QOTD: Joe Biden
by digby
I guess he wants a re-run of the Grand Bargain:
But what's happened is, between gerrymandering and unlimited campaign spending, we found ourselves in a position where an awful lot of Republicans have become intimidated --- intimidate by the president. If you notice, most Republicans --- leaders, don't lose from the left. They lose on the right. And so, for example, when we --- anyway. So, I think there is not a middle ground. I wish I had known as a moderate, middle guy when I was running in Delaware all those times.
And you know anyway, I just think, there is a way --- and the thing that will fundamentally change things is with Donald Trump out of the White House. Not a joke. You will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends.
And it's already beginning --- in the House now, you've seen people that in fact were not willing to vote for any Democratic initiative, even if they agreed with it, because they didn't want to be the odd person out if it wasn't going to pass. There's no use in getting politically beaten for something that's not going to happen.
But you are seeing the talk, even the dialogue is changing.
So look, let me put it another way. If we can't change, we're in trouble. The nation cannot function if you can't generate consensus under our system of separated powers, all the power moves to the executive --- because then it gives excuses for them to say, I'm going to act by executive order to do something, because nothing is getting done.
That is the president and his team's whole rationale for what they are doing.
This is pretty rambling. But it's a terrible analysis of what's gone on and a recipe for disaster if he really thinks it's true.
I get that he's going to run as the guy who can "bring us all together" and that this is an appealing theme fo a lot of people who just want all the drama to end. But it's not reality.
Republicans are not in thrall to Trump and Trumpism didn't come to pass simply because he came down that elevator. It's true that the Republicans are following his agenda in lockstep but of those who don't truly admire his leadership (there are many) they are simply following the wishes of their voters. Those voters have been radicalized over the course of many, many years. Joe Biden isn't going to get everyone in a room and they'll all say "whew! it's over!"
Again, this may just be his "yes we can" message --- a restoration of the fictional golden era when Tip and Ronnie shared a scotch on the Truman balcony at the end of the day. That's just MAGA for older white liberals. I doubt the full Democratic coalition is going to fall for that. We don't have Fox News --- we're still living in this terrifying GOP reality.
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