Stop Pretending Bipartisanship With Today’s GOP is Possible

Stop Pretending Bipartisanship With Today's GOP is Possible

Donald Trump broke Washington, which, by all accounts, also broke bipartisanship. To him and the evil white supremacists following in his footsteps, it’s about regaining all the power or nothing. Either they have it their way, or you can take the highway. That message, unfortunately, is not getting across to President Joe Biden, Senator Chuck Schumer, or Senator Joe Manchin. All of whom are stuck in the good old era of negotiating compromises. All need to stop pretending bipartisanship with today’s Trumpian spit-image GOP or Mitch McConnell is possible.

It seems the harder they try, the less they accomplish thinking they are to blame for not trying hard enough. Can you imagine anything more sadist?

Bipartisanship is dead and long gone, and only people outside the political bubble see it. Those weaklings on the inside keep pretending.

WHEN DO YOU STOP?

I have a question for President Biden. When will he realize that without killing the filibuster, he might as well hand over his legislative agenda to McConnell? When will Joe Manchin realize it, if ever? There is a point in time, supposedly in July, when Joe Manchin either plays ball as a Democrat, or his chameleon-style politics gets outed.

Although Senate rules allowed the majority leader Schumer to attach other bills to the Reconciliation budget of 2020, Manchin refused to go along. What does Manchin think McConnell would do in Schumer’s place? In my opinion, the Senator from West Virginia is acting more like a GOP Trojan Horse than a real Democrat. Manchin needs to prove otherwise by playing ball on the D team.

When do you stop pretending that bipartisanship in today’s poisonous political environment is dead and buried? Look at how the GOP reneged on an agreed upon January 6 Commission forum. They negotiated with the Democrats and when it was time to sign off on the terms, they walked away. Bipartisanship is dead and long gone, and only people outside the political bubble see it. Those weaklings on the inside keep pretending.

After the January 6 Commission, Manchin said:

“Mitch McConnell makes it extremely difficult. The commission is something this country needs. There’s no excuse. It’s just pure raw politics. And that’s just so, so disheartening. It really, really is disheartening. I never thought I’d see it up close and personal that politics could trump our country. And I’m going to fight to save this country.”Senator Joe Manchin

Really? How Senator?

Dear readers, bipartisanship in Washington has become an exercise in sadism the masochists are publicly denouncing but privately, in my opinion, don’t seem to mind it.

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM

Like Mitch McConnell shoved his agenda down the throat of the Democrats, Chuck Schumer must do the same. With all the powers Joe Biden has at his disposal, not finding something he can trade with Joe Manchin, whose state of West Virginia languishes at the bottom of all 50 states in terms of education and economy, is unfathomable. The truth is that neither Biden, nor Schumer want to believe bipartisanship is dead. They still live to dream the impossible dream.

The above logic assumes Joe Manchin cares more about West Virginia than he cares about his own power. Something that I cannot doubtlessly confirm. The fact Donald Trump carried 70% of the votes in West Virginia, Manchin’s democratic credentials are an antithesis to the very spirit of his constituents.

Having said that, Manchin was still seeking the January 6 Commission that Trump opposed. This demonstrates that he is willing to step outside the 70% shadows to vote his conscious. So, why not on the rest of the President’s agenda? His January 6 Commission position does not preclude Manchin from agreeing with Schumer to passing other legislation, especially For the People Act, under the budget reconciliation of 2020.

Kevin Kruse, an MSNBC opinion columnist, wrote in an article entitled “Senate’s Capitol commission vote highlights Manchin’s filibuster ignorance” what is true of Manchin’s ignorance:

Manchin, asked Thursday whether he might finally vote to end the filibuster if Republicans used it to block the commission, responded reflexively: “I’m not willing to destroy our government, no.” But the senator has it exactly backward — it is the filibuster that is destroying our government.Kevin Kruse - MSNBC May 28, 2021

Dear readers, bipartisanship in Washington has become an exercise in sadism the masochists are publicly denouncing but privately, in my opinion, don’t seem to mind it.

Stop Pretending Bipartisanship With Today’s GOP is Possible

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