Senate GOP More Open to Compromise Than Expected

Jonathan Bernstein: “Senate Republicans continue to be more open to compromise and, basically, acting like normal politicians during this Congress than many people expected. They’ve reached a deal on gun safety. There’s a bipartisan bill rolling out on insulin pricing. And there are small things, too. HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery reports that Montana Senator Steve Daines ‘heaped praises’ on Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and her team for their response to flooding at Yellowstone National Park.”

“It’s good to see a Republican senator acknowledge such help, because it indicates that the positive, healthy incentives built into the system are working. Too often, Republicans have acted as if any cooperation with Democratic administrations was a mistake because it would tend to make the president more popular and, therefore, cost Republicans in the next election. Such effects in truth are pretty marginal. But it’s good for their constituents if Democratic administrations have incentives to govern well even in states they won’t carry in the next election.”