\n\n“My question was simple. Democrats don\u2019t have a path to 60 seats in the Senate. So how will Biden keep his agenda from dying at the hands of the filibuster? Would he support filibuster reform, or elimination? Biden\u2019s reply was his campaign in miniature, reflecting both the instincts that have made him successful and the caution that has frustrated many on the left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to depend on how obstreperous they\u201d \u2014 meaning Republicans \u2014 \u201cbecome, and if they become that way,\u201d he replied. \u201cI have not supported the elimination of the filibuster because it has been used as often to protect rights I care about as the other way around. But you\u2019re going to have to take a look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That answer, which reflected a genuine shift in Biden\u2019s rhetoric on the issue, made some headlines. But it wasn\u2019t the end of Biden\u2019s argument. \u201cI\u2019ll say something outrageous,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think I have a pretty good record of pulling together Democrats and Republicans.\u201d He went on to say many Senate Republicans will feel \u201ca bit liberated\u201d by Trump\u2019s defeat and may be ready to work with Democrats on issues like infrastructure and racial inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn my career, I have never expected a foreign leader or a member of Congress to appear in the second-edition Profiles in Courage<\/em>,\u201d Biden said. \u201cBut I\u2019m fairly good at understanding the limitations for a senator or leader and helping them navigate around to what they want to do from what they\u2019re having political trouble doing. I have been successful in helping my Republican friends find rationales to help me get what I\u2019m pushing over the top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tucked into this argument is Biden\u2019s view of the Republican Party: He sees it not as a monolith but as a coalition. Some members of that coalition love Trump and will grieve his defeat. They\u2019re not going to work with Biden, and he doesn\u2019t expect to work with them. But some Senate Republicans dislike Trump, regret what their party has become, and are looking for redemption. What they need is a Democrat they can work with \u2014 a Democrat who doesn\u2019t antagonize their voters and won\u2019t rub their noses in their loss. What they need, Biden thinks, is Biden.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n