Biden: If Dems Can Hold GOP Seats, Bipartisan 'Dam' Breaks
Raising money for a top GOP target in 2010, Vice President Biden predicted that if Democrats can hold on to traditionally Republican-leaning districts, Americans will see more bipartisanship in the nation's capital as "hidden" Republican votes emerge.
"It's not that Republicans are bad guys. This is just the bet they've made," Biden told a few dozen people at a fundraiser for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) near his home in Delaware today. "They're going to put their chips on movement in the 35 seats in the House that have been traditionally Republican districts and trying to take them back. If they take them back, this the end of the road for what Barack and I are trying to do."
Republicans are "moribund in terms of ideas," Biden said, and winning seats like Giffords' in the midterms is "their one shot." If they fail, "the dam is going to break" he said.
"If they don't break the back of our effort in this upcoming election you're going to see the things we said we're for happen," he said. "All the hidden Republicans that don't have the courage to vote the way they want to vote because of pressure from the party ... it will break the dam and you will see bipartisanship."
Biden praised Giffords for her "gumption" on tough votes, like the stimulus bill, and called her a rising star in the party.
"She's in good shape because she works so damn hard to make her district blue. It's still red, but she makes it blue," Biden said.
Curiously, at a fundraiser thousands of miles from her district, Giffords referred to the town hall debates of August in her district as "totally nuts." But she did meet a man who became a textbook case for health reform. She invited Marty Huffman, whose wife was denied care because of a pre-existing condition, to sit in the House Gallery during President Obama's speech to Congress this month. Huffman met Biden there.
"His heart and his brains and his ability to serve this country and be our representative to the world is so extraordinary and he's one of your own," Giffords said, returning praise to the VP.
According to a pool report, tickets for the breakfast fundraiser were $500-$2,400. It was held at the home of Stuart Grant, head of a Wilmington-based law firm. He and Gov. Jack Markell (D-Del.) are friends of the Giffordses.