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After months of denouncing calls for the country to more fully reckon with its discriminatory roots, Texas Republicans are joining national conservatives in a push to restrict how teachers can talk about race and racism.

A bill that supporters say will strip politics from public education, but that critics call a thinly veiled attempt to whitewash American history, has already passed the Senate and could be voted on by the House as early as Friday. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans.

The measure targets critical race theory, an academic movement that has become a buzzword among Republicans who dispute the existence of white privilege and systemic racism. The bill would limit teachers from pushing its core tenets, such as connecting modern-day inequities to historical patterns of discrimination.

Racism is part of our reality, and thats part of our shame, and we shouldnt do anything to cover that up, said Rep. Steve Toth, a Republican from The Woodlands and the bills author in the House. But what we should also not do is blame that on tender, little children that have done nothing wrong.

The backlash stems in part from the 1619 Project by the New York Times that asserted slavery and its remnants were more integral to the countrys founding than is commonly acknowledged. The essay collection, commemorating the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to colonial Virginia, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and has been adapted into childrens literature and lesson plans for educators.

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School districts in some states are adapting parts of the project into their curriculum, and the Biden administration announced last month that it wants to prioritize education grants to programs that take into account systemic marginalization, biases, inequities and discriminatory policy and practice in American history.

The Texas legislation, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe, would bar schools from requiring teachers to talk about current events and prohibit teachers from discussing certain viewpoints, including that some people are inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Stephanie Boyce, who teaches Black history at the University of Houston and is affiliated with the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators, said teachers are already trained to present diverse viewpoints when discussing subjects. She said supporters are simply trying to block students from learning uncomfortable truths about the country or engaging more actively in the political process.

Its not even like theyre trying to make it complicated to see whats happening, Boyce said, adding about the restrictions on civic action: We should be trying to find ways to make these processes more inclusive, to bring students into the process even more.

She called it ironic that you have people like me, an African American woman whose ancestors built this country, and the Capitol, and all the things that we did for free that we should have to come before a body of legislators, the majority of which are white and male, and be told what we can and cannot say about race, sex and power dynamics.

If enacted, the bill would also bar educators from giving students credits for engaging in political activism, which includes lobbying legislators and city council members, attending marches and other forms of civic action.

Teachers should not have to push a particular political agenda, Creighton told colleagues last month, but certainly to promote America and our republic for what it is, which is the greatest country in the history of the world, and certainly the most philanthropic.

Another bill passed by the House on Wednesday would establish a Republican-appointed advisory panel to promote patriotic education and increase awareness of the Texas values that continue to stimulate boundless prosperity across this state.

Angela Valenzuela, an education policy professor at the University of Texas at Austin who testified against efforts in Arizona to ban ethnic studies from their classrooms, said Toth and Creightons proposal potentially violates free speech and other constitutional rights.

This is part of a larger agenda to disenfranchise our communities, because we know that people who are critical and involved, that they vote, she said.

Black, Hispanic and other children of color make up the large majority of students enrolled in Texas schools, according to state education figures.

The idea that there is going to be a law that potentially bars teachers from discussing certain topics, I find, quite frankly, very offensive, said Albert Broussard, a Black history professor at Texas A&M University who himself has been critical of parts of the 1619 Project. It puts students at a tremendous disadvantage, because theyre simply going to fall behind.

Several Texas-based teachers groups and left-leaning advocacy organizations have also come out against the measure, saying it would both hinder classroom discussion and take away student opportunities to participate in the democratic process something valuable not only for young adults, but also for legislators debating bills that would affect them.

The policymakers really do benefit from getting the youth perspective, and for the youth themselves, it has been an electric experience for them, having these policymakers acknowledge the reality (of) whats happening at schools and how its affecting them, said Vanessa Beltran, a mental health policy fellow at the nonprofit Girls Empowerment Network.

Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat from Round Rock and a former public school teacher, said Toth and Creightons legislation conflicts with the states existing curriculum standards, which require educators to discuss current events.

Students desperately need to be able to understand current events, determine fact from fiction and develop media literacy, he said. If public education is here as a safeguard for democracy, analyzing and understanding current events is critical to that goal.

jeremy.blackman@chron.com

cayla.harris@express-news.net

Original post:
Texas Republicans target 'critical race theory' with bill to muzzle teachers on racism, sexism - Houston Chronicle

There is no gambling bill, because Alabama Republicans tried to play dirty. There are likely more astute, reserved ways to say it, but the truth is the truth. And thats the truth: Republicans didnt just get a little dirt on themselves, they wallowed in the mud.

In the 11th hour literally of a debate over a priority gaming bill, House Republicans submarined more than four days of talks, debates and negotiations and tried to ram through a surprise piece of legislation. It didnt work, because their deceitfulness was somehow outweighed by their incompetence.

But nevertheless, there is no gambling bill. And there likely wont be one. Because the Alabama GOP decided to kill it.

From this point forward, good faith means nothing in this body, said normally reserved and calm Rep. Chris England, the chair of the states Democratic Party, following the failed attempt.

He had every right to feel that way. And Republicans while they likely wont care at all about the loss of respect of their colleagues across the aisle should at least face some hard questions from their constituents about this abysmal, embarrassing failure to pass bipartisan legislation that is extremely popular with voters.

Because passing it should have been simple by Thursday.

The gaming package would have allowed for six casino sites at the four dog tracks, Dothan and a northeast Alabama location a statewide lottery and sports wagering. It had been debated for weeks, and the bills sponsors and interested parties were relatively sure the votes were in place to pass it.

Except, when the House version of the bill that had already passed the Senate came floating out of the governors office (for some reason) on Saturday night, it was a trainwreck of a bill. There were massive problems all throughout and pretty much everyone involved was unhappy.

Over the next 48 hours, much of that was rectified. Except for the demands of one group Alabama Democrats.

On the grand scale, their demands were relatively minor: include minority vendors, make sure minority owners get a fair shot, provide current operators who will be shut down with at least a two-year grace period and offer some assurances that the money allocated for rural health care in the bill would actually go towards Medicaid expansion.

Thats nothing. The only big ask was Medicaid expansion, and the Dems were perfectly willing to compromise on how the assurances were provided.

But getting those items in the bill was like pulling teeth. Over the course of the last 36 hours, as it became apparent to Republicans that Dems were holding strong in their demands, there were dozens of different meetings. The back and forth stretched into late Thursday evening, and by around 5 p.m., several Democratic lawmakers believed that a compromise had been struck.

The problem at that point, however, was time. There wasnt enough time to get the bill on the floor, debate it and pass it because there was still opposition to it, mainly from the same guys who spent a full day disparaging Colorado during the medical marijuana debate.

So, most everyone resigned themselves to the fact that gambling was going to occupy the Legislatures final day on May 17th.

Everyone but a handful of people in House Republican leadership.

Led by rules chairman Mike Jones, a plot was hatched to submit a new legislative calendar at nearly 11 p.m. That calendar had only one bill a lottery-only bill that also authorized a compact between the state and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Republicans were literally going to try to ram through a bill that no one even had a copy of at nearly midnight. A bill that would dramatically alter the gaming landscape of Alabama. A bill that would reduce Alabamas revenue from gaming by half. A bill that would kill more than two years of negotiations and compromise.

But they forgot one thing: There are still some rules they cant break.

House rules require up to an hour of debate if you change the calendar. The new calendar had been submitted at 10:53. When Democrats and some hardline Republicans indicated they planned to use the entire hour leaving just seven minutes to adopt the calendar and pass the lottery bill Republicans quickly realized their mistake and withdrew it, claiming there was a paperwork error.

Democrats, as you might imagine, were not pleased. And you shouldnt be either.

We can disagree on a lot of things, but following the rules and being decent humans shouldnt be among them. And helping the poorest and most vulnerable in our state shouldnt be either.

Look at the lengths to which Alabama Republicans are willing to stoop to keep from giving poor people health care. Because thats what this is all about their desire not to expand Medicaid, even in the face of every fact and figure saying theyd be dumb not to do so.

But here we are. There is no Medicaid expansion. There is no gambling bill.

All we have is what we started with: A bunch of incompetent fools in charge.

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Opinion | The lottery, gaming bill all but died Thursday night. Blame Republicans - alreporter.com

Its time for Democrats to stop cowering in the face of Republican threats. (rudall30/Shutterstock)

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I am not worried about what Mitch McConnell will do should Republicans take back the Senate in 2022. I am not worried about what Republicans will do should they retake all of government in 2024. I am not worried, because I already know the answer: When Republicans have power again, they will do the worst. I dont waste a lot of time or mental energy contemplating the worst, because history has shown that I am simply not creative enough to imagine what evil Republicans will come up with next. No matter where I think the bottom is, Republicans will always find a new one.

Unfortunately, many centrist and moderate Democrats seem paralyzed by the fear of what Republicans will do if they take back the Senate or the White House. Theyre afraid to pass sweeping policy or procedural reforms because of how they think Republicans will punish Democratic politicians in the future. Its hard to even have a debate about big, structural changes to how government functions because too many arguments devolve to If Democrats do anything, Republicans will be super mean.

Consider filibuster reform. Amid all the angst, the discussion about ditching the filibuster quickly becomes no more than a vehicle for Democrats to share doomsday predictions about what McConnell and the GOP could do with just 51 votes. Conversations about court reform engender their own But where does it end? arguments, in this case about how Republicans will repack the court as soon as they regain the upper hand. Meanwhile, every time I turn on C-SPAN, I see Josh Hawley or Ted Cruz standing on the Senate floor as if they didnt encourage a mob to storm the place mere months ago. Holding colleagues accountable for insurrection is also, apparently, something the Democrats are not interested in.

The basic argument from conservative Democrats is that the party should be cautious in its use of power. Taking aggressive, provocative actions, like ending or reforming the filibuster, might encourage Republicans to use power viciously should they ever get it again. But that argument is ludicrous. It proceeds from the false premise that Republicans are restrained by what Democrats are willing to do. The truth is that Republicans are restrained only by what their racist white voters will allow, and those voters have proved time and again that they will allow anything so long as their tribe comes out on top. Democrats are acting like they shouldnt poke the sleeping velociraptor, when in fact that sleeping dinosaur is bait, and theyre already being hunted by other raptors waiting to pounce.

I will acknowledge that Republicans will use any action by Democrats as an excuse to further vitiate democracy, should they get a chance. If Democrats kill or even just weaken the filibuster, Republicans will use whatever small Senate majority theyre able to cobble together to ram through the most divisive and extremist laws they can think of. If Democrats add four justices to the Supreme Court, Republicans will add 10 when they get a chance. If Democrats prosecute Trump for corruption and tax fraud, Republicans will prosecute Joe Biden for having ice cream before dinner if they have to. That is their way.

Republicans are not bluffing when they promise retribution should Democrats use the power they have won. But so what? How is that any worse than what we have now? Republicans supported a whole-cloth lie about the results of the last election, which led directly to a massive insurrection against the government. Many of their voters were willing to capture and kill elected representatives or quietly supported those who would. Republicans have chosen to pursue power at any cost, and yet there are Democrats like Joe Manchin who think defending procedural gridlock will heal these divides.

Who in their right mind thinks Republicans wont use all the power they have in, say, 2025 just because Democrats showed restraint in 2021? Republicans never hold their fire because theyre afraid of the Democratic response. They never say, If were not careful, we might piss off Chris Coons.Current Issue

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The only way to protect people from what Republicans will do once they regain power is to make it difficult for the white supremacist rump of the party to gain power again. The only way to do that, legitimately, is to secure voting rights. The cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy.

If everybody votes, Republicans cannot win. Even Republicans know that. The current incarnation of their party appeals to a majority of white voters, but even a two-thirds majority of white voters is a minority of Americans. Faced with this reality, with not being able to win, Republicans would either have to broaden their appeal beyond white supremacists or start another civil war for whiteness. (Im counting on the former, because as we saw after January 6, most of these MAGA bros are front-running cowards who cant organize without tacit support from Facebook and Twitter.)

Securing the vote is the only thing Democrats can do to protect themselves from Republican revenge fantasies. Its the only thing that can neutralize the Republicans who still make it into office. And, not for nothing, protecting democracy is also in the literal job description of our elected representatives.

There are other things Democrats should have the courage to do to win the next elections. It would be nice to see the party support Medicare for All; it would be nice if the senator from Arizona found it in her heart to support wage earners getting an extra few bucks an hour while they serve her sangria. Democrats should be able to walk, chew gum, and distribute the Covid-19 vaccine at the same time. But the only way Democrats can win the next election is if they secure voting rights ahead of that election. Democrats could mail everybody a pot of gold and still lose if only white people are allowed to vote.

If you like this article, please give today to help fund The Nations work.

If securing voting rights means Democrats have to break the filibuster to pass legislation (and it does), then they must do that. If enforcing the constitutional protections of the right to vote means Democrats have to add justices to the Supreme Court (and it does), then Democrats must do that. If these and other acts of protecting democracy mean Lindsey Graham will go on Fox News and angry-cry while vowing vengeance, Democrats must risk that and sell tickets to the meltdown. Voting rights, voting access, and voting certification are among the only things that matter.

Democrats should not be paralyzed by fear; they should be motivated by it. As my ancestors would have surely noted, theres no sense in worrying about what the slave catcher will do if they catch you. The only thing to do is to make it to freedom.

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Republicans Will Punish Democrats for Every Reform They Make - The Nation

Texas is mounting its offenses earlier and more aggressively than it did against the previous Democratic president including a new challenge on Tuesday. Its the same role California and New York played when Donald Trump was president, suing over abortion restrictions, changes to Obamacare and immigration measures. California didnt let up, filing nine lawsuits against the federal government on Trumps last day in office.

Yet, Bidens long years in the public eye, the more moderate tone he hit on the campaign trail opposite liberal stalwarts like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and the fact that hes white, have made him less polarizing than Obama.

And while Biden may still prove to be a useful villain for GOP leaders frustrated with policies more liberal than Obamas, they are also trying to fend off a far-right insurgency as Republicans court more moderate suburban voters.

There was more grassroots opposition to Obama, the stimulus and Obamacare, said Republican consultant Brendan Steinhauser, who has worked on campaigns for Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, both Texas Republicans. Trump activated a different type of Republican voter, he said one who worries less about pushing conservative economics and more about culture war flash points.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, left, comes on stage to hand President Donald Trump what he says is the "No" vote card from Wednesday's House impeachment vote as Trump speaks at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Where Texas Republicans used the legal system a decade ago to deliver a steady stream of red meat to their base, Biden is a far less popular target after losing Texas by less than 6 percentage points in 2020, an unusually close result in the reliably red state.

The coronavirus also has many Texans, long a go-it-alone breed, rethinking the role of the federal government to step in during a crisis. About 48 percent of Texans approved of Bidens handling of the pandemic, compared with 44 percent for GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to March polls from The Texas Politics Project.

Its a different time and a different place, Steinhauser said.

Still, Texans view of the administration could quickly change if Biden moves to limit guns or loosen abortion restrictions. One thing the fractured GOP base can agree on for now is trying to counter the presidents agenda.

When Biden marked his first 100 days in office, celebrating the reopening of K-8 schools, economic stimulus and vaccination efforts, he had also racked up lawsuits from Texas over the Keystone XL oil pipeline, restrictions on drilling on federal land and a range of immigration issues.

Late last month, Texas filed another suit against the White House over Covid protocols in immigration facilities and joined a multistate suit challenging the administrations plans to start calculating the social cost of carbon emissions again. A newest lawsuit was launched on Tuesday, challenging restrictions in the latest Covid relief law that bars states from using the money to offset tax cuts. And Abbott and Paxton have blamed the White House for the increase in migrants traveling up to the Southern border.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said state agencies are being very vigilant about the Biden administrations actions.

From right, Penelope Bonnen, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, and Texas Agriculture commissioner Sid Miller, stand for a prayer during the opening of the 86th Texas Legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Regretfully, were off to a precarious beginning, Bush, who is considering a run for Texas attorney general that would pit him against Paxton in the Republican primary next year, said in an interview. Were standing up a legal defense task force thats looking a lot at the same issues that we took on during the Obama days.

Its a familiar role for Texas officials who have long bragged about leading lawsuits against the Obama administration. Its a way to portray themselves as a bulwark against federal overreach even though the suits themselves have a mixed record.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, has hired more attorneys to prepare lawsuits against the Biden administration and plans to be active, said Chuck DeVore, TPPFs vice president of national initiatives.

He and other Texas Republicans argue that the lawsuits arent about politics, but are being used to counter the Biden administration left-leaning policies.

Were not seeing anything out of the current administration that leaves us to believe that they give a flying crud about the state of Texas, said Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, a former aide to Paxton.

Yet, the pandemic has also created a faultline in the Texas Republican Party, chipping away at Abbotts grip on the state GOP and making space for far-right party leaders who criticized his mask mandates and stay-at-home order. Last summer, former Florida Rep. Allen West was elected chair of the Texas GOP and has since used his perch to chastise traditional business-friendly moderates in the state. Like Republicans elsewhere, his allegiance to Trump has roiled the shrinking share of traditional GOP loyalists eager to move past the former president.

Abbott is well-funded heading into the 2022 governors race. But to survive the primary and general election, he will have to thread a path between disparate factions that include Republicans who crossed party lines to vote for Biden a president whose overall approval in an April poll rivals Abbotts and who hasnt had to contend with the litany of racially motivated animus Obama faced.

The antagonistic relationship between Texas and the federal government goes back to the New Deal, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor who is writing a book about former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The state, which has no income tax, pulls about a third of its budget from the federal government, a higher share than many other states, he said. Thats partly due to agricultural assistance and federal aid disbursed after natural disasters, but also because Texas has a large share of enrollees in entitlement programs like Medicaid.

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Texas Republicans want Biden to play the villain. They just need to make it stick. - POLITICO

Biden, the aides and lawmakers say, believes action is more important than bipartisanship, and is convinced Americans will support him in his efforts. He recognizes that his window for this approach may close by the midterm elections. Thats why, the aides and lawmakers say, he may be willing to give up the reputation, cultivated over decades, as a dealmaking lawmaker if he can be a transformative president who pushes through a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure and social programs.

The president will talk with Republicans about his new pair of proposed spending plans a combined $4 trillion in spending designed to ignite economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic but he is prepared to back a congressional maneuver that would allow Senate Democrats to pass legislation without GOP support, perhaps within weeks, aides and lawmakers familiar with his thinking say.

There are certainly some in the president's inner circle who were part of the Obama team who say, Look, we can't just have this go on forever, said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a longtime Biden friend who has occasionally encouraged Biden to take a bipartisan approach. There has to be an outcome.

Biden is expected to host lawmakers from both parties at the White House this week. He's also invited House and Senate leaders over the following week, which comes after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy complained that hadnt met with Biden since the election. Biden is also calling individual lawmakers, including West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, to discuss the parameters of an infrastructure bill.

Since Inauguration Day, the White House has held more than 500 calls or meetings with members, chiefs of staff and staff directors and more than two dozen Senate and House committee staff briefings of both parties. In total, more than 130 members of Congress of both parties have been hosted at the White House during the first 100 days of the administration, according to data provided by the White House.

White House aides say they expect to take more time on the new spending plans, which they consider different than the emergency Covid legislation.

Reaching across the aisle and seeking to bring the American people together have always been at the core of who the president is, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. Hes deeply proud of the genuine engagement with Republicans in Congress that President Obama and he carried out for eight years, just as he is of the similar, good faith work hes doing with Republicans now.

But Biden aides also are hinting that there are time limits to how long that engagement will last. They say the president hopes to make progress on both spending bills either as a pair or individually by Memorial Day and sign them into law this summer. And the calendar creates some urgency: By the end of his first year, members of Congress will be consumed by the midterms and then the next presidential race. The White House also knows how a drag-on legislative process can consume a presidency and party.

Biden and the people around him understand you have to get as much done this year as possible, said Republican Chuck Hagel, who served with Biden in the Senate and later served as Defense secretary in the Obama administration. At what point then if youre not making any progress on any front and you've been willing to compromise on some things do you have to go it alone. Thats a decision theyre going to have to make. You dont have a lot of time.

There are common threads that tie the Biden team to the Obama years and remind them of the attempts at bipartisanship that went unrealized. Chief among them are the staff. Biden has filled the White House with former Obama aides, including chief of staff Ron Klain; Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council; Susan Rice, director of the Domestic Policy Council; and Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.

In November 2014, then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden, right, meet with then-Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain now Biden's chief of staff and then-National Security Adviser Susan Rice, who is now director of the Domestic Policy Council. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

But there are differences, as well. Whereas Obama spent much of his first term fighting bad economic news and pushing a health care reform effort that grew more and more unpopular, the current White House feels emboldened by Americans' support for Bidens proposals, including the popularity of the $1.8 trillion American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus recovery bill passed six weeks ago with no Republican votes. And that includes the backing of Republican governors, mayors and local officials across the country.

Whats more important now during a crisis is they want things done, Biden's lead pollster, John Anzalone, said. If that means Joe Biden has to go it alone, they seem to be fine with that.

Democratic activists also have what they considered to be scar tissue from the Obama years. They are pushing Biden to act without Republicans on a host of other issues including police reform, immigration, and firearms restrictions because they say the GOP cant be trusted to negotiate. Many are arguing Democrats should revamp the Senate rules to allow legislation to pass by a simple majority vote. They say Republicans only grew more obstinate during the Trump era, making the party even more difficult to negotiate with.

Everybody talks about, can I do anything bipartisan? Biden said at a meeting last week with TV anchors at the White House. Well, I got to figure out if there's a party to deal with. We need a Republican Party. ... We need another party, whatever you call it, thats unified not completely splintered and fearful of one another."

Recent polls give Biden a net job approval rating with relatively high marks from both Democrats and independents, but hes yet to garner much support from Republicans. Only 14 percent of Republicans gave Biden an "A" or "B" grade for his first 100 days in office, according to a recent poll conducted by POLITICO and Morning Consult. Eighty-five percent of Democrats and 44 percent of independents gave Biden the same marks.

Some Republicans say Biden, just like Obama, may be willing to talk but is not necessarily committed to making major concessions. It has surprised me how unabashedly partisan he has been from Day One, said Joe Grogan, who worked in the Trump and George W. Bush administrations. Its not the way he campaigned. Its not the way he served in the Senate. They said he would reach across the aisle. It was a key talking point.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), perhaps the most moderate Republican in the Senate, said on Sunday that she is disappointed with Bidens efforts at crafting a bipartisan deal around Covid relief and viewed the infrastructure package as a major test on whether President Biden is truly interested in bipartisanship.

The Joe Biden that I knew in the Senate was always interested in negotiation. I thought very highly of him, Collins said. I like him. I worked with him.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). | Susan Walsh, Pool/AP Photo

Across more than three decades in the Senate, Biden was known as a dealmaker who wasnt afraid to negotiate and maintain friendships with both parties. When he was vice president, Biden served as Obamas chief liaison with the Congress and was one of the people who urged Obama to talk to Republicans.

Joe Biden himself was one of the people encouraging Obama to be that kind of bipartisan negotiator because he was such a believer in the Senate as an institution, said a former Biden aide who is in touch with the White House. Biden was a very loud voice in an Obama Oval Office saying, No, we can get the Republicans, I believe in it.

Biden was dispatched to the Senate to try to cut deals with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on tax cuts and spending levels, only to anger then-Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats. At the time, Democrats complained that Biden undermined their leverage, and signed off on deals that over-extended the Bush tax cuts and ignored the need for economic stimulus. They point to the delayed passage of the Affordable Care Act as proof that the party was foolish in expecting GOP support for major measures.

We need only go back to the summer of 2009 to see how Republicans played Democrats for months with no intention of ever supporting a bill to deliver health care reform to millions, said Zac Petkanas, senior adviser to Invest in America Action, a group supporting public investment.

But Phil Schiliro, who served as director of legislative affairs at the start of Obamas term, argued Obama aided by Biden was successful in winning Republican support for a host of issues, including equal pay legislation, childrens health insurance and $350 billion more in bailout funds, in 2009 and 2010, when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress, as they do now. The Obama administration still had to work with both the GOP and a host of conservative Democrats who pushed them to negotiate further in some cases.

It seems to me theyre taking the same approach, Schilliro said. Theyd like to get bipartisanship if they can, but if they cant, they dont want to keep from doing whats in the best interest of the country.

In his first speech to Congress last week, Biden outlined a laundry list of Democratic priorities from $4 trillion in new federal spending over the next decade to roads and bridges, child care and prekindergarten, calls for police reform, racial justice, gun restrictions and, as he put it, ending our exhausting war over immigration.

Id like to meet with those who have ideas that are different they think are better. I welcome those ideas, he said. But he added, I just want to be clear: From my perspective, doing nothing is not an option.

Bidens speech included only a few nods to bipartisanship, though he did praise Republicans for releasing their own counteroffer to his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. Republicans, who have expressed concerns about the hefty price tag, proposed tax hikes and new programs and introduced a slimmer $568 billion proposal that focused most funding on more traditional elements of infrastructure, including bridges, highways and roads.

After Bidens speech last week, Capito said Republicans had been left out. But after he called her, she tweeted that they had a constructive & substantive call.

Biden, however, made clear to reporters the day after his address to Congress that a small Republican package would not be enough. If like last time they come in with one-fourth or one-fifth of what Im asking and say thats our final offer ... then no, no go, he said.

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Biden is talking to Republicans, but for only so long - POLITICO