President Joe Biden vowed, on November 10, to work with Republicans who have “good ideas.” Then he presented a list of non-negotiable items, establishing an uncrossable line no Republican could be expected to uphold. This isn’t the first time Biden has broken out the unity spiel only to immediately prove it a lie. Oh, he’ll work with any Republican, all right – any Republican who acts like a Democrat.
It’s His Kind of Unity or None at All
“I also think the American people sent a message that they want us to work together,” the president opined during a DNC event Thursday afternoon. “They’ve – and I’ve always done that, and I know I got criticized for it when I ran. I said I was running for three reasons: One, to restore the soul of America. Two, to build this economy from the middle out and the bottom up. And thirdly, to unite the country.”
“Regardless of what the final tally showed, I’m prepared to work with Republicans,” he continued. “But the American people made it clear: They expect Republicans to work with me as well.”
The president has been known to break out that theme a time or two whenever it seems folks might see just how divisive he really is. As Liberty Nation’s Tim Donner wrote in September, “from the moment he entered the Oval Office, Biden has not only broken the promise to unify the country. He has done the opposite, ostracizing and scandalizing the opposition to a degree we have never before witnessed, culminating with his McCarthyite description of ‘MAGA Republicans’ as semi-fascist, lawless, violent reprobates and ultimately a ‘threat to the public.’”
Biden used the word unity – or some equivalent – 19 times in his inaugural speech. He trots it out in comments at one event after the other. And yet this is a politician well-known for his thin skin and angry outbursts. We saw it on the campaign trail when he yelled at and insulted anyone who disagreed with him. Think Biden’s wrong about something? Well, you’re just a lying dog-faced pony soldier! He called an Iowa voter a “damn liar,” insinuated that he’s fat because he spends too much time in front of the TV, and then challenged him to a push-up contest.
Now flash forward a couple of years. In his first rally of the midterm season back in August, Biden called anyone who supported Donald Trump a sort of “semi-fascist.” That was 62.9 million people back in 2016, and a whopping 74.2 million four years later. Hillary Clinton can’t touch Biden with her “basket of deplorables,” which at least only included half the Trump voters.
In September, he abandoned unity entirely during his “Soul of the Nation” speech. “There’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that’s a threat to this country,” the president declared. By November, the GOP had evolved into a threat to democracy itself.
Good Ideas Like His …
Joe Biden (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“And, folks, I’ll always be open to any good ideas, whether it’s Democrat or Republican, to move the country forward,” Biden said in Thursday’s remarks. Now that midterms are more or less over, and he may or may not have a slim Republican majority in either the House, the Senate, or both to contend with, the president knows it’s time to smooth over the rough edges of his campaign-time rhetoric. Still, he can’t quite resist adding a caveat to his call for unity: “But I’ve also made it really clear that if Republicans try to repeal the power we just gave Medicare to reduce prescription drug costs, I will veto it and not let it happen.”
“If Republicans try to walk away from the historic commitment we just made to deal with a climate crisis, I will not let it happen,” he added. “If Republicans try to cut Social Security and Medicare, I will not let that happen. And if they try to cut taxes for the super wealthy again and the biggest corporations, like they did the last administration, I will not let that happen either.”
He went on to claim that Republicans are the bigger spenders, and that his administration is going to keep the deficit low. Any nationwide abortion ban will be vetoed. “It’s simple,” he said. The truth is that Joe Biden will gladly work with any “establishment Republican” (as he called them) who will work with him – meaning, he’ll get along with anyone willing to support his progressive agenda, and no one else.
