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Manchin: 'It Took Every Bit of My Discipline Not to Beat the Living Crap Out' of Republican Opponent

Manchin's comments echo rhetoric from other Democrats during this campaign cycle

Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) / Getty Images
November 3, 2018

MARMET, W.Va.Democratic incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.V.) said he wanted to "beat the living crap out of" his Republican opponent during their debate, at a campaign rally in Marmet.

"You might have seen the debate the other night," Manchin said. "I want to tell you something."

"It took every bit of my discipline not to beat the living crap out of them," he said to cheers from the audience of several dozen Democrats, gathered at the George Buckley Community Center.

"Here's what I'm thinking," Manchin continued. "You don't come to someone's state. You don't come in here and not knowing who we are and just be spewing out horrible things. Every other word was trust, liberal, trust, dishonest, and I'm thinking, 'Trust?' Here's a man who ran for Congress, Patrick Morrisey ran for Congress in New Jersey in 2000. He ran in the primary and got beat, only got 9 percent of the vote. Who trusts who?"

Morrisey grew up in Edison, N.J. but has served as West Virginia's attorney general since 2013.

Manchin's comments echo rhetoric from other Democrats during this campaign cycle, including Eric Holder, who said "When they go low, we kick them"; Hillary Clinton, who said "civility can start again" when Democrats are back in power; and Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.), who said there can be "no sleep, no peace" for members of Trump's cabinet, and urged harassment at restaurants, gas stations, and department stores.

Morrisey responded to the comments on Twitter, calling Manchin "so-called Mr. Civility."

The Democratic event started off much like the Trump rally, with a prayer, the pledge of allegiance, and singing of the national anthem. Manchin, who is in a closer than expected re-election race, is making 12 more campaign stops in the last two days of the election all across the state in an effort to stave off Morrisey.

Manchin said close to $50 million has been spent in the race between him and Morrisey, and "that is sinful, it truly is."

Healthcare was his central issue of the event, and called the late Sen. John McCain an "American patriot" for putting his thumb down and voting no on the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare in the Senate.

"Nine years they say replace and they've got nothing to replace it with," Manchin said of the Republicans.

Manchin mentioned Donald Trump once, when he said the president has come to West Virginia eight times to campaign for Morrisey. Someone in the crowd said, "too many."

Manchin said Trump's rallies, which included a gathering of 6,000 at the Huntington Tri-State Airport Friday, cannot "cover up or hide" Morrisey's record.