MSNBC sometimes sounds just like DNC-TV, where Democrats figure out what "we" need to do to stay in power.
Speaking with former Obama White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday, MSNBC Live host Stephanie Ruhle wondered why President Biden would potentially damage his record by trying to work with Republicans.
Talking specifically about Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, Ruhle questioned the wisdom of bipartisanship, "So why even try these bipartisan conversations, courting Mitch McConnell? During the Obama administration Mitch McConnell's signature achievement was blocking Obama, blocking Merrick Garland. Trump wins and then he gets three Supreme Court justices and a record number of federal judges on the bench. Blocking Obama didn't hurt him. Why try to be bipartisan?"
Gibbs answered that "I think that's in Joe Biden's nature" and that while not all Republicans will want to negotiate, some will because "I do think most people come to Washington particularly in the legislative branch to legislate." Still, Gibbs urged Biden to ram a bill through, if Republicans don't go along:
I think for the Biden administration and you point out waiting too long to be bipartisan will hurt the economy and it will hurt vaccine distribution. So, I think the test is doing what you need to do to reach out and bring people that are willing, a coalition of the willing along, but not waiting so long that it impacts economic growth, which is desperately needed. We ended this year with 16 million people receiving some sort of unemployment assistance and of the 22 million jobs lost in the pandemic, we're halfway there to regaining them. We can't wait for economic stimulus.
That led Ruhle to wonder if by not immediately rushing a bill through Congress, if Biden is hurting himself:
To that very point, could waiting hurt this administration and their record? You can have Equity Day, Made in America Day, these are very important executive orders, but the average American, they don't know details of the executive orders and if they don't feel like anything is changing for them, does the messaging matter?
Gibbs, of course, agreed, turning to the royal "We" for the Democrats. "Well, I think you're absolutely right, people have to feel it...We have to put people back to work, we have to open the economy back up because it's safe to do that and I think his goal in the next six months is to get those two things moving in the right direction, people will begin to feel it and people will have a sense that progress is being made."
Speaking of jobs, Biden's plan includes a $15 minimum wage that the CBO's median estimate says will cost 1.3 million jobs. If he's serious about bipartisanship, he will remove that demand and be willing to bring the price down. In the meantime, Ruhle and her media colleagues in the media could be more consistent in their demands for compromise.
This segment was sponsored by Safelite.
Here is a transcript for the January 26 show:
MSNBC
MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle
9:52 AM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: So why even try these bipartisan conversations, courting Mitch McConnell? During the Obama administration Mitch McConnell's signature achievement was blocking Obama, blocking Merrick Garland. Trump wins and then he gets three Supreme Court justices and a record number of federal judges on the bench. Blocking Obama didn't hurt him. Why try to be bipartisan?
ROBERT GIBBS: Well, look, I think that's in Joe Biden's nature. I think having spent too long in the Senate and understanding how the place used to work, Stephanie, it didn't always work like it does right now and I think, look, reaching out to Republicans that are going to want to participate, not everybody will, but I do think most people come to Washington particularly in the legislative branch to legislate. So I think reaching out is a good thing. I think for the Biden administration and you point out waiting too long to be bipartisan will hurt the economy and it will hurt vaccine distribution. So, I think the test is doing what you need to do to reach out and bring people that are willing, a coalition of the willing along, but not waiting so long that it impacts economic growth, which is desperately needed. We ended this year with 16 million people receiving some sort of unemployment assistance and of the 22 million jobs lost in the pandemic, we're halfway there to regaining them. We can't wait for economic stimulus.
RUHLE: To that very point, could waiting hurt this administration and their record? You can have Equity Day, Made in America Day, these are very important executive orders, but the average American, they don't know details of the executive orders and if they don't feel like anything is changing for them, does the messaging matter?
GIBBS: Well, I think you're absolutely right, people have to feel it. People have to see it. Look, we're so far from normal, 2020 was such a devastating year that I think in some ways people will know when things are better because they will feel a sense of normalcy. In the short to medium-term I think it's clear, how do you get the vaccine produced more quickly and how do you get it into people's arms quickly. Also jobs. Again, I mentioned it. We've got a lot of people receiving assistance. We have to put people back to work, we have to open the economy back up because it's safe to do that and I think his goal in the next six months is to get those two things moving in the right direction, people will begin to feel it and people will have a sense that progress is being made.
