Republicans reacted frostily to Biden administration plans to forge common ground with conservatives, warning that years of hostility and “cancel culture” would be impossible to forget.
On Monday, Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement for the president-elect, revealed that he was planning to set up an administration post to reach across the country’s political differences.
Biden has said he wants to govern for all of America.
But the proposal brought immediate scorn from conservatives.
“I long for the day when liberals and conservatives can not only be friends but can actually work together on issues,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union.
“But you can’t be canceling us, you can’t be trying to get us fired, you can’t be shutting down our voice on social media, you can’t be telling us that you want to take nuns to court and be giving them ridiculous fines for not supporting abortion and birth control — and if they don’t pay those fines, they go to jail.”
Advice
1. Don’t put us in jail/court for supporting our faith
2. Stop telling everyone we should be fired/canceled
3. Don’t take any of our guns/rights
4. Apologize to Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Thomas https://t.co/AvR3b8kPkl— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) December 8, 2020
Hours earlier, Richmond had told the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council that part of his job was to build relations with Republicans in Congress.
“Right now, I’m trying to set up the office, and I’m actually looking at establishing a position that reaches out to conservatives — because it’s about moving forward. We cannot stay where we are,” he said.
Richmond is a key figure in the Biden team. On Monday, he was also appointed co-chairman of the president-elect’s inaugural committee.
“We’re not elected just to help Democrats or urban cities or minorities,” he said. “We were elected to help this entire country, and that means reaching out to conservatives, that means reaching out to rural areas, reaching out to people who didn’t vote for us.”
One potential area for cooperation, he added, was infrastructure, and he suggested a bill could be rapidly introduced to make the country cleaner and greener.
Infrastructure was frequently raised as a way that President Trump could reach across the aisle with a major nationwide investment that would create jobs and repair or replace crumbling roads, railways, bridges, dams, and airports.
But repeated plans for an “infrastructure week” to unveil proposals always evaporated.
“It’s still painful to talk about,” said a former White House official.
Biden made frequent promises to govern for all of America during the election campaign, emphasizing his aisle-crossing career in the Senate. He has earned admiration and, at times, hostile criticism for the way he forged alliances with Republicans such as John McCain and delivering a eulogy for Strom Thurmond, a segregationist who opposed the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
He also had experience as vice president working with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to resolve budget disputes.
But he must manage a country that has seen political divisions deepen and people on the far sides of the two major parties gain influence.
“Those days have gone,” said Rob Gleason, former chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, of the times when Biden could work across the aisle.
Although infrastructure might offer a chance for everyone to make some money, he said, COVID-19 relief bills and a growing debt meant conservatives would balk at the trillion-dollar costs involved, he said.
“You made the bed, Mr. Biden, now you have to sleep in it with Kamala Harris and all the other people who beat up President Trump for four years,” he said. “I don’t think they’ve earned the right to work with conservatives yet.”
