I found this @AsteadWesley analysis of Joe Biden's career and campaign to be really clarifying. It helped me more sympathetically understand the theory of change, and the theory of democratic politics behind Joe's talk of bipartisanship. nytimes.com/2019/12/20/pod…
@AsteadWesley I thought Joe's answer to this question last night was one of his best because he clarified that he has no expectation for all Republicans to change, but he does expect at least some to behave like normal politicians in a democratic process.
@AsteadWesley I totally understand why people socialized into a post-Gingrich political world find such talk to be a bunch of malarkey for which there is no evidence. People 45 and over, however, have at least a few memories of moderately sane Republicans.
@AsteadWesley I thought @AsteadWesley did a nice job of presenting the case for and against Biden's vision for a bipartisan future. I agree with Joe that a functional two-party system depends on the ability for the sides to work together to some extent. Otherwise it's just gridlock.
@AsteadWesley That said, I think the Republican base is so dug in, so intransigent, so unable to imagine anything that the federal government could do (other than fight wars and ban abortions) that it's going to be really hard to find Republicans willing to compromise who could get elected.
