The Hacks’ Four Point February Comeback Plan for President Biden
Hello Hackaroos,
We’ve made it to February and that means for the Biden White House, alarm clocks are buzzing and red lights are flashing – we’re exactly a month away from the big State of the Union address in Congress. Biden doesn’t want to wobble into that one…. So, we ever helpful Hacks lay out four things we think Biden and the White House should focus on before then (so he can maybe have something good to talk about). And then turn to some tidbits from Georgilvania.
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Let’s begin…
Pool / Getty Images News
OUR FOUR FREE PIECES OF ADVICE FOR BIDEN
MURPHY: Well, Gibbs, today an alarm clock bell is ringing through the White House corridors. What could it be you might ask? It's exactly 4 weeks until the State of the Union. What do we say? What do we do? So here's our free advice to the POTUS.
GIBBS: I know it was tough for you to limit this to just four pieces of advice, Murphy, but at least this is a start.
ONE: FRAME THE UKRAINE CRISIS RIGHT, AND GET A WIN.
GIBBS: This may be A LOT easier said than done after a testy, Cold War-like exchange at the United Nations Security Council on Monday between the United States and Russia. But the US smartly keeps trying to help Putin find an off ramp here with continued diplomacy from a myriad of NATO allies. The world will hear from Putin himself today about Ukraine for the first time since December. One thing the Biden Administration is hotly pursuing, besides moving forces to NATO countries in eastern Europe is crippling sanctions. Yesterday, the White House expanded the sphere of those potential sanctions to include Russian “elites” and not just large banks. The White House is trying its best to avert a Russian invasion and only time will tell what Putin will do here.
MURPHY: It’s tricky, but it is a big opportunity for Biden. Step one; national address on TV. Explain what our interests are and what our plan is. Otherwise the media will keep turning this into a potential World War Three. Lay it all out – uniting with our allies, strengthening our NATO alliance, no troops in Ukraine to fight, full diplomatic efforts, ready to find a peaceful solution, but ready with crippling sanctions on Putin and his oligarch pals if they invade and start killing innocent people, etc. – show a grand plan with Biden on top of it. Setting that frame is vital. Then Putin either backs down or jumps into a quagmire with US/NATO looking strong and steady. All that said, for the people of Ukraine, let’s pray for peace.
TWO: GET THE EASY SUPREME COURT WIN
GIBBS: We talked about this in Friday’s newsletter. For this, there is a simple message for Democrats: Don’t complicate the simple! First, get an unquestionably highly qualified nominee and understand clearly any pitfalls you have to strategize and message against. Next, hold the Dems. As we discussed, the track record for Democrats supporting Biden’s judicial nominees thus far is, well, perfect. There will be a lot of talk about vote counts and Republicans who may support the nominee, but, in the end, it simply doesn’t matter. Just get 50. Have the Vice President break the tie. Place hand on Bible and swear her in! One last piece of advice: Don’t be distracted by the GOP carping about Biden making an “affirmative action” pick as Sen. Roger Wicker said and plenty of others have intimated. Reagan pledged in the campaign to nominate a woman and then did so. Anyone on that side have a problem with it then? Of course not. Republicans in the Senate have a track record over the past few years of setting rules and norms and then ignoring them or criticizing others for playing the game by those rules. Ignore the elite commentary. Only winning matters here, nothing else.
MURPHY: This is not BBB; a lesson the White House has hopefully learned. Most in the GOP Senate are ready to make some dangerous liberal noise on this and move on. They know it’s a loser on multiple levels, and they’d rather be honking their horns on inflation and other issues. (A few hard heads obsessed with future GOP primaries will do their usual, but the bulk of the Caucus has a smarter plan.) So don’t give ‘em ammo, nominate a judge from the Center-Left who can get passage fast. It’s about getting a clean political win here for Biden.
THREE: GET THE BIPARTISAN WIN ON CHINA AND ELECTORAL COLLEGE REFORM
GIBBS: The President’s table is potentially set to be involved in two bipartisan wins in the next few weeks. The White House should accelerate these wins to coincide with the State of the Union. Standing in the House of Representatives, where a good part of the January 6th insurrection happened, would be a good place to demonstrate that President Biden will never let that happen again by ensuring no Vice President (or losing President for that matter) think they can overturn the will of the people. This legislation isn’t full electoral reform, but it’s a needed start. It can also be used to ask Republicans in the chamber for the speech to work together to make it easier for everyone to vote. Also, there’s legislation to help companies compete with China that’s already passed the Senate with a big bipartisan vote and now the House is fully engaged here too. While the White House is warily watching Russia, it’s China that’s the bigger competitor in the 21st Century. This would send a resounding message to Beijing and elsewhere. To put the icing on the cake here: sign those bills during the State of the Union speech and show America and the world we are making progress.
MURPHY: Another win. A bipartisan group of Senators are already meeting about fixing the creaky 1887 era Electoral Count Act. It’s a must do. Biden is for it and it’s good politics for him (and very good for the country) that he lead this parade, get his troops in line and do this deal. There is also bipartisan interest in a China trade deal that is clearly in U.S. interests. As the Honorable Gibbs mentions, China is the big deal for our geopolitical strategy going forward. Send a message and get a bipartisan win. If Biden can pull these things off; he can fuel his State of the Union message and get an actual – and badly needed – reset.
FOUR: A MISSION FOR THE VEEP: GO FOR AGENT ORANGE
MURPHY: Finally, if I were there toiling away in the Biden White House (I would not be, but let me postulate a bit here), I'd be thinking about what we can do to help pull VP Harris out of the muck she seems to be hopelessly stuck in. So here’s a pitch: it’s an election year so let her do what VP’s should do in an election year… go pick a smart fight. I’d sic her on the Orange Menace. Go pick a smart fight with The Donald. Trump’s having his own party issues these days (as I’ve predicted he would), so help him flail a bit in the quicksand. Remember, Harris used to be California AG, the state’s top cop. (She was even attacked in the Dem primary as being too tough on crime.) So send her to give a well-crafted speech to a law enforcement group, maybe NOBLE (National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives) or the like. Blast Trump for his latest comments on Jan 6th. A pardon! For seditious cop assaulters! Hit him hard and two good things will happen. Trump will take the bait, muscle into the debate, attack her back and bingo, lots of good fighting energy will surge in the Democratic base. While smart Republicans who are praying for LESS Trump in the midterms will wince and look away, it’s likely Trump will go into the whole stolen election madness too; he’s clearly obsessed to the point of derangement about it. That’s another win. Crazy about the election Trump, is the weakest Trump politically. Kamala scores one for the team. She too could use a win, and Trump is the perfect enemy for her right now.
GIBBS: Good advice here Murphy! I do agree about picking a fight with Trump. You could pick it on that whole notion of him pardoning the January 6th insurrectionists or the news that Trump was trying to confiscate voting machines after the election in 2020. As you’ve mentioned, it elevates Trump and helps the White House. So that's a twofer for Biden. The ground is fertile here and the target of this move, Donald Trump, would surely play his part. Plus, sparring with Trump is better than going to overseas funerals!
TIDBITS
GIBBS: Turning back to Georgilvania, and this time, specifically, Pennsylvania. Despite getting close, Conor Lamb fell short of the number he needed to gain the endorsement of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania for the U.S. Senate primary. It's interesting that even though he didn't get the endorsement and despite trailing in fundraising, he clearly has a lot of institutional support among Pennsylvania Democrats who understand that his bio and his persona are strong advantages in a general election if he can get there.
MURPHY: It's fascinating to try to figure out Conor Lamb, who, under the old rules of general election appeal is the clear general election winner, or if in our new “crazy times deserve crazy politicians”-era Fetterman’s weird, populist anti-politician appeal could catch on Paul Wellstone style in a general election. I suspect the former, but you cannot rule Fetterman out, at least not this early. On the Republican side, Dr. Oz continues to rack up losses in straw polls among Republicans. Looks like Dr. Oz can use a spin doctor.
We’ll see you on Friday!
Murphy and Gibbs