Key Senate Republicans say Biden can break Washington gridlock

[Skya Rhen]

Key Senate Republicans say they can see themselves working with Joe Biden if he is elected president, bolstering the centrist Democratic candidate's claims that he would be able to break through legislative gridlock in Washington. Biden earlier this year proclaimed that Republicans would have “an epiphany” and start working more with Democrats once Trump left office. Biden’s claim that he could achieve a breakthrough in bipartisan productivity if elected president has also been met with skepticism. But key Senate Republicans say they feel more optimistic about working with him compared to other Democratic presidential candidates.

“I think Joe Biden has the ability to work across party lines, absolutely I do,” said Graham, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who was one of the authors of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate passed in 2013 but that later died in the House. Graham said he’s not so sure whether Warren or Sanders would be as effective. Graham said he’s “all in for Trump” but could see working with Biden “on a lot of things” if he winds up in the White House in 2021.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a key moderate who voted with Democrats against repealing ObamaCare in 2017, said she also sees Biden as someone who could work effectively with Republicans. “Think about some of the initiatives Biden has worked with, whether it’s Leader McConnell or just worked on a bipartisan basis. The fact that he has legislative, congressional experience and had to work in a legislative body and then worked with President Obama as one within the administration working with a legislative body does give him a level of experience that’s useful,” Murkowski said.

Murkowski made reference to three of Biden’s biggest accomplishments as vice president, when he worked with McConnell to extend expiring tax cuts after the 2010 midterm elections, raise the debt limit in the summer of 2011 and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff at the end of 2012.

Biden also played a key role in recruiting three moderate Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and then-Sens. Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Arlen Specter (Pa.), to support the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which stimulated the economy after the 2008 financial crisis.Murkowski also singled out Klobuchar as a Democratic candidate who would likely work effectively with Republicans. But Murkowski doesn’t hold much hope for working on a bipartisan basis with Warren or Sanders.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to the Senate GOP leadership who served with Biden on the Judiciary Committee, said Biden “has that experience” and “everybody who’s worked around Joe Biden has liked him.”

Jim Kessler, the executive vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank, says voters want to see the pragmatic problem-solving skills that Biden says he will bring to the White House.
“There is a longing for someone who is going to try their best to do this,” he said. “Even if voters think it may not succeed, they want somebody to try. A lot of them want somebody to try because they want an end to what seems like Washington warfare.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/471013-key-republicans-say-biden-can-break-washington-gridlock

[George II]

1. Yes indeed - the "epiphany" that Biden was speaking of.

[mopinko]

2. meh. i think it is irrelevant who gets elected.

the thugs will be handed their asses and we wont need them for squat, i hope.
they will obstruct in direct proportion to their numbers, and that is all there is to it.

[JoeOtterbein]

3. +1 nt

[Skya Rhen]

4. I recall many on DU saying, "Name just one Republican... "Biden's delusional..." These Repubs are

bracing themselves for a Biden victory.

They see all of the polls where Biden is beating Trump by much greater margins than his competitors - they see the writing on the wall.

[LakeArenal]

8. As you know, I love Joe

But not one of those asswipes is trustable. So although I think Joe will be successful, those mentioned are liars.

In any case, none of the other candidates have the experience to deal with them

I also hear but unsaid, the rest of the primary candidates don’t have a chance of working with Repukes.

[Thekaspervote]

24. This!

[The Valley Below]

13. Bingo!

[dsc]

14. If you believe Lindsey Graham will do anything other than be the piece of total crap he is

you are delusional with a capital D.

[Bradshaw3]

27. Yes Graham is SOOO believable

Thanks but I don't want trump, Graham or these other repubs making my choice for the nominee. repubs aren't the only ones who are delusional.

[enough]

5. Bull. NT

[Skya Rhen]

6. Awwww...

[BlueMTexpat]

9. Why couldn't this happen

when Biden was Vice President?

The principal reasons for the gridlock that has existed since 2009: GOP Senators; GOP Representatives and their leader, Moscow Mitch.

Of course, there is also another reason - at least from 2009-2017 - and it completely destroys the credibility of any of those GOPers. Need I spell it out here?

No sane person would believe that these same POS would EVER do anything that might EVER make ANY Dem look good.

[loyalsister]

19. Imagine if Obama had stepped aside and let Joe take over the way Chenney did?

Obama did the job he earned well. He went out of his way to serve as the president of all of us and the elected Republicans hated him and refused to work with him no matter what, because that is what their constituents wanted.

I can remember a particularly instructive interview with Paul Ryan, where he said he thought it was cool that we elected Obama but he disagreed with everything he wanted to do. In other words, if Obama had agreed to be a figurehead token, he would have been okay with it. I wonder how prominent that view was among the GOP?

[Thekaspervote]

23. Imagine this imagine that..

[loyalsister]

25. My point is that

I think that's the point of Biden's candidacy coded in "appeals to white working class voters" as well as an "ability to work with republicans."

[jalan48]

10. Oh yeah, if Lindsey Graham says Biden can break the gridlock it must be true, because?

[pecosbob]

11. The long dark tea-time of the soul...

Credit to Douglas Adams, apologies to St. John of the Cross.

[KPN]

12. LOL. Graham, Murkowski and Cornyn? And we should take that to the bank?

They can do that now ... take a bipartisan approach. Why wait till Biden or 2021?

[Celerity]

15. Good to see the Koch Bothers partially-funded Third Way group get a shout out

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212378671

[BeyondGeography]

16. OP lacks the accompanying illustration

[Bradshaw3]

28. Nailed it n/t

[BeyondGeography]

31. Nice immigration bill you got together with the libs on

Too bad it’s an AMNESTY bill...

But, yeah, looking forward to a revival of the Gang of Eight.

[beachbumbob]

17. there is some truth in this. Biden has been a senator not afraid to work with others and make

compromise. He follows the idea that a flawed compromise is way better than a perfect solution that leads to the wastebasket. We have many on democratic side that have difficulty with "less than perfect" and the inability to seek compromise. We know GOP absolutely hate compromise on all levels

[loyalsister]

29. Obama was a president who was not afraid to compromise

He went out of his way to compromise and made a lot of progressive voters very angry. DU was in a fury over some of his compromises. Especially when he extended Bushes tax cuts. hmmmm. I wonder what the determining difference is between the VP and Obama?

[loyalsister]

18. I'm not sure that this is something to celebrate

To those of us who recall the days when Dems surrendered to Reaganomics and Dixiecrats, it can also be understood as a belief that Joe will give in to the ugliest demand that is apparently very close to their hearts; "restore white male supremacy to the white house and we will be happy to help."
See the concerns about Koch bros threats also cited by Joe.

[Thekaspervote]

22. LOL!!

[Sloumeau]

20. Skya Rhen, this is another great posting from you. Thanks! :)

[Thekaspervote]

21. Interesting indeed...

[dchill]

26. They might as well not have said anything.

[Bradshaw3]

30. Democrats should not look to repubs when choosing a nominee

Obama thought he could work with them too. How did that go?

Some of these Biden supporters have the same problem Joe does. Or perhaps it's just any port in a storm.

[Scurrilous]

32. K&R

[Wounded Bear]

33. The only people who can break the gridlock are Republicans...

[I_UndergroundPanther]

34. Bipartisanship with sociopaths

Is not good for democracy. This is why I won't vote for Biden. We don't need a half republican sympathizer with monsters. Fuck bipartisanship.

[Gothmog]

36. With the filibuster in place, how will Warren get any of her proposals adopted?

[Skya Rhen]

37. I can hardly wait to hear a response to this.......

[I_UndergroundPanther]

39. If we get Dems in the house,Senate and white house

We can change things. So republicans can't hijack the acts of Democrats,or Warren could do a signing statement. The pukes are not shy about using it,neither should Dems be shy of using it.

[Skya Rhen]

41. (Bloomberg) Liberals upset Sens. Manchin, Tester & Sinema said they'll never vote to end filibuster

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/newsletters/2019-11-14/will-the-filibuster-kill-democrats-dreams-k2ynby1c


Liberal Democrats are upset this week that Senators Joe Manchin and Jon Tester have joined Kyrsten Sinema in saying they’ll never vote to end the legislative filibuster. Since the best Democrats could hope for in 2021 is 52 senators, the argument goes, this means that Republicans will likely filibuster everything and the entire Democratic agenda is dead on arrival — even if the party wins unified control of government.

Well ... it’s true that Democrats are very unlikely to wind up with more than 52 Senators. And it’s true that Republicans will likely filibuster everything. The rest? Not really.

The downside for liberals is that a very slim Democratic majority in the Senate wouldn’t be able to pass most far-reaching liberal bills. But that’s not because of the filibuster; it’s because Manchin in particular just isn’t very liberal, and he likely won’t be alone in opposing, say, much of what Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign has proposed. Democrats may not even have simple majorities for a lot of liberal priorities.

[Gothmog]

35. Joe Biden would be able to break through legislative gridlock in DC

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

38. Key Republicans say Biden can break Washington gridlock

Link to tweet

But key Senate Republicans say they feel more optimistic about working with him compared to other Democratic presidential candidates.

"I think Joe Biden has the ability to work across party lines, absolutely I do," said Graham, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman who was one of the authors of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate passed in 2013 but that later died in the House.

Graham said he's not so sure whether Warren or Sanders would be as effective.

"I don't know," he said when asked about the chances of compromise with Warren and Sanders. "That's going to be the challenge of the next president, whoever they are. Biden's track record is real."

Graham also expressed his warm regard for Biden, which is shared by a variety of Republicans who worked with him on Capitol Hill.

"I very much like Joe Biden. I think he's one of the most decent people I've ever met. He suffered tremendous tragedy," Graham added, referring to the death of Biden's then wife and 13-month-old daughter in a 1972 car accident and the death of his son Beau at age 46 of cancer.

[theaocp]

40. How nice that pond scum has decided to let its opinion on the Democratic Primaries known.

Is this a joke?

[BuffaloJackalope]

42. Is this before or after they impeach him for Barisma?

[Gothmog]

43. Actual Republican Senators: "We have worked with Joe Biden and would do it again."

Link to tweet