uh-oh. can Rs be trusted? is joe being suckered? they did it to obama, will they do it again?

[orleans]

tweets from white house reporter jennifer epstein at bloomberg news:

Biden says that 7 Senate Republicans, “mostly senior,” have called him tonight. He spoke to “one of the most senior members” who expressed a willingness to work on China and infrastructure. It’s going to take 6-8 months but GOP will work w him, “you’re going to be surprised.”

Biden recounted a call he had tonight w "one of the most senior members" of Senate GOP. "Joe, we've always been able to work together and there's a lot we can work on" was the msg from this lawmaker, who said he's willing to work w Biden on China, covid, health & infrastructure.

"I predict to you, and I may eat these words, I predict you as Donald Trump's shadow fades away, you're going to see an awful lot of change," Biden said as he reflected tonight on outreach from Senate Republicans.

“I know I've been criticized heavily for saying from the beginning, we've got to unify the country," Biden said. "I think you're going to be surprised. It's going to take six to eight months to get it under way but I think you’re going to be surprised."

"I’ve never once misled any of my Republican colleagues. Not one single time. And they know they can trust Kamala as well. And we can figure out where we can cooperate. Where we can’t, we have our arguments," Biden said tonight on a video call with grassroots supporters.

So, anyway, Biden's sticking with the post-Trump GOP "epiphany" ...

Link to tweet

[LizBeth]

1. How is the extended unemployment going? Down to just over a week

Or we are kicked off. It makes me literally sick to hear this talk.

[alwaysinasnit]

2. Moscow Mitch has pretty much signalled he won't be playing nice. So I don't hold out much hope for

bi-partisanship on anything.

[Thekaspervote]

3. Oh stop! Biden isn't foolish enough to get suckered in. If they won't deal, which they won't

Then he’ll adjust his course.

46 yrs experience will lead him...not the gop

[orleans]

4. hope you're right. (i can't help worrying about this. joe's a good guy. they are assholes!) n/t

[betsuni]

5. Thank you.

It's obvious. If he wanted to go all-bipartisan-all-the-time he wouldn't have chosen Kamala Harris as VP.

[Tarheel_Dem]

13. Smartest answer to a ridiculous question. What some "uber progressives" fail to recognize is that...

this ain't Joe's first rodeo. I'm almost willing to bet that he'll occasionally get help from Romney, Murkowski, and possibly Collins. It will be crucial to getting things done, but that doesn't seem to be the objective of many of my progressive friends. For whatever reason, they think "the fight" is more important than governance.

[BGBD]

6. Don't be shocked if he does get some cooperation

I think most Republican senators would like to avoid having Trump running their party.

[dalton99a]

7. Mitch McConnell still refuses to say that Biden won the election.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. I trust Joe's judgment and wisdom on this question.

They absolutely must work together on some things like budget and security.

With Republicans out of their burn it to the ground mode (or at least on hold), with the combination of Joe and Kamala's Senate experience along with Speaker Pelosi in the House, perhaps they will manage to surprise us.

One thing's for certain: Considering the huge challenges at hand, they will need our support and encouragement at every step.


KY......... ..........

[unblock]

9. Feigning corporation is a great way to obstruct and delay...

[Tarheel_Dem]

10. Well, Jennifer, since you asked. Why the f**k does it bother you and a handful of others...

so much that Joe Biden thinks he can get cooperation with Repubs? It doesn't cost him, or you, anything to make that simple statement. He may not be able to work with them at all, but it's good to let the voting public know that he's willing to. Get over yourself.

[betsuni]

11. Yes, Americans want bipartisanship. This is politics.

[ehrnst]

12. Thank you. (nt)

[GoCubsGo]

20. Yes, thank you. nt

[Buckeyeblue]

14. Let's see how Georgia goes

I think we could see some cooperation, especially if we have a 50-50 split. We might get some Senators to break away from Mitch, especially if it looks like Trump supporters are going to sabotage the party.

At that point it will be Republicans who want to embrace the Trump wing of the party vs. those who want nothing to do with him.

But if Georgia doesn't break our way, Mitch will be majority leader and unless Republicans can challenge his leadership, he won't let much of anything come to a vote.

[Afromania]

15. China and infrastrucure? Fuck you health?! HEALTH!!!!! Fuck them straight to hell

Jesus h christ. These sons of bitch senators who are "willing to work with joe " sat by and watched that fucking bum Trump burn everything to the ground from day 1 to day 1460. They danced in circles while our agencies were neutered and the rules that govern them were subverted or outright disregarded. They aided and abetted him in trying to steal healthcare from millions. For 4 years they have been completely inert as a governing body.

As far as I'm concerned they can find the darkest corner of hell and die there. Their word means nothing, their actions are null and the ability to do anything that doesn't benefit themselves is non existant. I CANNOT stress any more loudly not to trust these bastards. I don't trust anybody that identifies as Republican and neither should anybody else. At the end of the day they will slit your throat and tell you it was your own fault.

[CentralMass]

16. Translation - the only thing that passes is what McConnell wants to pass.

[Bettie]

17. I think the primary problem here is that the Republican definition

of "cooperation" is very different from anyone else's definition of the word.

I'll believe it when I see it. No confidence that any of them will find even a tiny bit of ethics or decency.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

18. I don't trust any Republicans.

Why is it that, on those rare occasions that a Republican does some small thing that smacks of human decency, the media gushes over them like they are some kind of saint performing a miracle?

Democrats do good things every day, and the media ignores this, because doing good things is just what Democrats do, it's the norm, it is just what is expected of them. So it's no big deal.

Corruption, dishonesty, profound self-deception, and lack of integrity are primary characteristics of the overwhelming majority of Republicans. It's just how they roll.

If they had even a shred of integrity, Republican leaders would have acknowledged that President Elect Biden soon after the election was called for him. Republican leaders are now being excused for not acknowledging that Joe Biden won the election, under the pretense that they were simply afraid of Trump. At best, that makes them weak, cowardly punks, willing to sell America, democracy, and the People of the United States down the river at the command of a bully tyrant intent on becoming Supreme Dictator of the United States.

In reality, they were all praying daily to their misconceived idea of Jesus that Trump would succeed at stealing the election, become dictator, and that the Republican party would become the permanent ruling party in the US.

There is no way out for the Republican leaders who refused to acknowledge President Elect Biden's win. They are now eternally branded as corrupt, treasonous scumbags who can never be trusted, and they should always be dealt with as such.

They disgust me beyond my capacity to bear.

[Vinca]

19. As long as Mitch McConnell controls the Senate, he controls the country.

If Biden wants to have any clout at all with any Republican in Congress, we have to win those Georgia races. The GOP is not just a cult, it's a nasty cult and if the orange menace is gone, they'll revert back to Mitch's orders.

[Chainfire]

21. Republicans can not be trusted.

Their policies will always be, "My way or the highway." They are going to continue to represent the rich and powerful over the people. They will continue to use any available means to accomplish their goals. They will do everything in their power to sabotage the Biden Presidency, no matter who, among the working people, it hurts.

I never felt this way before I saw how low they were willing to go over the last four years.