Biden needs a Republican Senate to unite the country
In his victory speech, President-elect Joe Biden promised to reach across the aisle, work with Republicans and unite the country. That would be a welcome change, but he needs a Republican Senate.
“The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another — it’s not some mysterious force beyond our control. It’s a decision, a choice we make,” Biden declared. “If we can decide not to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate. And I believe that this is part of the mandate given to us from the American people. They want us to cooperate in their interests, and that’s the choice I’ll make. And I’ll call on Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, to make that choice with me.”
In calling out “Democrats and Republicans alike,” Biden tacitly admitted his own party bears much of the responsibility for that choice not to cooperate. Indeed, on the two biggest issues of 2020 — pandemic relief and police reform — it was Democrats who blocked bipartisan action. Despite offffffffffffers of unlimited amendments, Senate Democrats fifilibustered South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform legislation to capitalize on the racial unrest roiling the country and block President Donald Trump from being part of a bipartisan solution. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., refused White House offffffffffffers of $1.8 trillion in COVID-19 relief because, she said, “the president only wants his name on a check to go out before Election Day.” Apparently, Pelosi cared more about stopping Trump from putting his name on a check before Election Day than helping struggling Americans.
If Biden wants to restore unity, he will have to persuade his fellow Democrats to abandon this kind of raw partisanship, moderate their demands, agree to some Republican priorities — and sometimes accept “no” for an answer. None of that will happen if Democrats win control of the Senate in January, when the people of Georgia settle the last two outstanding Senate races of the 2020 election.
Imagine for a moment how the Democratic majority in the Senate would respond if the Republican minority tried to do what Democrats repeatedly did to Trump, by fifilibustering a top priority. They will eliminate the fifilibuster. Anyone who believes that Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., will make a lone stand with Senate Republicans against his president and his party to protect it is sadly mistaken. And once the fifilibuster is eliminated, the pressure on Biden from his party’s progressive wing to pass their radical agenda will be unrelenting.
A Republican Senate would insulate Biden from that pressure, because it would take the most extreme elements of the left’s agenda offff the table. GOP control would free Biden to do what he does best: compromise.
Biden can work with Mitch McConnell to get things done. But that will require pushing back on the radical wing of his party and focusing on areas where Republicans and Democrats can agree.
It used to be that when new presidents took offiffice, one of their fifirst acts was to fifind opportunities for bipartisan cooperation. Unfortunately, both Barack Obama and Trump broke with this tradition. Biden should restore it. The main obstacle will not be Republicans but fellow Democrats, who see Biden as a vessel by which to enact their agenda. During the campaign, Biden promised not to pursue socialism but to push back on it. He needs a Republican Senate to to that.