President Joe Biden drew criticism for comparing anyone opposing Democratic election bills to segregationists and Confederate leaders before members of his own party balked at the Senate rule changes necessary to pass them without bipartisan support.
Biden named George Wallace, Bull Connor, and Jefferson Davis during a stop in Atlanta but did not mention the Electoral Count Act, which Republican leaders have said they’re open to reforming after its vague terms helped lead to the Jan. 6 riots. To some, the speech represented a far different Biden than the one who took office promising unity and compromise one year ago.
WHITE HOUSE CALLS CRITICISM OF BIDEN’S ATLANTA SPEECH ‘HILARIOUS’ AND HYPOCRITICAL
“Look, I have known, liked, and personally respected Joe Biden for many years,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday. “I did not recognize the man at the podium yesterday.”
Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema then shot down a change to the filibuster Thursday, leaving ECA reform as the only major election law likely to be altered under the current Congress. That is if Biden, who came into office talking of the need for unity and bipartisanship, will come around to supporting it.
Biden vowed to each across the aisle, saying “unity is the path forward” in his inaugural address and promoting compromise during negotiations over the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The message has been different so far in 2022. Biden’s Jan. 6 anniversary speech fiercely criticized former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party as a whole, saying its leaders seem to no longer want to be the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan, and the Bushes. Even Sen. Dick Durbin, the upper chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, said the Atlanta speech “went a little too far” while supporting the overall message.
GOP strategist John Feehery said it’s time for the president to change his tactics.
“Biden is losing his base, and he thinks that by yelling at Republicans, he can show his base he is fighting for them,” he said. “It’s not working.”
ECA reform, which theoretically could prevent another Jan. 6-style riot by clarifying the process for certifying electoral votes, has drawn bipartisan buzz in recent days. But many Democratic leaders are skeptical, viewing it as a deflection that wouldn’t fix larger election concerns.
Asked about ECA reform on Jan.10, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it is “not a substitute” and shouldn’t be treated as such.
“The two bills that the president [supports] have essential components of them that will protect people’s fundamental rights, expand access, [and] ensure that people know that when they vote, it will count and not be overturned,” she said. “And we want to be very clear with the public that it is not a replacement or a substitute.”
Republicans have criticized Democratic leaders for using Jan. 6 to promote the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act, even though those bills don’t directly address the vague election certification rules that helped lead to the attack. But many in the GOP have expressed support for ECA reform.
“It is something worth evaluating and looking for other ways to make sure there is not a way to corrupt the counting process,” said Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who twice voted to convict Trump during his impeachment trials. “There is interest on both sides to talk about that.”
Romney now worries Biden is sounding too much like his predecessor, arguing that the president has gone “down the same tragic road taken by President Trump — casting doubt on the reliability of American elections.”
But passing ECA reform, or any other big election overhauls, may require some compromise as well, as Democratic leaders, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have come out against it.
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“That makes no sense,” Schumer told reporters when asked about the ECA. “If you’re going to rig the game and then say, ‘Oh, we’ll count the rigged game accurately,’ what good is that?”
