Pirate's Cove

Interesting. The Washington Post spent over four years telling Democrats to #Resist and not work with President Trump. Remember, on day 1, January 20, 2017, the WP published a piece on the campaign to impeach Trump beginning. Eugene Robinson had a piece on November 14, 2016, hoping Trump fails. There was very little positive from the WP, and they even changed their tag line to “Democracy dies in darkness” for Trump. Think they’ll investigate Biden as hard? Snicker

President Biden is right to give bipartisanship a chance. Republicans must follow.

SEEKING A bipartisan deal on a big covid-19 aid bill, President Biden met Monday with a group of 10 Republican senators led by Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Many in his party are skeptical. The 10 Republicans had offered a counterproposal to Mr. Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan that is less than a third the size, leading progressive commentators to accuse them of bad faith. Coronavirus aid is too important for the president to get caught in a holding pattern the way President Barack Obama did as he tried to negotiate a bipartisan health-care reform bill in his first term.

Um, Joe wasn’t seeking a bipartisan deal, the GOP group of 10 were.

Yet Mr. Biden has a window in which to explore bipartisan options before extended unemployment benefits expire in March. The Republicans did not say that their counterproposal is a final offer. If negotiations lead nowhere, he can always try to pass a large covid-19 relief bill on party lines using the Senate reconciliation process. Ms. Collins was right to bring a GOP proposal forward, and Mr. Biden was right to hear out the senators.

The question now becomes “does Joe negotiate at all?” What will the WP Editorial Board say when Biden and his allies in Congress blow the GOP off and just and try to pass their porkapalooza laden COVID bill?

It would be better for the country if the GOP senators and Mr. Biden both agreed to deviate from their initial proposals. The senators’ plan is too small, particularly given alarming unemployment figures and the risk that new coronavirus strains could force new lockdowns. It lacks aid for state and local governments, a necessity that Republicans have already delayed for too long, risking harsh state and local staffing cuts in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis. It also proposes only a three-month jobless benefits extension, which would likely force Congress to write yet another bill just as they finish passing this one.

In other words, it would be good if the GOP gives up everything and get nothing in return. Bipartisanship in the Age Of Dementia Joe.

Mr. Biden’s plan is more ambitious. But, in search of delivering on a bad Democratic campaign promise, it would also be wasteful. The Biden proposal contemplates $1,400 direct payments to most Americans — even those far too high on the income scale to need the help. Some families making as much as $300,000 a year might get some government aid. These direct payments make up a quarter of Mr. Biden’s plan, and nearly half of that spending could be removed with little economic impact. Republicans would improve the coronavirus relief package if they forced Democrats to target aid checks to those who really need the cash.

Huh. They actually make a bit of sense. However, what happened to the $2,000 checks Joe promised during the campaign and during the Georgia revote? You can bet the WPEB would be blasting Trump if he had made that promise and won.

Over the weekend, the Biden camp suggested that the president does not need to find bipartisanship in Congress in order to unite the rest of the country. But he is right to try to do both. Doing so shows his commitment to unity is not just rhetorical, and he will need buy-in from at least a few Republicans on Capitol Hill in order to pursue other elements of his agenda. With congressional Republicans engaged in their own identity crisis, Mr. Biden should embrace every opportunity to work with GOP lawmakers willing to distinguish themselves from the elements in their party focused on obstruction, voter suppression and lies about the election. At the same time, negotiations need not be open-ended, and the Republicans too must demonstrate good faith. Simply coming up with a starting offer is not proof of constructive bipartisanship.

Well, now, that last bit is all about the GOP having to reach across the aisle and make concessions, not about Joe having to do the same.