rally behind that.

Harrison said they do support it and again emphasized that this “shouldn’t be a Democrat versus Republican thing.”

As for Manchin specifically, he said he understands the position the West Virginia Democrat is in, but added, “I think if he goes home and he talks to people, all people believe that all Americans should have the right to vote.”

“We can’t just leave this up to the whims of Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz to do the right thing. I’m sorry,” he continued. “Mitch McConnell’s already said that he doesn’t want Joe Biden to accomplish anything. This isn’t about Joe Biden. This is about the American people. And we need people to stand up. They didn’t do the right thing on the commission. Why in hell do they think they’re going to do the right thing in terms of voting rights of the people when it stands in the way of them getting power?”

You can watch above, via MSNBC.