Rachel Maddow: Why Joe Biden should stop "wasting time" trying to negotiate with Republicans

"This is a blessing for the Democrats"

Published May 4, 2021 6:31AM (EDT)

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 14: Television host Rachel Maddow arrives for a lunch hosted in honor of Prime Minister David Cameron at the State Department on March 14, 2012 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 14: Television host Rachel Maddow arrives for a lunch hosted in honor of Prime Minister David Cameron at the State Department on March 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

This article originally appeared on Raw Story

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MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow on Monday explained why Joe Biden should stop "wasting time" trying to get GOP support for his infrastructure package.

The host noted a new article titled, "McConnell Says 'Zero' Republicans Will Back Biden's Infrastructure Package."

"I don't think there will be any Republican support — none, zero — for the $4.1 trillion grab bag which has infrastructure in it but a whole lot of other stuff," McConnell told reporters according to the report. "We're open to doing a roughly $600 billion package which deals with what all of us agree is infrastructure . . . If it's going to be about infrastructure, let's make it about infrastructure."

The report noted "McConnell's reference to a '$4.1 trillion grab bag' would include Biden's roughly $2 trillion infrastructure package as well as his $1.8 trillion 'American Families Plan,' which invests heavily in education and childcare"

Maddow gave her analysis.

"Talk about something under-covered by the beltway press. Think about the implications of this, this ought to be the cause for wall to wall coverage from for days on end. Instead, it is covered like thing McConnell said and everybody moves on and meanwhile we're stuck with this weird common wisdom in the beltway, ll saying Biden needs to find republican votes, he needs a big bipartisan show of hands. he needs to keep meeting with republicans and talking to republicans to find something they like so he can get republican votes."

"News flash: there won't be any Republican votes. He doesn't have to do any of those things," she explained.

"The Republicans are promising, they are saying out loud and ahead of time, that no matter what is in the bill, no matter what talks happen or don't, no matter how nicely anyone talks to them or about them, there will be zero Republican votes for what Joe Biden wants to do. Zero Republican votes promised in advance for infrastructure, for the American Families Plan, zero, none, no matter what talks happen."

"Now we can stop wasting time wondering what you'll do. You've told us in advance. It also means we don't need to spend time trying to persuade you. This is a blessing for the Democrats," she explained.

"Those are procedural blessings for the Democrats. Those are freeing for the Democrats in terms of how they proceed here and their ability in good conscience to preclude any involvement from Republican that's will slow down and weaken either of those legislative proposals. They can move ahead on their own terms with just their own votes, with clarity."

You can watch the video below via YouTube


By Bob Brigham

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