As the clock winds down towards the November election?
The Joe Biden campaign machine grows and reaches out to party lawmakers and tries to listen….
With the nomination in hand ?
And Donald Trump working hard to deny himself a second term?
The Overall Biden machine can divide it’s time between running against Donald Trump, working and coordinating with lawmakers on policy , and staffing up to run the government come next year if voters so wish Joe Biden to do so 6 months from now…
Democrats in the House and Senate say Joe Biden’s sprawling presidential campaign is taking relations with lawmakers much more seriously in recent weeks, a stark difference from his early days as the unofficial nominee — and they’re welcoming the turnaround.
Earlier this year, Democrats were openly warring over who would be the party’s nominee to take on President Donald Trump — with lingering fears about 2016 and the party’s ideological DNA looming large. Then as the coronavirus brought the country to a standstill, Democrats received littleguidance from Biden, setting off alarms on Capitol Hill.
But now Democrats say there’s been a rush of outreach from Biden’s team over the last month — from weekly calls with House chiefs of staff to a surrogate team that helps set up interviews to seeking out lawmakers about the VP vetting process. And even some of Biden’s toughest former critics in the party are praising him.
It’s the latest sign that the Democratic Party has begun not just to unite to defeat Trump but to assemble a governing coalition amid growing hopes Biden wins the White House this fall — a party-wide cohesion that was absent in 2016 and could bolster Democrats as they prepare for a post-Trump landscape.
“Obviously, they had a slower start because of everything we’ve been going through,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). “I feel much better than I thought I would a few months ago.”
“We’ve been doing a lot more,” added Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a close Biden ally. “It’s not like he had to introduce himself, but I think from the campaign as a whole, yes there’s been a lot of engagement around policy, around priorities, around particular states, and around key strategic decisions.”
And it couldn’t have come at a better time for Democrats. As Biden maintains a double-digit polling lead over Trump, Republicans are openly squabbling with each other over everything from fealty to the president to what should be included in their coronavirus relief package….
image…dallasnews.com