By Charlotte Calick
During the campaign he ran on bipartisanship and his ability to reach across the aisle. When elected as president, faced with a once in a generation financial crisis, that was the way he chose to govern.
Obviously, I am talking about Barack Obama back in 2009.
With our banking system in ruins and industries on the brink of extinction, the new President and his staff knew they had to go big with a rescue package. And that is exactly what they did, but as Obama had promised, he wanted to work with Republicans. Led by Senator Susan Collins, a group of Republican senators met with the president and reviewed the package. Their primary concern? It was just too big.
With the promise of bipartisan support, the Obama administration tinkered with the package, included Republican amendments, and reduced the amount of relief it was intended to provide. When it was finished he received no votes from Republicans in the House and only the support of 3 Republican senators. To this day he is still blamed for the slow recovery.
This exercise was repeated two more times — first with Obamacare and then with immigration. Desperate for Republican support, Obama allowed significant changes to be made to both plans. Obamacare received one Republican vote in the House and no votes in the Senate. His immigration bill never came to fruition at all. Fast Forward to 2021.
After campaigning on bipartisanship and his ability to reach across the aisle, President Biden is faced with a major economic downturn due to the coronavirus. Both he and his staff know they need to go big and as a result have come up with a relief package with a price tag of 1.9 trillion dollars. Promising to work with Republicans he invited a group of 10 Senators led by Susan Collins. Their primary concern? It is just too big. Biden’s response, “Sorry, I am not making any changes.”
Due to something called reconciliation, Biden does not need 60 votes to pass the package. He only requires a simple majority and with every Democrat on board and Kamala Harris to break any ties, Biden would like Republican votes, but he does not need it. Most importantly he will move ahead without it; something his old boss was reluctant to do.
Democrats looking to run for Congress in 2022 are looking forward to running against Republicans who vote against the package. It will be the highlight of their campaigns and they have Joe Biden to thank. Looks like this administration will not be Obama 2.0.
