The Pollyana Candidate

At a campaign event in Dubuque, Iowa, former Vice President and current Democratic Party frontrunner Joe Biden said, “History will treat this administration’s time as an aberration.”[1]

At another campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire Mr. Biden said, “I just think there is a way, and the thing that will fundamentally change things is with Donald Trump out of the White House.  Not a joke.  You will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends.”[2]

Mr. Biden based this assumption on Republican’s wanting to govern with Democrats.  Either Mr. Biden was asleep during the Obama Administration, or he’s suffering memory loss. 

Trump is not an aberration.  Trump is the result of a political culture of divisiveness.  

The political culture of divisiveness can be traced back to former Georgia congressman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  He successfully argued, “Compromise is the art of surrender… Through visible public clashes… [Republicans] can spotlight their agenda and draw a clear distinction between the parties.”[3]

Political divisiveness metastasized during the 2008 presidential campaign and it turned into political intransigence with the election of Barrack Obama, the nation’s first African American president. 

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell proudly stated his goal was to limit President Obama to one term.  Although Senator McConnell could not prevent President Obama from winning a second term, he achieved a second goal, blocking President Obama from filling a Supreme Court vacancy.

If Mr. Biden believes becoming president will break the partisan gridlock, he’s sadly mistaken.  The Senate Republicans have tasted real political power.  They will not abdicate their power.  Senate Republicans don’t need electoral majorities.  Their power is based on land.  A minority of the country elects the majority in the Senate.  North Dakota (population 760,077), South Dakota (population 882,235), Oklahoma (population 643,648) and Alaska (population (737,438) have more political power than California (population 39.56 million) and New York (population 19.54 million).

Republican’s are not interested in governing.  Republican’s want to rule.  The Republicans will set the agenda on their terms: tax cuts, corporate friendly deregulation and appointing conservative judges.

During the Obama presidency, the Republicans weaponized congressional investigations.  In an interview with Sean Hannity, Republican Kevin McCarthy said, “Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s un-trustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought and made that happen.”[4]

If Mr. Biden is elected president, what is more likely to happen, the Senate passes legislation fixing Obamacare, or the Republican’s investigate Mr. Biden’s role in stopping a corruption investigation in the Ukraine?

Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani opened Pandora’s box by “encouraging Ukraine to wade further into sensitive political issues in the United States, seeking to push the incoming government in Kiev to press ahead with investigations that he hopes will benefit Mr. Trump.”[5]

“In March 2016, then-vice president Biden successfully strong-armed Ukraine to fire prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. Biden, who flew into Kiev dangling the promise of a one billion dollar loan guarantee, told Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko the loan wouldn’t be authorized unless Shokin was ousted.

“Here’s how Biden himself recounted it: “I looked at them and said:  ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a bitch.  He got fired. 

“At the time, Shokin was allegedly investigating corruption at Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company. Joe Biden’s son Hunter happened to sit on Burisma’s board, a lucrative position which was netting him millions of dollars.”[6]

Would you be surprised if Mr. Biden’s Republican friends in the Senate blocked Mr. Biden from filling a vacant Supreme Court seat?

In 2008 I supported a candidate who said he could reconcile our political divisiveness.  Instead our political differences got worse.  Trump exploited it.

 Mr. Biden is offering nostalgia, a time (1980’s) when centrist Democrats and moderate Republicans worked together to solve problems.  “It’s my job to find them.  To persuade them to vote for it.  And I did,” Mr. Biden said at a campaign rally in Philadelphia.[7]

Mr. Biden’s Republican friends are already turning against him.  “He does have relationships, that’s true.  But he doesn’t sound like the old Joe Biden that most of us knew when he was here in the Senate,” Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) said.  “I love Joe Biden,” said Senator Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina)… “I think he’s been wrong on everything.”[8]  

Our two-party system is a zero sum game.  If Senate Republicans compromise with President Biden and Mr. Biden presidency is successful, it could help Democrats gain seats in Congress.  However, if Republicans obstruct and Mr. Biden’s presidency is unsuccessful, Republicans win.

Our government is broken.  It cannot be repaired.  Mr. Biden is counting on his Republican friends to govern.  If Mr. Biden wins the presidency I suggest he follow Gordon Gekko’s advice, “If you need a friend, get a dog.”    

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[1] “Biden Thinks Trump is the Problem, Not Republicans, Other Democrats Disagree,” Shane Goldmacker, New York Times, 5/4/2019.

[2] “Rhetoric or Obliviousness?  Biden Predicts a Post Trump Epiphany for GOP,” Phillip Bump, Washington Post, 5/22/2019.

[3] The Red and The Blue, The 1990’s and The Birth Of Political Tribalism, Steve Kornacki, Harper Collins, 2018, page 41.

[4] “In Context: What Kevin McCarthy Said About Hillary Clinton and Benghazi,” Angie Drobnic Holan, Washington Post, 10/7/2015.

[5] “Rudy Giuliani Plans Ukraine Trip to Push for Inquiries That Could Help Trump,” Kenneth Vogel, New York Times, 5/9/2019.

[6] “Joe Biden’s Conflict of Interest on Ukraine,” Lev Golinkin, The Nation, 5/16/2019.

[7] “Wrong On Most Everything: GOP Smacks Down Biden’s Bipartisanship,” Burgess Everett and James Arkin, Politico, 5/22/2019.

[8] “Wrong On Most Everything: GOP Smacks Down Biden’s Bipartisanship,” Burgess Everett and James Arkin, Politico, 5/22/2019.