Manchin Insists He Is ‘Not a Roadblock’: ‘I Am Not Going to Be Part of Blowing Up This Senate’

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) insisted his role as a conservative Democrat in a split Senate is not a “roadblock at all.”

CNN host Dana Bash asked Manchin how he responds to accusations that he is in the way of getting legislation passed during the small window Democrats have power for.

“I’m not a roadblock at all,” he said. “The best politics is good government. I can’t believe that people believe that if you just do it my way, that will give us the momentum to get through the next election.”

Manchin spoke reverently about the U.S. legislative system, “We won’t give this system a chance to work. I am not going to be part of blowing up this senate of ours or basically this democracy of ours or the republic that we have.”

Manchin continued by speaking about the Senate’s history, “The House was designed to be hot as a firecracker, we were designed to cool off, and that’s the Founding Fathers. It was a brilliant, brilliant strategy they looked at, so why can’t we try to make this work?”

Manchin also spoke about bipartisan plans on guns and infrastructure.

He called the $600 billion Republican infrastructure plan “a good start,” but said, “it’s not the finishing line.” Manchin discussed the lawmaking process and said he was looking forward to the amendment and committee processes.

Manchin spoke about building a bipartisan plan for background checks when buying guns, “We call it a common gun sense.” He continued by speaking on the importance of “fixing what’s broken.”

He concluded by discussing his endorsement of Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Despite their policy disagreements, Manchin defended his decision, “There’s so much we can do together. You can’t throw out. You just can’t throw out the purpose of us being in the senate.”

You can watch above, via CNN.