Sigh. Oh it burns. It burns. I had a smidgeon of hope that there would be more news coverage of The Poor People’s Campaign Summit, but it is the political topic of poverty. And who cares? Correct?
I’m being extremly sarcastic, so bear with me.
However, in the drive by coverage of this event on CBS News and MSNBC, I did notice something. I damn near got whiplash because it went by so fast, but it seems that Joe Biden did not get a good reception. CBS News actually had on a couple of the activists who said they were not impressed by Biden.
OK. So the people who didn’t like Biden ran to the cameras. It was only a couple of malcontents.
Then, I see that Biden made some remark about bipartisanship. I wasn’t sure what I heard, so I went to go look it up online. And here is what Biden said about bipartisanship:
Former Vice President Joe Biden defended bipartisanship with Republican lawmakers, saying if a Democratic president can't find compromise might as well "go home" and start a "real physical revolution."
And this is from the Trump TV website. And what Biden said was in response to Joy Reid’s question about what he would do if he had to work with a McConnell controlled Senate after 2020.
“Joy, I know you’re one of the ones that thinks it’s naive to think we have to work together,” Biden responded. “The fact of the matter is if we can’t get a consensus, nothing happens except the abuse of power by the executive.”
Compromise with Mitch McConnell? Fuckin’ really? Who’s naive here Joe?
Yes, Biden said that Democrats need to “beat” the Republicans. Most Democrats who want to get anywhere with the base have to at least acknowledge that. “Yeah, I will fight them” is a gimme.
However, this is Biden who just loves bipartisanship, and he ain’t done yet.
Biden then argued that there's always a "rationale for compromise" with Republicans, pointing to the Obama-era Recovery Act where he boasted "three Republican votes" that he garnered in order to get it passed.
And Obama had to bribe those Republicans with tax cuts in the Recovery Act and lower the price for the bill. The Recovery Act helped stabilize the economy, but everyone with half a brain realizes that it needed to be way bigger to give the economy a serious lift.
And besides the Recovery Act, where were the Republicans on other bills? Oh yeah. They fought Obama tooth and nail. They engaged in economic and political sabotage for electoral advantage.
Then, Biden claimed that you can “shame people” into doing what is right.
Really? Republicans have shame? Let that sink in.
Biden defenders will claim that this is a smart play. Voters want to hear that a leader will compromise, supposedly. However, it has been my experience that the guys who sell compromise usually end up losing, at least in the present political environment.
And it appears to have fallen flat for Biden at this conference.