On Sleeping With The Enemy

One of the things I always liked about Ted Lieu and Pramila Jayapal was that while they were state senators, he in California and she in Washington, they became experts at working across the aisle to get real things accomplished. And they did it without ever abandoning their progressive and Democratic values. Marqus Cole is running for an open seat in the suburbs northwest of Atlanta. After the “compromise” that Pelosi and Hoyer gave to McConnell for nothing, he wrote me a note that emphasized that “it’s important to remember context and what actually happened here— Senate Democrats sold out our party’s values for a ‘bipartisan’ deal. House Democrats DID vote for and pass a version of the humanitarian aid bill that dealt with the problems of the immigration camps and put parameters on the administration. Once that bill made it to the Senate, Mitch, the grim reaper, never brought it up for vote. Senate Democrats had a choice. Fight for our values and a bill that passed the house or jam a ‘compromise’ bill down the throats of the House Democrats at the last minute. The only thing compromised about that bill was it’s values. Senate Dems should have fought for an up or down vote on the house’s bill; including slowing down the Senate if necessary. Or tried to go to conference in the alternative. I would have voted for the first House bill. I too would have protested what happened, that wasn’t democracy.”

What sickens me is seeing conservative shills within the Democratic Party— Josh Gottheimer comes right to mind as an example— who think bipartisanship means giving up and embracing the Republican position. That’s what the Problem Solver’s Caucus and the Blue Dogs are all about. It’s also what Status Quo Joe is all about.

Right after the debate, SiriusXM radio interviewed Bernie who responded to a question about working across the aisle by explaining how he and Biden differ on that. "Well, look, all that I can tell you is, my views are a little bit different. I do work with Republicans when I can. For example, I'm very proud of the fact that for the first time in 45 years, we used the War Powers Act to get a majority vote in the Senate to end the horrible war in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia. So, you work with Republicans when you can. But I think everybody understands that Mitch McConnell and the Republicans today have evolved into an extreme right wing party. They are intimidated by Donald Trump. They are controlled by big money, and the only way we beat them is by creating an unprecedented grassroots movement of young people and working people and people who believe in justice."

Biden, clueless as ever, had boasted how he had engineered a disastrous “compromise” with McConnell that extended the Bush tax cuts forever, while slightly, and very temporarily, raising the income tax rate for wealthy Americans. Biden foolishly babbled that “we needed to be able to keep the government from shutting down and going bankrupt; I got Mitch McConnell to raise taxes $600 billion by raising the top rate.”

Unfortunately for Biden, Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, a solidly conservative Democrat, was very aware of how those negotiations went. “The deal,” he said, “that he talked about with Mitch McConnell was a complete victory for the Tea Party. That was a great deal for Mitch McConnell. It was a terrible deal for Americans.”

I was waiting for Biden to start bragging how he had negotiated a deal that included cutting Social Security and Medicare, but I assume his staff drilled it into his head to not mention that during the primaries. In fact, as far back as 1995, Biden has been advocating Social Security and Medicare cuts. This is the only thing you can be sure he will do if he is— God forbid— elected president. Watch the flaming asshole on the senate floor. This is absolutely classic Biden— his essence as a piece of crap in suit and tie:




Biden— always already up on a high horse that he never has to get up on—insisted that cutting programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits… is the only way to ensure their continued existence— an old conservative and Republican Party ruse that they have been using for a century. Obama appointed Biden to lead the negotiations for the [thankfully failed] 2011 Grand Bargain. Biden eagerly offered to cut Social Security benefits as part of the deal. And it was just a bit over a year ago that he cluelessly shouted how “Paul Ryan was correct when he did the tax code. What’s the first thing he decided we needed to go after? Social Security and Medicare.” And that’s exactly what Biden will go after if he ever gets the chance. Ironic when you consider the only firm support he has is from voters over 65 who are absolutely petrified of any change, especially to Medicare and Social Security.