With the new commander in chief in office, the priorities of the United States government have been changed completely. Owing to his long-lasting career in US politics, President Joe Biden has made several connections in the Senate and beyond. He has working experience with most of the current Republican Senators, proving to be a hurdle for him in translating the things he preached in his election campaign into reality.
Even in his presidential inauguration address, President Joe Biden said that there is no way out except propagating unity among the political circles in these trying times.
However, Biden has often neglected the way with which Republicans perceive unity. The concept of unity in the eyes of Republicans is quite different than that of Biden.
Republicans seek those actions from Biden under the name of unity that does not cost them their voters. Interestingly, these actions are the complete opposite of Biden’s vision. So, at the end of the day, the choice lies with Biden whether to satisfy his approach of unity or stay honest with more than 80 million people who voted for him to put him in the White House.
How are Republicans exploiting Biden’s unity offer? Let’s have a look.
Republicans Blocking Filibuster Ending: Exploiting Biden’s Unity
Right now, one of the significant demands from the Republican Senators is to save the filibuster so that they could keep their relevance in the United States politics. However, it is one of the primary hurdles in Biden’s way right now that can stop him from passing his agenda from the Senate.
If Biden compromises with Republicans on prolonging the filibuster just for the sake of unity, the GOP will continue to delay on all the important legislation that will be against their agenda.
For instance, the approach of Democrats against the coronavirus crisis is more critical than that of Republicans. Biden signed the executive orders to implement a mask mandate in various federal capacities is one of the prominent examples in this regard.
However, by digging deep into the Republicans’ agenda, practicing COVID protocols was always discouraged, not only from the presidential office but also from the government’s legislative branch. This is just the one example where the Republicans’ ideology differs from that of the Democrats and Biden.
Biden’s approach to immigrants also remains soft compared to Trump. Trump tried to wrap up DACA and the Dreamers legislation, to which Biden was one of the primary contributors as the vice president of the United States.
Now, as Biden seeks to reverse these policies of Trump, having a filibuster in the Senate will just give the playing field to Republicans, who will never vote in Biden’s favor because otherwise, they will be going against the Republicans ideology.
Republicans Exploiting Biden’s Unity to Save Trump from a Senate Trial
Seeing that Biden has too many soft corners in his heart, Republican leadership, especially Minority leader Mitch McConnell, has started exploiting the situation. They are delaying the Trump trial as much as they could to give their boss political relief. This also seems a great tactic from the Republicans’ side to make Democrats voters realize that they have made a mistake electing Biden.
This thing is also evident from the fact that Sen. Lindsey Graham said that convicting Trump in a Senate trial will be “an act of political vengeance,” and it “will incite further division.” It is clear from these statements that Republicans know that they can easily exploit Biden’s unity.
Biden’s Unity and Republicans Voters
A survey conducted by Pew Research concluded that even Republican voters want their leaders to stand against Biden’s narrative. According to the said survey, almost 59% of Republican voters asked Republican leaders to “stand up to Biden.”
The politics always drive in a way to satisfy the vote bank, which is dearest to politicians. For instance, Republican leaders can’t go against their vote bank, as they have to go to them once again in the next elections.
So, to satisfy their voters’ desire to stand against Biden, Republicans will leave no stone unturned to cash in on Biden’s offer for unity. This thing has become evident from the power-sharing agreement of the Senate, where Republicans are continuing exploiting Biden’s narrative and Democrats are expected to bow down in front of the Republicans’ demand.
Biden’s Problem: A Short-Term Memory
One of the problems with President Biden is that he forgets what the Republicans did with Democrats in the recent past. They opposed every policy measure of the Obama administration, of which Biden was also part.
For instance, the same Republicans who approved the nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in just eight days refused to have the hearing for Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court justice in 2016.
So, before extending his bid of unity to Republicans, Biden must do his homework before offering these types of uncalculated proposals. Otherwise, he will soon start losing the support of the masses he enjoys right now, and the shoulders on which Biden stands may start crumbling down.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.