F*ck Joe Manchin

Read the original at The Bulwark ↗
Cite

Last, J. V. (2026, October 20). F*ck Joe Manchin. The Bulwark. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/frack-joe-manchin

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Bulwark · collected 2026-10-20 · by Jonathan V. Last commentary

Quick Summary

The article criticizes Senator Joe Manchin for campaigning in Maine on behalf of Republican Susan Collins while also highlighting a perceived imbalance between Democratic and Republican behavior. It suggests that Manchin's actions are driven by attacks on Collins rather than ideological consistency, and the author expresses frustration with this situation as indicative of broader political asymmetry. The piece is written from an opinionated perspective, encouraging readers to oppose Manchin's involvement in the campaign.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-20, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Joe Manchin, a former Democratic senator from West Virginia, will campaign in Maine on October 19 alongside Republican Senator Susan Collins. This visit is part of Manchin's efforts to support Collins against her opponent, Troy Jackson, after facing criticism for voting too frequently with former President Donald Trump. Manchin intends to highlight Collins' bipartisan credentials and the benefits they bring to Maine during his trip to the Lewiston-Auburn area in Androscoggin County, a region that is politically divided. Democrats have been attacking Collins for her support of Trump's nominees and legislation, but she has opposed some major Republican initiatives like the tax cuts bill and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation.

Written for “Manchin Campaigning In Maine” on 2026-10-20, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 93950 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-20

Story

📰 Manchin Campaigning In Maine
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Semafor
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 17 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe Joe Manchin's campaign visit to Maine on behalf of Susan Collins, motivated by defending her from attacks for supporting President Trump.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
expected in commentary, which argues a position · beta estimate
Publisher signals
not measured
these signals count newsroom corrections; Commentary has none to count
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Bulwark · 458 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Jonathan V. Last
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 1. Asymmetry Joe Manchin will be in Maine tomorrow campaigning for Susan Collins.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · F*ck Joe Manchin
🔮 Trump could just move her over to the Shield of the Americas, because one of the fake jobs at that fake organization just opened up.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · The Trump Administration Is Run on Kink
🔮 If you have questions for Tim, Sarah and JVL, send them to nextlevel@thebulwark.com and they may answer them on an upcoming episode of TNL.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · So Many Bad Things
🔮 Texas might get a Democratic senator.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Susan Collins Is the Living Worst
🔮 Will Sommer joins Sarah and JVL for a wild, wild show.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · MAGA’s Racism is Blowing Up Its Own Coalition
🔮 Every once in a while a “journalist” will jump from the press side into a comms role in a presidential administration.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · The Propagandist in the Press Pool
🔮 Bulwark LIVE: Charlotte featuring Pete Buttigieg & The Gang—will be live streamed on Sunday, October 18 starting at 7pm EDT.
2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Tale of Two Interviews
🔮 All I could think about was Barry Zuckerkorn cruising the city of industry.
2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Another Way AI Will Probably, Maybe Kill Us All
🔮 It will drop next Friday, October 9.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Triad Mailbag for October 9
🔮 Plus, why the Paxton campaign’s struggles could reveal deeper problems for Texas Republicans and the MAGA movement.
Also by Jonathan V. Last
The Trump Administration Is Run on Kink
2026-10-16 · The Bulwark
So Many Bad Things
2026-10-16 · The Bulwark
Is He the One We’ve Been Waiting For?
2026-10-09 · The Bulwark
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by Jonathan V. Last →

Topics

Bulwark JVL Maine Semafor The Bulwark

Subjects

The Bulwark ORG · 3× Bulwark ORG · 2× Collins PERSON · 2× JVL ORG · 2× Joe Manchin PERSON · 2× Manchin PERSON · 2× Semafor ORG · 2× Maine GPE · 1× Susan Collins PERSON · 1× West Virginian NORP · 1×

Narrative

- Never hit a Bulwark paywall again — get every article and newsletter, including JVL's Triad, The Focus Group, and Receipts. - Get more from the voices you follow — ad-free podcasts plus member-only shows like The Secret Podcast with Sarah Longwell and JVL. - Get closer to The Bulwark — member-only chats, comments, and early access to Bulwark LIVE tickets.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-20
🔮 1. Asymmetry Joe Manchin will be in Maine tomorrow campaigning for Susan Collins.
2026-10-20 · The Bulwark
F*ck Joe Manchin · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 0 hedged)

1. Asymmetry Joe Manchin will be in Maine tomorrow campaigning for Susan Collins. asserted
Manchin → campaign → Collins
Manchin told Semafor that he was motivated to get off the sidelines—where he merely endorsed Collins—because, well, here’s Semafor: asserted
Semafor → tell → Collins
The moderate West Virginian said his visit is motivated by the attacks on Collins for voting too often in support of President Donald Trump. asserted
visit → say → Trump
However mad you are, it’s not mad enough. asserted
it → ’ → ?
It’s a fundamental asymmetry between Democrats and Republicans that’s driving the fascist movement in America. asserted
that → ’ → America
Give Manchin the finger: Join Bulwark+. Unlock this story—and everything from The Bulwark Become a paying member of The Bulwark to get access to this story and other subscriber-only content. asserted
Join → give → story
A subscription gets you: asserted
subscription → get → you
- Never hit a Bulwark paywall again — get every article and newsletter, including JVL's Triad, The Focus Group, and Receipts. - Get more from the voices you follow — ad-free podcasts plus member-only shows like The Secret Podcast with Sarah Longwell and JVL. - Get closer to The Bulwark — member-only chats, comments, and early access to Bulwark LIVE tickets. asserted
you → hit → tickets
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