Steyer suggests Biden's talk of working with Republicans is naive

[bluewater]

Link to tweet

Tom Steyer: “I hate to be rude ... but President Obama couldn’t work with them.”

More to the point, Joe was VP when the Republicans stole an Obama Supreme Court appointment.

Merrick Garland says hello.

Joe could not talk the Republicans into giving Merrick Garland a Senate hearing!

[LakeArenal]

1. Naive? Necessary is my opinion.

[bluewater]

3. It's more of a question of actually being at all possible.

History, very recent history, says it won't be.

Believing it would be possible is where the naivete comes in...

Merrick Garland says hello.

[LakeArenal]

5. I think it sounds more like a Simpson quote

“We’ve tried nothing and we are all out of ideas.”

This election changes everything. Especially if we get the Senate.

I won’t preclude anything.

[BusyBeingBest]

2. The GOP isn't going to work with him, or any of our candidates.

They're going to stall, degrade, mock, hamper, hinder, harass, and obstruct, and then prepare for the next election.

[Renew Deal]

4. Steyer is correct

[ibegurpard]

6. It is

This is one of the things I really wish Biden would lay off of. We need to be associating Republicans with Trump...not giving them a pass. Trump is Republicanism without the polite mask. If Biden doesn't realize this (and sometimes I wonder the way he kept going on about it) then he is seriously naive.

[beachbumbob]

7. there was a time when democrats and republicans could work together

[tritsofme]

8. Who is naive here? Republicans do in fact exist, and divided government is very possible.

Pretending they don’t like exist isn’t a governing strategy.

[Mike 03]

9. I hate to agree. Biden's a sincerely decent human being with a heart of gold

but on this matter he has the naivete of Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.

This is why it's vitally important we regain the Senate and keep the House.

[polichick]

10. Working with Republicans means moving far enough right to please them...

Steyer is correct - Joe sounds naive, to put it politely.

[oldtime dfl_er]

11. I don't think Joe is naive

but in a sense he's playing a long game and knows what needs to be said for future negotiations.

[George II]

12. It was more like republicans refused to work with Obama, and it would have been the same....

....with any Democratic president.

[TwilightZone]

13. Most of the 300 bills sitting on McConnell's desk are bipartisan in some form.

Most either had a cosponsor that was an R or at least one R voted along with the Dems.

I guess you'd prefer they all be partisan? Getting Republican support makes it much easier to point the blame squarely at McConnell and other Senate Republicans.

But, hey, I guess purity is all some are looking for, even if it would be politically dumb.

[TwilightZone]

14. Nah, what's naive is thinking we should alienate voters who are sick of partisanship.

I suspect that includes a lot of independents and maybe some not-that-political Democrats, especially in purple or red areas.

Eh, who needs 'em?

[Hav]

15. Hard to disagree with Steyer's point

but I also think this talk is rather geared towards moderates in both parties and the potential general election electorate.
Usually (at least recently starting from the W Bush years) according to some polls on this matter, it was Repub voters who despise compromise and Dems who support finding common ground for the sake of improvement. If I remember correctly, one of Obama's stances that I found very attractive in 2008 was trying to work against the growing divide and polarisation between Dems and Repubs.

In retrospect, that turned out to be naive, of course, but I think many Dems aren't opposed to that idea.

[Bettie]

16. I tend to agree with that

Republicans will never work with a Democrat.

Evidence? 2008-now.

[LizBeth]

17. I think it is worse than naive and I do not like hearing it. But, Biden is #2 for me now and will

be cheering if he gains momentum. I am not going to be an hypocrite though and excuse it. I think it is clear over the last 15 yrs that it is more than naive to make a statement like that and I really would like for Biden to walk away from that.

[gibraltar72]

18. It's fucking stupid is what it is.