“Keep Calm and Buy American”
President Biden’s first SOTU proves he hasn’t forgotten the moderate majority.
For Joe Biden and other hard-working Democrats like him, the Curse of the Moderates is alive and well and plaguing both houses of the U.S. government.
A really good moderate Democrat is always too conservative for the progressives in the party; too progressive for the conservatives. Doing a par job, even hitting one out of the park often leaves Democrats on both ends of the party spectrum grumbling darkly about turncoats, primary challenges and term limits.
That is to say nothing of appealing across the aisle.
Conservative Republicans aren’t likely to vote Democrat, no matter how many so-called “conservative” ideals are touted by sensible moderates like Biden. Some progressive Republicans- like Sens. Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney- may often cross the picket lines of bitter partisanship to support worthwhile Democratic Party endeavors.
Even moderate Republicans aren’t above working with Democrats on shared goals; happens all the time on Capitol Hill. Hardly anything gets done in Washington without some level of bipartisanship. That doesn’t mean everyone is exactly happy about it.
No one likes having to compromise.