Biden Stays On His ‘Republicans Are Redeemable’ Thread — And People Are Pissed

Keynote speaker former Vice President Joe Biden pauses during his speech during the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law 20th Anniversary Gala at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018. The annual event serves as the school’s principal scholarship fundraiser. (AP Photo / Las Vegas Sun, Yasmina Chavez)
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 file photo, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law 20th Anniversary Gala at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. On Monday, Dec. 4, 201... FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 file photo, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law 20th Anniversary Gala at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. On Monday, Dec. 4, 2018, Biden said he believes that he is the most qualified person in the country to be president. (Yasmina Chavez/Las Vegas Sun via AP) MORE LESS
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Former Vice President Joe Biden is hellbent on insisting that he can and will extract cooperation and bipartisanship from his Republican peers — and less rosy-eyed observers are getting angry.

At a fundraiser Monday night, he shared his faith in his GOP counterparts.

“With Trump gone you’re going to begin to see things change,” he said per HuffPost. “Because these folks know better. They know this isn’t what they’re supposed to be doing.”

His statement has echoes of what he said last month, when he predicted “an epiphany” among his “Republican friends” when President Donald Trump leaves office.

For some, the refrain is getting old.

A senator from Illinois joked:

Senior writer at Rolling Stone Jamil Smith was not convinced:

Shaun King, a columnist at the Intercept, argued Biden is “out of touch”:

National affairs correspondent at the Nation Joan Walsh reminded Biden of his history with congressional Republicans:

Biden seems unperturbed. He plans to continue the theme in his remarks to be delivered during a campaign stop in Iowa on Tuesday. 

“He is deliberately and completely ignoring the legitimate authority of the Congress — and he’s doing it with the full complicity of the Republicans in Congress who know better,” he plans to say of Trump in his prepared statement. “I will look to work with the Congress. I will work across the aisle. I will seek to find consensus.”

In a time of turbulence and vicious partisanship, Biden is hoping that branding himself as the aisle-crossing candidate will appeal to those weary from the constant battling.

Notable Replies

  1. It’s very tiresome and tone deaf from Joe.

    I’ll say this, if Joe can reach these trial heat numbers with Trump so can any Dem who beats Joe in the primaries.

    Additionally, this is a strong field. They’re not wedded to Joe. He’s going to have to earn it, not sleepwalk like he has been for the past 2 weeks. However, if he does beat this field, then I’ll be very confident that he’ll win the general election easily.

  2. Republicans are not redeemable without a truth and reconciliation process.

  3. WHAT an Asshole… Biden is unredeemable

  4. I’ll only vote for him if he gets the nomination. But that’s literally the only way.

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