Joe’s luck has turned. Trump, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton all came into office with majorities in both the Senate and House, as well as a honeymoon. All of them — yes, even Trump — were far more talented and charismatic than Biden. In those days, moderates still roamed the halls of Congress. Even George W. Bush was able to pass a big education bill (unfortunately).
Right now, the prospects of Republicans holding the Senate are high. Even if the GOP loses run-offs in Georgia, a thin majority makes any big reform improbable. One now wonders if such reforms would even get out of the House, where Democrats now have one of the slimmest majorities of any party in decades. And what will the House look like in the future? Most pollsters were predicting a Blue Wave would give Democrats control of a number of Republican statehouses and thus redistricting. As of this writing, Democrats have flipped none.
After a possible COVID-relief and, maybe, an infrastructure bill, Biden would face the prospect of gridlock. There will be no Green New Deal hiking energy prices and destroying personal freedom. There will be no Court-packing. No state programs funding late-term abortions. There will be no single-payer socialized medicine. No gun bans. No big tax hikes. There will be no big progressive reforms. It’s also difficult to see Biden replacing a “conservative” Supreme Court justice. Not in the foreseeable future.
– David Harsanyi in This Is Biden’s Worst-Case Scenario for a Presidency