Regardless of what happens in the Georgia runoff, the future of this country may depend mostly on the personal relation between two 78 year old men, Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell. Remember from a previous blog post, Joe Manchin pledged not end the filibuster. So even if the Democrats win control of the Senate, they will not be able to do much without the support of 10 Republican Senators. If the Republicans keep control of the Senate, they may be more willing to work with Biden on moderate policy, which may be what Biden wants anyway.
Both Biden and McConnell need to appease their base, but they seem to be able to work together; remember the accomplishments of the 2010 Lame Duck Session. Also McConnell, and many other Republican Senators, have acknowledged their friendship with Biden. Here are two videos from 2016:
After Biden was declared the winner, McConnell had to respect Trumps challenges, but it was suspected that he had privately communicated with Biden, but neither could admit it back then. Biden seemed awfully confident that a compromise would be reached.
After the Electoral College made it official, McConnell recognized Biden as President Elect in spite of Trump's protests. McConnell also encouraged all Republican Senators not to challenge the results on Jan. 6th when the Congress formally accepts the electoral votes from the states. While many Republican Congressmen will challenge the votes, they need the support of at least one Senator for the challenge to be recognized. Biden and McConnell now openly communicated on a compromise for COVID relief and it seems to be working. Trump will continue to protest, but so what.
