WASHINGTON – When President Joe Biden wants to deliver on his urgent plea for unity, he will confront a mismatch between the two parties’ definitions of the word and will likely be forced to choose between fighting for a daring agenda and forging bipartisan agreements. .
Republican leaders have posted a unity vision in which Biden refrains from actions that oppose their base of voters, who according to polls falsely doubt the legitimacy of his election, give former President Donald Trump high approval ratings and want their leaders to resist them.
The tension was clear on Wednesday when Kevin McCarthy, R-California, leader of the House of Representatives, welcomed Biden into the Capitol and said, “Our job as leaders is to bind this country’s wounds.” Two weeks ago, McCarthy, along with most Republicans in the House, voted to block the counting of state-certified election votes for Biden after a violent mob incited by Trump looted the Capitol to block the result.
Biden has presented a progressive agenda that includes trillions of dollars in new investments and an overhaul of the country’s healthcare and immigration systems. And with Republicans resisting most of its platform, it has close democratic majorities to work with and obstacles to overcome, such as the filibuster power by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Dan Pfeiffer, who dealt with a similar dilemma as senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said Biden’s commitment was to ‘reach out to Republicans in Washington’ in good faith ‘but not to sacrifice progress for the sake of unity. not.
“Ultimately, if Mitch McConnell decides to be an obstruction, it’s him, not Joe Biden,” Pfeiffer said. “There is a tendency among many press and experts to condemn Biden’s promise to heal the soul of the nation to nothing but appease the Republican Republicans. Team Biden will have to push back against the dynamics and accordingly expectations set.”
Biden takes office with good approval for his post-election conduct and large political capital to run his party. The direction he chooses will play a major role in the lives of millions of Americans and in the prospects for the Democrats in his first midterm election, when the party comes to power historically.
Some Democrats believe the wiser path is moderation.
“The key is to make sure we govern from a reasonable, more moderate place and show that we can work with Democrats and Republicans to get things done,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., said in a recent interview. “If we demonstrate this, we will be rewarded for it. If we fight with each other for the next two years and let the far left of our party dictate our agenda, it will be a very difficult few years ahead.”
Biden’s inauguration on a cold day was at a time of troubling challenges – a raging pandemic that killed more than 400,000 people in the US and paralyzed the economy. He took the oath on the Western Front of a Capitol that was overrun by a pro-Trump crowd two weeks ago.
“Without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and anger, no progress, only exhausting outrage, no nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the way forward,” said Biden. “Hear me clearly: disagreement may not lead to disagreement.”
It is far from clear that Biden’s pleas for unity will soften an opposition party responsible for a base of voters who, according to the polls, want their leaders to fight him.
The Pew Research Center poll conducted this month shows the asymmetry. Democrats said by 25 points that Biden must work with Republicans to achieve things, even if it means disappointing some of his constituents. But Republicans said the opposite: by a margin of 21 points, they said GOP leaders “should stand up to Biden” on major issues, even if it makes it harder to tackle critical issues.
“Republicans say, ‘We can do nothing with you if you are radioactive with our base, so please do not say anything that makes you radioactive towards our base,'” said Michael Steel, a former House leadership. . help.
Some Republicans are appealing to Biden and Democrats to dismiss, in the name of unity, the House-approved article of the accusation that Trump is accused of inciting revolt.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said in a letter to incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., this week that holding an indictment would be “an act of political revenge”, and he warned that it ” will incite further division. ‘
But Schumer made it clear Tuesday that the trial will take place.
“All of us want to put this horrible chapter in the history of our country behind us,” he said. “But healing and unity will come only if there is truth and accountability, and not sweeping such a serious accusation and horrible action under the rug.”
