Retiring politician accuses the party of trying “to mainstream the extreme” Getty Images Senator Joe Manchin threw a few bombs today as he prepares to exit his post, telling CNN’s “Inside Politics” that his former party has become “toxic” for working “to mainstream the extreme” in recent years. The retiring West Virginia Senator left the Democrats to become an Independent earlier this year. He said that the party is missing the national sentiment, stating that “this country is not going left. “