Biden Says McConnell Might Be ‘Mildly Cooperative’ Under A New President

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 12: Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., make their way to the House floor for President Obama's State of the Union address, January 12, 2016. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 12: Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., make their way to the House floor for President Obama's State of the Union address, January 12, 2016. (Ph... UNITED STATES - JANUARY 12: Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., make their way to the House floor for President Obama's State of the Union address, January 12, 2016. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) MORE LESS
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Former Vice President Joe Biden said that he predicts Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) may become “mildly cooperative” in a post-Trump era.

“I’m not suggesting all of a sudden everyone’s going to project a new sense of courage and political courage,” Biden said at a campaign event in New York. “What I’m suggesting [is] that the dynamic changes when the right vote, as opposed to the vote you don’t agree with, becomes a possibility if you vote for it.”

Biden has gotten in hot water with progressives before for his optimistic vision of a bipartisan future, though he tried to give his perspective more nuance in the most recent Democratic debate.

He said then that he has “no love” for Republicans at the moment, especially because of how they’ve treated his son, Hunter, during the impeachment inquiry, but that he refuses to accept that we can never reach a place of “cooperation.”

He previously predicted that Republicans would have an “epiphany” when Trump leaves office.

Though many respond to Biden’s rosy visions with angry reminders about outright Republican obstructionism under President Barack Obama — especially McConnell’s refusal to let Obama name Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court — the Biden camp clearly sees bipartisan appeal as part of his edge. Biden also recently floated choosing a Republican for his vice president: a highly unlikely move, but one that establishes him as the cooperation candidate.

In a crowded primary field, Biden has cut his path as the potential President who will bring the fractured country together again. Biden is clearly taking the gamble that even if he angers some on the left, statements like these are worth it to attract voters of a more independent or even right-leaning constitution.

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Notable Replies

  1. Biden is the leading Democratic candidate, and McConnell is currently aiding the Republican president in suppressing the Constitutional function of the Senate. Even if his speculation is right about McConnell being “mildly cooperative,” it is an unforced error not to bring the focus back to the fact that the Senate leader is acting as the president’s bagman.

  2. Nice job of pushing for Dem control of the Senate, Joe. Go home now.

  3. Avatar for tena tena says:

    PFTHBTHpfthbththth!!!

    You have GOT to be fucking kidding me - your short term memory must be totally shot, Joe.

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