Joe Biden has a divided mind when it comes to the Republican Party. On the one hand, he’s all too aware that the GOP has become radicalized and is an existential threat to American democracy. On the other, Biden, drawing on his many decades in Washington, is drawn to the idea of bipartisan compromise and acts as if it were his duty to elevate the more moderate wing of the Republican Party. We can see the two sides of Biden’s approach to the opposition party as he tries to navigate through the debt ceiling crisis. Biden has invoked the idea of taking the debt ceiling weapon off the table by invoking the 14th Amendment even as he has also indicated a willingness to cut a deal.

It’s unclear which side of the equation will win. To take up the issue of Biden’s handling of the GOP and the debt ceiling crisis, I spoke with Brian Beutler, editor in chief at Crooked Media. Brian edits a very fine newsletter, Big Tent, which can be found here.

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