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The $ 1.9 trillion “bailout” package Biden rolled out last week – an ambitious bid to jumpstart a coronavirus-ravaged economy – is receiving Republicans’ coldness. And some Democrats, anxious to act quickly, are starting to question whether it is worth trying to win their support.
For Biden, who as a candidate has come forward as the Democrat best positioned to break the Capitol Hill deadlock, the story of his presidency may well be written in the coming weeks as the Labor drafting of the bill and fight against the votes begins in earnest. But even in the face of Republican opposition and Democratic anxiety, Biden is betting on himself and a team of seasoned negotiators to deliver not only a massive aid package, but also a victory that would justify one of the premises. fundamental to his political life – that there is always room and reason to negotiate with partisan enemies.
Biden’s position is less clear. He has supported maintaining the filibuster in the past, but hedged himself in comments last summer, saying his posture could change depending on “how stubborn Republicans get.” Asked Friday about Biden’s current position, White House press secretary Jen Psaki replied that “his position has not changed.”
Switching to budget reconciliation or getting rid of the filibuster would hurt Biden’s claim to be a master negotiator. But that may be the only way, Democrats say, to bring relief to Americans who desperately need it.
“Biden has to give McConnell a chance to see if he’s going to play ball, but I think there’s a time limit with that. I don’t think Biden has the luxury of waiting forever. I think that three months, four months at most, “said former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who worked closely with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, and Biden for his stay in the Senate. “There’s going to come a time when the filibuster is going to have to go away. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when it’s going to go away.”
Reid admitted that getting rid of the filibuster – or any move to bypass Republicans – would undermine Biden’s political brand. But the Nevada Democrat has argued his former colleague will likely have to choose between being a bipartisan icon and a president with a long list of accomplishments.
“You can’t do both. … His legacy will be judged by what he does. If (the Republicans) want to stop him from doing anything, his legacy will not be good,” he said. Reid said, before he put a finer point on it: “Joe Biden will be recognized for what he has accomplished. And will not be recognized for” I got along with everyone. We didn’t do everything, but I was sure kind to everyone. “
In his first briefing Wednesday night, Psaki said Biden “will be very involved” in the negotiation process and highlighted his 36 years in the Senate as proof that his engagement could work. But she also suggested Biden wouldn’t hesitate to cut the bait when the time came.
“His clear preference is to go ahead with a bipartisan bill. There is no doubt about it,” Psaki said. “But neither are we going to take any tools off the table as to how the House and Senate can deliver this urgent package.”
One of Biden’s top advisers, National Economic Council director Brian Deese, confirmed on Friday afternoon that he would speak to a bipartisan group of senators on Sunday.
“In terms of the message, it’s pretty clear,” Deese told reporters. “We are at a precarious time for the virus and the economy. Without decisive action, we risk falling into a very serious economic hole, even more serious than the crisis we find ourselves in.”
Still, some Democrats are already starting to urge Biden not to hang on to the hope of winning a bipartisan and filibuster-proof majority. Their ranks include veterans of the Obama administration’s prolonged and ultimately unsuccessful quest to gain Republican support for the Affordable Care Act more than a decade ago.
Kathleen Sebelius, a former Kansas governor who served as Obama’s first health and human services secretary, said she learned the hard way that waiting too long for Republican support – something the former senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who was Senate finance chairman during the promised but unsuccessful process, could cause real political damage.
“There’s not a lot of time to waste,” Sebelius said of Biden’s relief. “It’s wise to bring it in early, say, ‘I want bipartisan support’ and then do whatever it takes to get what it can adopt as quickly as possible because people are really suffering.”
Obamacare’s long passing process allowed Republicans to rally the opposition and position them to use the law – which was still essentially an abstraction after it was passed in early 2010 – as a club in the midterm elections of this year, when the Democrats were “bombed,” as Obama put it then. A similar delay, Sebelius added, threatened to hamper the Democrats’ efforts to maintain, or potentially extend, their majorities in Congress in the 2022 election.
“People have to quickly feel the impact of what’s going on. They need to know that their life is better, ”Sebelius said. “Things that are very tangible have to happen visibly and quickly.”
Democrats in the Senate are watching their GOP counterparts closely and, according to a senior aide to a caucus member, remain “extremely optimistic” about the White House proposal and the message surrounding it.
“There is no heartburn over Biden’s initial type of play to make him bipartisan, to reach the aisle,” the aide said, adding that there was also “no illusion. “among Democrats on the prospect of Republicans coming on board – a reality. This was hammered home by recent comments from moderate Maine GOP Senator Susan Collins questioning the need for additional spending.
The plan, the aide said, was simple: “We brag (the bill), we celebrate it, we say we want to reach the other side of the aisle – and at the same time, we have to act quietly. to continue some of that. political program through reconciliation. “
Some Democrats, especially in the progressive ranks of the party, have already questioned the strategy or signal their desire for a quick pivot to action – with or without GOP support.
“I believe President-elect Biden has a very optimistic view of the Republican Party. He has made past statements (saying) that once Trump is gone they will see the mistake of their ways,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez from New York told reporters after a virtual town hall last week. “I applaud his optimism, but I disagree with his assessment.”
“The danger we face would not be going too big or spending too much, but going too small and leaving the needs of the American people behind,” wrote the Independent Vermont. “If Republicans want to work with us, we have to welcome them. But their support is not necessary.”
The tension between the more aggressive approach favored by Sanders and his progressive colleagues, like Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, was one of the main conflicts of the 2020 Democratic Primary Contest. Biden ultimately emerged, in part, because a more a large number of Democratic voters adopted his conciliation speech.
Biden also profited, in some quarters, from the idea that almost everything he supported, due to his long experience of taking moderate positions in the Senate and as Vice President, was by definition the moderate approach. – even when it is positioned on the left. of where the Obama administration landed.
This mark will likely help the newly elected president as he tries to convince the public that pursuing his biggest campaign pledge – uniting a severely divided country – and passing a massive Covid relief bill won’t are not in conflict.
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