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Yes, Biden is Bipartisan — Here’s How.
It depends on your definition of bipartisanship.
Joe Biden, heading into a tough election, cautioned American voters that the “GOP fever will break after the election.”
Except the year wasn’t 2020, it was 2012. I guess the fever never broke. Despite pushing broadly popular programs, President Biden has been met with near uniform resistance from Republican lawmakers.
Republicans have refused to negotiate in good faith with the Biden administration, while simultaneously slamming the president for failing to meet his campaign promise of uniting the country around bipartisan consensus.
I wanted to write a few ideas about bipartisanship in the present day — what it means, how to view it, and public support around it.
1. Biden is actually bipartisan.
Historically, bipartisanship has meant passing bills with support from members of both major political parties. If this remains your definition, sure, Biden isn’t off to a hot start.
But if you define bipartisanship as passing broadly popular legislation that even Republicans support, Biden may be the most bipartisan president of the last quarter century.
